On a summer’s day in 1981, two teenagers in a Bosnian village reported seeing an apparition of the Virgin Mary, dressed in startling white and carrying a child. The following day, four other young people in the village claimed to have seen a similar vision. Before long the six visionaries were reporting daily apparitions of Our Lady.
The village of Medjugorje has since become famous, and controversial, in the Catholic world, drawing in pilgrims from across the globe with reports of conversions and miracles.
Sceptics, both within and outside the Church, continue cast doubt on the visions, however, leading to passionate disagreements and angry exchanges. Indeed, the issue is now fast turning into one of the most divisive in the Catholic Church, with supporters claiming life-changing experiences, while critics brand it a hoax and accuse those involved of exploiting the visions for financial gain.
In 2010, Benedict XVI established a commission to look into the apparitions, chaired by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the former vicar of Rome. It was charged with “collecting and examining all the material” surrounding the apparitions and presenting a “detailed report”, followed by a vote on the supernatural nature of the apparitions.
The report has yet to be published and remains under pontifical secret. But last week the Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli appeared to reveal its contents.
The findings, if true, will only add to the controversy. The commission came out with 13 votes in favour of recognising the first seven visions as supernatural in nature, with just one vote against. (There was also one “suspensive” vote, which is a voter’s way of indicating they will make up their mind later.)
But commission members were much less clear about the subsequent apparitions, noting heavy interference caused by a conflict between Franciscans in the parish and the local bishop.
The leak came just days after Pope Francis, speaking on the flight back from Fatima, expressed personal doubt over the recent apparitions at Medjugorje, saying: “I prefer the Madonna as Mother, our Mother, and not a women who’s the head of a telegraphic office, who every day sends a message at such an hour.” He emphasised, however, that this was his personal opinion.
Deacon Nick Donnelly, a persistent critic of the claimed visions, says that if the leaks are true, the conclusions are “very upsetting for those who love Our Lady and have a care for the salvation of souls”.
If the visionaries were blessed with seven authentic apparitions, he argues, what could possibly possess them to make the rest up?
Nonetheless, he remains optimistic about the graces people receive when visiting Medjugorje. “If the Ruini report is correct in its conclusion that the original apparitions of 1981 are genuine, and them alone, then all the undeniable blessings that countless people have received can be traced back to these seven apparitions,” he says. “The graces mediated by Our Lady are greater than the schemes of man and the snares of the Devil.”
That Medjugorje has become a significant shrine and has borne many good fruits, cannot be denied. Many who visit Medjugorje have a transformative experience, including atheists and agnostics who end up converting.
If the apparitions are fake, it would be particularly disappointing for all those who have built their faith and hope on their experiences at Medjugorje.
Speaking via videophone from “Medj” – as it is colloquially known – one enthusiast tells me of the spiritual nature of the place, and the strikingly traditional kind of faith that many come to experience – something that often gets overlooked.
It is worth bearing in mind that even if the leaks are true, the commission does not have final authority over whether the Church recognises or rejects the apparitions. Perhaps the reason Pope Francis has kept the report unpublished is that the claimed apparitions are still ongoing, making a final decision difficult to reach.
His recent comments appear to suggest he is sceptical, but he only focuses on the later, not the earlier, apparitions.
One thing is for certain, however. If the first apparitions are approved, and the rest not, the Church will be in uncharted territory, with the repercussions possibly lasting centuries.
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