Unity Publishing - More Dangerous Than Any False
Apparition
Rick Salbato's writing is in black
font, mine is in red
font.
OBEDIENCE
The next test, always the most important, is obedience.
Satan knows doctrine well, and he can fool many with
his lies; but he cannot be obedient. His pride will
not allow him even the pretense of obedience to a mere
human.
Well, this is not right from
the very start. Satan IS obedient to God, Jesus, Mary,
Michael and Raphael and CAN be renounced by any human
in the name of Jesus.
Our Lady has been questioned
through the visionaries by those who wish to respond
to the messages without being disobedient to the Church.
She answers:
"One must follow the
authority of the Church with certainty. Yet, before
she expresses an opinion, it is necessary to advance
spiritually, because she will not be able to express
a judgment in a vacuum, but in a confirmation which
presupposes growth of the child. First comes birth,
followed by Baptism, then Confirmation. The Church
comes to confirm him, who is born of God. We must
walk and advance in the spiritual life, affected by
these messages." (1986)
Secondly, Rick is taking individual
criteria of tests out of context, giving them the appearance
of full tests in themselves. He did this on the previous
page with FIDELITY. There is not a single test of "Obedience".
Obedience and fidelity come under the umbrella of "Personal
Qualities of the Visionaries", which include: mental
soundness, honesty, sincerity, uprightness of conduct,
obedience to ecclesiastical authorities, ability to
return to the normal practices of the faith (such as
participation in communal worship, reception of the
sacraments). Possibly the only one I could fault there
is that it does appear that the visionaries may actually
have deceived the Bishop of Mostar. BUT, for people
who haven't read the last three pages, once you read
about the Bishops of Mostar, you might see how this
was possible and even justifiable. The sub-test is "Obedience
to Ecclesiastical Authorities". After the Vatican
rejected Bishops Zanic's unfounded opposition to Medjugorje
and distanced itself from the Bishop's stance, it is
possibly understandable how the Vatican might turn a
blind eye to this "disobedience". It has been
said here
that the Bishop's agenda during his period of permitted
investigation was to focus on accumulating evidence
that would discredit Medjugorje rather than taking an
objective stance. That being the case, who can blame
visionaries and Franciscans for being defensive.
Let us start with the words of Padre Pio:
“Where there is no OBEDIENCE, there is no virtue.
Where there is no virtue, there is no good. Where there
is no good, there is no love. Where there is no love,
there is no God. Where there is no God, there is no
Paradise."
Nobody is saying obedience is
not a valuable virtue. But, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE
CONTEXT. Within the context of the Herzegovinian Affair,
"obedience" was an abused word. It was a word
used as a weapon and a word quickly discarded if it
did not suit the purposes of those who sought to destroy.
Please read on....
By Medjugorje standards, Padre Pio had many good reasons
to be disobedient. He was told by a visiting priest
to burn all the testimonials to his intercession. Without
a second thought, he burned them all. When Vatican II
introduced the new Mass, even though he had loved the
Tridentine, he changed without hesitation. He even sent
a letter to the Holy Father offering his support. When
Rome told him to stop saying public Mass and hearing
confession, he stopped without even asking why. For
six years he offered Mass in his room. We would like
you to compare Medjugorje to Padre Pio.
Let’s see how the actors of Medjugorje stack
up to the obedience of the Padre. On December 19, 1981,
only six months after the first apparition, the "Lady"
said that the one most to blame for these disorders
[the conflict between the Bishop and the two priests],
was the Bishop [Zanic]. She told Father Vego to stay
and not to go away as he was ordered. Remember that
Fathers Vego and Prusina had been excluded from their
Order as priests by their superiors.
Below is an extract from "The
Truth About the Herzegovinian Affair"
The Herzegovinian bishops
often stressed obedience as the supreme principle
of conduct within the Church. In practise however,
they themselves at times, did not adhere to this principle
but rather when it suited them. When Bishop Zanic,
for instance, came to Mostar as the Assistant Bishop
he immediately embarked on convincing the Herzegovinian
Franciscans to disobey their lawful Provincial, with
the intention of better achieving his aims. He did
not succeed in this. When he took over the diocese
that is in 1988, a group of Franciscans did not accept
transfers, which had been assigned them by the Provincial
administration. Bishop Zanic backed them up in their
refusal. He even forbid in writing that they be transferred!
They who were disobedient were allowed to keep their
jurisdiction and Canon mission yet he refused to issue
these to those who were lawfully, pursuant to decision
of the Provincial administration, to succeed them.
This same practise was continued by the bishop's successor,
Bishop Ratko Peric
The Herzegovinian bishops
demanded that the Franciscans hand over parishes which
belonged to them in accordance with the Decrees of
1967 and 1975, yet he continually refused to take
over the parishes of Glavatievo and Nevesinje, which
were assigned to him in the Decree of 1923, and which
the Franciscans had been offering for quite a while.
The bishops were not prepared to implement the Decree
of 1975 in its literal sense. The Franciscans offered
Bishop Zanic that upon carving up the monastic Franciscan
parish in Humac he found new secular parishes in Zvirii-Bijaa
and Crveni Grm as determined in the Decree of 1975.
Nevertheless he refused this and demanded that the
heart of this same parish - Ljubu?i and Radi?i and
that he be allowed to found a new secular parish in
these towns even though this is the one thing that
was explicitly forbidden in the 1975 Decree! Bishop
Peric at all costs demanded that he be given Mostar
and apljina yet he refused to take over the parishes
in Jablanica and Blagaj which had been virtually completely
ethnically cleansed by the Muslims but which nevertheless
were to belong to him in accordance to the same Decree
of 1975!
These few examples clearly
show that the Herzegovinian bishops are not exactly
marked by uncompromising obedience to decisions adopted
by the Holy See even though they demand this same
obedience of the Franciscans.
Below are some extracts from
Verite.cz:
...to his 4-member team
he (Bishop Zanic) gave instructions to collect materials
speaking against authenticity of the apparitions but
not the instruction to examine objectively the visionaries
and the course of the apparitions (Dr. Ivan Duganžic
only a member of the commission).
Further, of his own accord
he was further collecting intensively further untruths
and assumptions and he succeeded in publishing them
in L´Osservatore Romano and La Croix in November
and especially in December 1984.
In this situation archbishop
Franic, the chairman of the theological commission
working for the Jugoslavian Bishop´s Conference
lodged with Vatican a complaint against bishop Zanic
on 29. 1. 1985. The Congregation of Cardinal Ratzinger
had found out that the complaint is justified and
in April 1985 withdrew the bishop Zanic´s powers
to make further decisions on the events and asked
him to pass over the documentation which was realized
in Vatican on 15. 5. 1985.
...
Two reasons are known which
significantly influenced the opinions of bishop Zanic.
The first reason concerns passing of the parishes
with Franciscans over to diocesan priests. For the
thing is that in past centuries during the oppression
in Bosnia-Herzegovina it was only Friars-Franciscans
who persevered with people. In compliance with the
agreement from 1975 Franciscans are to pass some of
the parishes over to the diocesan administration.
But bishop Zanic wanted to speed up and to widen this
handing over but he met with resistance especially
among believers who are fond of Franciscans.
The second reason was a
protracted dispute with two Franciscans from Mostar.
These said that in a certain matter the bishop had
not acted rightly and this man, on 7. 2. 1983, let
them divest of their priestly activity. Both of them
approached through Vicka the Virgin Mary and She said
they did not commit offence. And in the end this,
ten years later was also confirmed by the Apostolic
See in Rome which on 27. 3. 1993 stated that Franciscans
had not committed violation of the rules but bishop
Zanic had been acting in contradiction with canonical
law.
One of the main so-called "disobedient
Franciscans" was Father Jozo Zovko. If the Vatican
really thought his disobedience was so intolerable,
we need to ask ourselves why Father Jozo was solidly
supported and even admired by Pope John Paul II. To
see the actual letter of gratitude and support John
Paul II sent to Father Jozo and to read other comments
by JPII and the vatican about Medjugorje, please read
"The
Vatican on Medjugorje". And more importantly,
if this disobedience constituted enough, either of itself,
or in union with any other objection and detraction
brought forth by Rick Salbato, surely the Vatican would
have made a negative pronouncement on Medjugorje right
at the beginning of the apparitions.
On January 3, 1982, the "Virgin" said, "Ivaca
Vego is not guilty. Let him stay all the same. The Bishop
is not putting things in order and for that HE IS TO
BLAME. HE WILL NOT ALWAYS BE THE BISHOP."
Again, the story is twisted.
We see clearly what Mary is saying when we read the
following, another statement of the same issue:
"The bishop is to
blame for the disorder in Herzegovina," said
the Gospa. "Vego is not to blame. If they expel
him from the Franciscan order, may he remain courageous."
Mary is simply not referring
to Vego's personal indiscretions. That is for God to
judge. She says that Vego is not to blame for
the disorder in Herzegovina, which is
more important. Mary sees the bigger picture. Mary sees
the damage the Bishop has been doing to peace within
the diocese with his dirt-digging campaign to discredit
Medjugorje and she is pleading with him to put things
back in order.
Compare that statement of the Gospa to the statements
of the Virgin Mary in all true apparitions. This is
what descernment is. You see the dark by comparing it
to the light. You see the difference between good and
bad by placing them both in the light of truth. God
does not want us just to accept by blind faith every
spirit that comes our way. He wants us to seek the truth
and you will find. But if you are not looking?
Again, Rick wants to teach us
all how to discern. This might be credible if anything
he was saying was intelligible or relevant. Does the
Vatican need Rick's help in discernment? Well, of course
not! That's why the Vatican tacitly endorses Medjugorje
and why none of Rick's ideas and recommendations are
heeded. How embarrassed (to use the strongest euphemism
I can muster) is Rick going to be when the promised
sign comes and Medjugorje is approved! Where will he
hide! What will he tell the Lord when an account is
demanded of him regarding the lies and innuendo he placed
on his website causing thousands to flee from salvation!
RICK, STOP NOW!
Rick should heed his own advice
and follow the Vatican's example, close his mouth, put
down his poison pen and just pray and wait patiently
for the truth to reveal itself.
On January 11, 1982, Vicka notes in her diary,"The
Virgin is against the Bishop."
Yes, this is quite obvious. And
by virtue of this coming out of a diary meant for personal
use, this means, in all likelihood, that Vicka really
has heard from the Virgin that she is against the Bishop.
The ball is thus in the Bishop's court.
On January 20, 1982, the seers ask about the priests
being excluded from their order by Rome. The Virgin
replied,"They are not guilty. In this decision
the Bishop has acted hastily. Let them stay."
What this "Virgin" is saying is "let
them disobey". This is approximately the time the
priest was having an affair with the nun. But of course,
maybe the Mother of God did not know that???
First of all, the Virgin is not
saying "let them disobey". This is Rick Salbato's
biased interpretation and he is extremely brave to twist
the words of the Mother of God.
As I said earlier, it is my understanding
that the two priests in question were adamant that,
in a certain matter, the bishop had not acted rightly,
when on 7 February 1983 he divested them of their priestly
capacities. Both of them approached, through Vicka,
the Virgin Mary, who agreed that they did not commit
any offence. Ten years later, this was also confirmed
by the Apostolic See in Rome which on 27 March 1993
stated that Franciscans had not committed any violation
of the rules, but on the contrary that Bishop Zanic
had been acting in contradiction to canonical law.
Between April 16 and 26, 1982, the "Virgin"
spoke against the Bishop again and again. By this time
all the Masses, confessions, etc., said by these priests
were and still are SACRILEGIOUS.
If they are sacriligeous and
if this is such a serious problem, why oh why does the
Vatican not step in and do something official. The vatican
continues to tacitly endorse Medjugorje and support
all the Franciscans involved. See Vatican
Response to Medjugorje. Do not be fooled by Rick
Salbato's clever deception. He says the CHURCH has condemned
Medjugorje. He doesn't say the VATICAN has condemned
Medjugorje. How can he say the Church has condemned
Medjugorje? Because he is equating the condemnation
by the Church's representative in Herzegovina - the
Bishop of Mostar - to a condemnation by the whole
Church. But, what he keeps trying to hide is that the
Bishop of Mostar has been censured as far as having
authority to pronounce on the authenticity of the apparitions.
This has been due to his totally unfounded opposition,
which has appeared to spring from ulterior motives.
The Vatican has since officially distanced itself from
the pronouncements and opinions of the Bishop of Mostar,
as shown in a letter from the Vatican, which brought
much rejoicing for supporters of Medjugorje. Read
that letter here.
On August 3, 1982, Bishop Zanic asks the seers to put
in writing the description of the sign that had been
promised by the Virgin and place it in a sealed envelope,
so that if and when the sign took place, the prophesy
could be checked with the facts. The seers REFUSED TO
OBEY the Bishop. Ivan, however, the young boy seer,
had put the information in an envelope and had kept
it in his room.
On May 27, 1982, Vicka saw the Bishop at his request
and gave him the diary [now 30 days long]. She gave
him all but the days the Virgin spoke about the Bishop:
Dec. 19, Jan. 3, Jan. 20, April 16 and April 26. The
Bishop, who already knew about these notes, requested
the missing diary. Vicka told him that there is no other
diary and refused to give it over to them.
Well, I've gone over repetitively
why they might want to withhold anything, including
the truth, from the Bishops
of Mostar. And none of it has anything to do with
whether the visions are real. These are simply unfounded
character assassinations.
On June 19, 1982, the Virgin stated:
"Tell the Father Bishop that I request his urgent
conversion to the events of the Medjugorje parish before
it is too late. Let him begin by informing himself about
all the events with great understanding, love and responsibility.
I desire that he place no disunion between priests and
that he should not emphasize their negative sides. I
ask for his conversion to these events. I am sending
him the ULTIMATE WARNING. IF HE IS NOT CONVERTED HE
WILL BE CORRECTED. MY JUDGEMENT, AS WELL AS THAT OF
MY SON, JESUS, WILL STRIKE HIM. If he does not put into
effect what I am giving him to know, please tell him
that he has not found the path of my Son, Jesus."
Very interesting here: Note the
Virgin's words concerning the Bishop's actions:
- She appears to be saying that
up till now, the Bishop has not been looking into
the apparitions with pure motives. This bears out
the report from verite.cz, which stated that he purposely
instructed his 4-member team to essentially "dig
dirt" wherever it could be found.
- Consequently, he caused conflict
and division within the diocese. If, during his dirt-digging
campaign, he discovered illicit activities concerning
priests, it should have been dealt with quietly and
officially and with love and responsibility, not plastered
all over the media and used as a motive for condemning
Medjugorje. This is essentially what Mary has been
getting at all along with her much-quoted statement:
"The bishop is to blame
for the disorder in Herzegovina," said the Gospa.
"Vego is not to blame. If they expel him from
the Franciscan order, may he remain courageous.".
Once again, I invite readers
to examine the events of the Herzegovinian Affair. Below
is an excerpt, detailing some of the activities of Bishop
Zanic and his successor Ratko Peric, such activities
as might cause Our Blessed Mother to pull them up by
their collars:
The Mostar Affair
Nothing changed with the
arrival of Bishop Zanic at the helm in September 1980,
who immediately after his inauguration in the Franciscan
monastic church in Mostar announced that he was going
to establish a cathedral parish in Mostar and that
he was going to carve up the Franciscan monastic parish
so that four-fifths of the faithful would belong to
the cathedral parish and one-fifth to the Franciscan
monastic parish. His explanation for this decision
was that the Franciscans had agreed. This immediately
caused a negative reaction amongst the faithful in
the church. When the parish priest of the Franciscan
monastic parish cautioned the Bishop while still in
the church, that his explanation that the Franciscan
had agreed to this, was not the truth, the Bishop
withdrew any jurisdiction and Cannon mission away
from the parish priest with effect in the entire diocese.
The Franciscans at one
time proposed that the Bishop take over the greater
part of their parish under the condition that they
be left the majority of their existing parishes. The
diocesan side did not accept this proposal. Bishop
Zanic nevertheless took over four-fifths of their
parish with the explanation that they agreed to this
but he never once mentioned the pre-condition they
proposed, but rather continued to seek those parishes
they demanded as a pre-condition to the agreement
to be left to them permanently. He in fact considered
these parishes as his own!
The people of Mostar and
the Franciscans did not accept this division of the
Franciscan parish in Mostar and Bishop Zanic did not
succeed in implementing this division not even until
the end of his mandate as bishop. This was the beginning
of the Mostar Affair, which is continuing even now.
This unresolved state in
Mostar awaited the new Bishop, Dr. Ratko Peric, who
took over the diocese in 1993. During the trying and
bloody battle for the survival of Croats in Mostar,
he established four secular parishes within the intended
cathedral parish. During the fiercest battles and
destruction of the Franciscan monastery and when it
was almost impossible to reach, several Franciscans
took refuge in an outer suburb Cim, so that they could
serve their people. Bishop Peric however, prohibited
them from living there because it was located within
the area of a secular parish. After being threatened
with the harshest of sanctions via Rome and when in
1995 the situation had calmed down somewhat in Mostar,
the Franciscans moved back to the demolished monastery
and the people of Mostar reacted harshly against the
Bishop and on occasion exuded violence against him.
A great deal of Mostar was left without any regular
pastoral care. This situation was reflected in the
recent elections held in Mostar when in the most Croatian
section of the Mostar suburbs of Ilii and Cim, as
a sign of protest, the people only participated in
the elections at a rate of less than 40%.
And so the Franciscans
were pressed back to the very outskirts of Mostar.
Yet, Bishop Peric did not stop there. He demanded
the immediate retreat of the Franciscans out of apljina.
He threatened with the harshest sanctions via Rome
(in the same manner that the international community
has been threatening Croatia with sanctions if it
does not accept its conditions). Finally, the General
of the Franciscan Order in April 1996, formally and
legally handed the parish to the Bishop. The Franciscans
were ordered to hand over their residency and church
to the newly nominated secular parish priest on 12
May 1996, and to leave apljina. That day, the people
blocked the path to the church and the Franciscan's
residency and did not allow the newly nominated secular
parish priest nor the bishop's Vicar-General from
Mostar, nor the Franciscan's Delegate-General from
Rome nor representatives of the Franciscan Province
in Mostar to enter nor the apljina Franciscans to
leave. After that Bishop Peric cancelled the Sacrament
of Confirmation which was to have been held on 30
June 1996, in apljina. After serious pressure and
threats of the harshest penalties from Rome on Sunday
14 July 1996, the Franciscans said their goodbyes
to the faithful and on the Feast of St. Elijah on
the 20th of the same month, they left apljina. They
were greeted by several thousand faithful. Since then
the church bells have been quiet, the church door
is bricked in and the "wall will be taken down
when they who built the church return, that is, the
Friars", is written above the main entrance to
the church and the faithful gather in the church yard
when mass is scheduled and only pray the Rosary....
...He (Bishop Peric) ardently
demanded that the Franciscans not only leave their
residency and church but to completely leave the territory
of apljina. With this he was not trying to implement
the alleviated Decree with regard to apljina but what
is more it was even harsher that the Decree itself:
he was demanding of the Franciscans that which was
not even directly noted in the Decree, which ordered
the Franciscans to hand over their parish at the liberty
of the Bishop, but it did not make mention that they
as a monastic Order had to leave the territory of
apljina!
We are supposed to believe that these are the sweet
words of the most obedient creature on the face of the
earth: a Woman, who obeyed Herod and went to Bethlehem
for the census even though She was nine months pregnant;
who went to the Temple for purification even though
she needed no purification; who circumcised Her Son,
even though He needed no circumcision; who stayed outside
the Last Supper Room, even though she was greater than
all the Apostles?
“My judgment” are not words the Mother
of God could ever say. Mary is all mercy, never judgment.
God is justice, but Mary is only love, prayer, and mercy.
“MY judgment will strike him.” Moses made
the mistake of saying that “he” could strike
the rock and water would come out. Because of that statement
he was not allowed to enter into the promised land.
Now we are expected to believe that the most obedient
Woman in history will steal the right of judgment from
the Father, and take it upon herself. “I request
--- I desire --- I ask --- I am --- I am” are
not the words of Our Lady. No Jewish woman can use the
words “I am”. Jews were not allowed to say
the name of God out loud. Even John, the Baptist never
used them. In the Greek “I am one crying in the
wilderness” actually reads, “One crying
in the wilderness” because the “I am”
is implied and every Jew knew it because you could not
say the words out loud.
Well, why is Rick so surprised.
He is not understanding the authority of the Blessed
Mother. Mary owes no deference to the Bishop. During
Mary's time on Earth, certainly she was pure obdedience
to God, coupled with being bound to earthly traditional
expectations regarding the meekness and expected public
behaviour of women. NOW, SHE IS THE QUEEN OF
HEAVEN AND EARTH. THE BISHOP IS HER
SERVANT AND EVEN THE POPE IS HER SERVANT. With
this correct vewpoint, we can see that her words are
reasonable, patient, yet tinged with warning. Furthermore,
if it were Satan, father of tricks, he could quite easily
gain the Bishop's conversion with one or two personal
appearances in the guise of the Virgin Mary. He would
not waste time with words.
Poor Bishop Zanic! We’re sure he was shaking
in his boots. But let us not take too lightly this threat.
Although Satan will not be able to touch the Bishop,
he has been intimidated, harassed and heckled by the
supporters of the seers.
We must pray for Bishop Zanic
and his successor. I have said pretty much all there
is to say about him and I pray that I have not misjudged
him in any way. But, there is a big stink coming from
his direction.
Rome, in order to reward him for his courageous stand,
increased the area of his jurisdiction. Thirty-four
(34) of the thirty-five (35) bishops of Yugoslavia agreed
with his condemnation. Only retired Charismatic Bishop
Franic accepts the apparitions. And now after retirement
his friend becomes the new Bishop.
Well, I think most of us are
inclined to suspect that this was a face-saving gesture.
On December, 1983, Bishop Zanic published, through
his episcopal curia, a warning against the irresponsible
propaganda of the Franciscans, and he summarized by
saying:
"It seems that the promoters of Medjugorje are
busy creating a situation, by means of their propaganda,
such that Church authority will never dare oppose. But
the Church has no need of counter truths in order to
defend the faith. THE TRUTH MUST BE PRESENTED EVEN THOUGH
IT IS DISAGREEABLE. And concerning the 'Virgin's support
of the rebellious priests...There has been no peace
in the Church of Herzegovina [Medjugorje] for fifteen
years. Half the Franciscans resist the restoration of
certain parishes to the diocesan clergy using as their
pretext the alleged messages of the Blessed Virgin at
Medjugorje. The present provincial, his collaborators
and the other half of the Franciscans are working to
restore peace with the Bishop. They do not believe in
the apparitions. Thus, ON ACCOUNT OF MEDJUGORJE AND
THE 'QUEEN OF PEACE' THERE IS EVEN MORE TENSION AND
DISQUIET! Regina pacis, ora pro nobis!"
On December 26, 1983, [after Bishop Zanic condemned
a book written by Father Rupcic--"The Apparitions
of The Blessed Virgin at Medjugorje"] the so-called
"Virgin" prayed for the success of the book.
Cardinal Kuharic, Archbishop of Zagreb, stated on
January 13, 1984, "If the Virgin said such words
against the Bishop in favor of the suspended Franciscans,
then IT IS NOT THE VIRGIN WHO SPOKE."
On February 26, 1984, Bishop Zanic wrote to a French
priest:
"The propaganda on behalf of Medjugorje is terrible.
They are preparing for WAR. It is a struggle of self-assertion
by a group of Franciscans...The defenders of Medjugorje
are DISOBEDIENT, ..."
Rick is not doing his case any
favours by quoting comments from Mgrs Zanic or Peric
or any of their backers and cohorts. If their comments
were worth anything much, the Vatican would have listened.
The tension and disquiet comes from one corner, begun
by Bishop Zanic and perpetuated by people such as Rick
Salbato.
"L'Osservatore Romano" [the voice of Rome]
published an exact account of the Communique of Bishop
Zanic on July 24, 1984, FORBIDDING ALL FURTHER PUBLICATIONS
OF THE LITERATURE. In spite of this, eight books have
been published and distributed throughout the world.
Everyone who is involved in publishing or distributing
these books is COMMITTING A MORTAL SIN AGAINST OBEDIENCE.
Nevertheless, a week after Rome published the order,
the "Virgin" commanded:"MAKE THE PRIESTS
READ Abbe Laurentin's book and spread it."
August 7, 1984, Bishop Zanic, forbid the seers from
using the Church building for the apparitions. The priests
and seers refused to obey. On October 30, 1984, Bishop
Zanic again commanded that the apparitions not take
place in the parish buildings. Again the priests and
seers refused to obey. On the same day, the Bishop published
his report:
"IT IS NOT THE VIRGIN MARY WHO IS APPEARING AT
MEDJUGORJE."
Bishop Zanic's protestations
and prohibitions unfortunately didn't carry much weight,
tried though he might. He just didn't get the backing
of the Vatican. His right to officially pronounce on
the authenticity of the visions was removed by the Vatican
and handed to the Yugloslav Bishops' Council. The Bishops'
Council wanted to approve the apparitions, but gave
Bishop Zanic face and instead declared that they could
not PROVE that the apparitions were taking place, amounting
to a "WAIT AND SEE" policy, clearly evident
in all subsequent Vatican statements. Unfortunately,
there are people who do not want to follow the Vatican
in this policy, who feel that they know better, or who
have some other agenda, not in line with that of the
Vatican. Otherwise, it is beyond rational people why
anyone would want to condemn what really looks like
the most genuine of enuine apparitions before any real
evidence is made known to the wider public.
Rick continues on at some length
about the issue of disobedience to the Bishop of Mostar.
No-one is really taking this seriously because of the
history the Bishop has with the Franciscans in the region.
When the Vatican took away Bishops Zanic's right to
judge the authenticity of the apparitions, this seems
to have meant, for most people, that he and his successor
had been moved to the back-benches. The Vatican continues
to allow people to travel to Medjugorje accompanied
by a priest, so long as Medjugorje is not being promoted
as a genuine apparition ahead of the Church's final
judgement.
To Be Painfully Continued... |
