A Letter from Rome on Medjugorje
For the 17th Anniversary of the apparitions, the Church
just gave a beautiful gift to Our Lady! The Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith sent the following letter
to Bishop Gilbert Aubry of Saint Denis clarifying its
position on Medjugorje. He received it on June 24th.
On the 25th, he spread it to the priests and communities
of his diocese (circular # C003) so that they can have
the latest statement from Rome and, if necessary, inform
the faithful with full knowledge of the facts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONGREGATIO
PRO DOCTRINA FIDEI
Pr. No 154/81-06419
Citta del Vaticano, Palazzo del S. Uffizio
May 26, 1998
To His Excellency Mons. Gilbert Aubry,
Bishop of Saint-Denis de la Reunion
Excellency:
In your letter of January 1, 1998, you submitted to
this Dicastery several questions about the position
of the Holy See and of the Bishop of Mostar in regard
to the so called apparitions of Medjugorje, private
pilgrimages and the pastoral care of the faithful who
go there.
In regard to this matter, I think it is impossible
to reply to each of the questions posed by Your Excellency.
The main thing I would like to point out is that the
Holy See does not ordinarily take a position of its
own regarding supposed supernatural phenomena as a court
of first instance. As for the credibility of the "apparitions"
in question, this Dicastery respects what was decided
by the bishops of the former Yugoslavia in the Declaration
of Zadar, April 10, 1991: "On the basis of the
investigations so far, it can not be affirmed that one
is dealing with supernatural apparitions and revelations."
Since the division of Yugoslavia into different independent
nations it would now pertain to the members of the Episcopal
Conference of Bosnia-Hercegovina to eventually reopen
the examination of this case, and to make any new pronouncements
that might be called for.
What Bishop Peric said in his letter to the Secretary
General of "Famille Chretienne", declaring:
"My conviction and my position is not only 'non
constat de supernaturalitate,' but likewise, 'constat
de non supernaturalitate' of the apparitions or revelations
in Medjugorje", should be considered the expression
of the personal conviction of the Bishop of Mostar which
he has the right to express as Ordinary of the place,
but which is and remains his personal opinion.
Finally, as regards pilgrimages to Medjugorje, which
are conducted privately, this Congregation points out
that they are permitted on condition that they are not
regarded as an authentification of events still taking
place and which still call for an examination by the
Church.
I hope that I have replied satisfactorily at least
to the principal questions that you have presented to
this Dicastery and I beg Your Excellency to accept the
expression of my devoted sentiments.
Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone
(Secretary to the "Congregatio", presided
over by Cardinal Ratzinger)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fr. Daniel-Ange (France) summerizes this way:
- The declarations of the Bishop of Mostar only reflect
his personal opinion. Consequently, they are not an
official and definitive judgement from the Church.
- One is directed to the declaration of Zadar, which
leaves the door open to future investigations. In
the meanwhile private pilgrimages with pastoral accompaniment
for the faithful are permitted.
- A new commission could eventually be named.
- In the meanwhile, all Catholics may go as pilgrims
to Medjugorje.
Click
here for some of the disinformation surrounding Medjugorje
in Europe |
