Medjugorje is a village in the Herzegovina municipality of Čitluk , today part of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has become famous because of a series of reported sightings of the Virgin Mary, to six young people.
History of the Apparitions
The apparitions began in June 1981 and have continued every day through the present. Of the six people who have received the apparitions, three still receive them everyday. Two receive them once a year, and one receives them once a month. The Virgin Mary, called Gospa by the visionaries, repeatedly calls for a conversion of souls by all the unbelievers in the world. Over the past 24 years, she has given the visionaries a set of 10 secrets. Once they have received the ten secrets, they no longer have the apparition on a daily basis. The three remaining visionaries who see her everyday have only received 9 secrets, while the other 3 have received all 10.
Church Opinion
The Roman Catholic Church has a formal validation process to determine if claims of supernatural occurances can be considered "worthy of belief" [1]. Unlike other sights which have been sanctioned by the Church such as Our Lady of Fatima and Lourdes, the investigations into the claimed apparitions and other occurances at Medjugorje so far have not shown any supernatural phenomenon. On April 10, 1991, the Bishops of ex-Yugoslavia declared: "... On the basis of the investigations so far it can not be affirmed that one is dealing with supernatural apparitions and revelations." [2] The Church is still in the process of studying Medjugorje so the events there have not been approved nor proven false. In the meantime, Catholics may visit Medjugorje but cannot refer to the claimed apparitions as "Our Lady of Medjugorje" until official approval by the Holy See has been given. Further, pilgrimmages to Medjugorje should not be organized on a parish or diocesan level. [3]
Criticism
The local bishops, especially Bishop Ratko Peric, have strongly condemned Medjugorje as a false apparition [http://www.mdaviesonmedj.com/page_lateststatement.htm (read Bishop Peric's latest statement).
Some say that the Church's criteria, which must be followed in order to prove that an apparition is authentic or not, is not being regarded by Medjugorje fanatics believing discernment must be used, and the teachings of the Church concerning Private Revelations must be respected.
External links
Last updated: 10-20-2005 19:29:18
