Catholic Church response to the Medjugorje apparitions

When Bosnia and Herzegovina became part of Austria-Hungary, Pope Leo XIII took steps to establish dioceses (1881) and appoint local bishops. This included transferring parishes administered until then by the Franciscans to diocesan clergy. The friars resisted, and in the 1940s Franciscan provinces still controlled 63 of 79 parishes in the dioceses of Vrhbosna and Mostar. In the 1970s, friars in Herzegovina formed an association of priests to encourage popular opposition to diocesan parish takeovers. On 24 June 1981, six children in the village of Medjugorje (then part of Yugoslavia), said they had seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary and that these apparitions were continuing. The village began to attract pilgrims. ==Local ordinary at the time of the events==

established the first two commissions for the ecclesiastical investigation of the alleged apparitions in Medjugorje. On 11 January 1982, Pavao Žanić, Bishop of Mostar, within whose jurisdiction Medjugorje lay, established a commission to look into the matter. When three days later, on 14 January 1982, three of the seers told him that the "Madonna" supported the Franciscans, Bishop Žanić began to be concerned that they were being guided more by their Franciscan advisors than by the Blessed Virgin. Initially, Bishop Žanić had defended the seers and the possibility of the Virgin Mary appearing to them, although not endorsing the visions themselves., and had informed the Pope about the events of 24 June 1981 on 6 September. Žanić set up a commission of inquiry and prepared to forward its results to Rome. However, the alleged apparitions continued, as well as purported messages from the Virgin Mary, which appeared to side with the Franciscans against the bishop. According to Vicka's diaries, the Virgin Mary was consulted several times on the situation of Franciscan priests who were ordered to hand over the administration of the parishes in Mostar, and reportedly replied that the bishop was to blame for the whole situation and that the Franciscan priests should continue their mission. Žanić saw in this proof that the seers had been manipulated and that the apparitions were false, and began to speak publicly about his doubts. In 1983, Žanić received a letter from one of the visionaries, Ivan Dragičević, stating that the Gospa "sends a penultimate warning to the bishop" and further stating that "if he does not address or correct himself, he will be tried by my court and the court of my son Jesus." Žanić was stunned, and forwarded the letter to the Vatican the same day, stating that "the issue was resolved" for him. Since Žanić led the process of parish reorganization, he considered the apparitions to be a Franciscan fabrication in order to damage his reputation in the diocese, and saw the alleged message from the Virgin Mary as proof of this. The Franciscans used the pilgrimages to their advantage, but at the same time claimed that the apparitions took place spontaneously at the initiative of Our Lady. In 1984, Žanić published a statement in which he disputed the authenticity of the events in Medjugorje, denouncing the Franciscans who promoted apparitions. More specifically, Žanić warned that Tomislav Vlašić, a priest in Medjugorje who was the spiritual father of seers, was a "manipulator and deceiver". Žanić was especially critical of Vlašić, who became the spiritual director of the alleged seers and whose sexual scandal had not yet become public. Two years later, Žanić sent a report to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which was then led by Joseph Ratzinger, claiming that the Medjugorje apparitions were not authentic. Žanić publicly called for the abolition of pilgrimages in the church organization, and the Vatican supported him. However, the Vatican expressed the view that individual pilgrims should be provided with pastoral care and access to the sacraments. Žanić was unable to prevent public opinion in the Catholic world regarding Medjugorje, which has already become a global phenomenon. Proponents of the apparition rejected the bishop's authority and felt that the bishop had overlooked divine intervention for personal reasons, and the 1985 commission's negative decision on the apparitions was largely ignored. The Vatican did not come to Žanić's aid, but remained silent, leading to speculation about the Pope's support for Medjugorje. It is likely that Pope John Paul II somewhat favored Medjugorje privately, given that Medjugorje was appropriate for Vatican foreign policy during the 1980s, chiefly to the point of the Vatican providing support to the United States in overthrowing the Communist bloc in Eastern Europe. In 1984, Bishop Žanić decided to extend a first Commission to study the apparitions and expanded its membership to fifteen: 12 priests and 3 medical experts. They held seven meetings in all. This second commission completed its work in May 1986. Eleven members determined that the events at Medjugorje were (i.e., apparitions are neither approved nor condemned, but further study is needed to determine whether a supernatural character is present). Žanić informed the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia and the Holy See. == Diocesan investigations ==

First diocesan commission, 1982–1984 On January 24, 1981, Žanić established the first of two commissions for the investigation of the apparitions. The first commission was made up of four members of the Ecclesiastical Authority and was active from 1981 to 1984. The diocesan commission formed in 1981 and reconstituted in 1984 made a negative conclusion on the apparitions in 1985 that the supernatural was not established. Second diocesan commission, 1984–1986 In February 1984, Žanić expanded the initial commission to fifteen members. It included nine professors from various theological faculties and two psychiatrists. The second commission examined Fr. Tomislav Vlašić's Chronicles and Vicka's diaries. The Chronicles and diaries were found to be non-credible, with records kept irregularly, entered subsequently, and some parts of Vicka's diaries forged. The commission asked Vlašić to hand over the Chronicle, which Vlašić did, but only with a long delay and after modifying the Chronicle. In May 1986, the Commission declared that it could not establish that the events in Medjugorje were of a supernatural character. == Commission and ruling of the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia ==

With the possible breakup of Yugoslavia, many Croat church leaders saw the new Marian cult in Herzegovina as both an aid to anti-communist efforts and a potential focus for Croat nationalism in both Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The bishops of the Episcopal Conference would both review the work of the previous diocesan commissions and conduct its own inquiry. The Conference instructed that pilgrimages should not be organized to Medjugorje on the supposition of its being supernatural. In its statement, the commission made note that since many pilgrims come to Medjugorje from all over the world, these people need pastoral care and guidance. The Vatican made it clear that the bishops were not allowed to organize pilgrimages but they could join them. == Ratko Perić ==

In 1993 Bishop Žanić retired at the age of 75, and was succeeded as bishop of Mostar-Duvno by his coadjutor, Bishop Ratko Perić. In May 1998, in response to an inquiry from Gilbert Aubry, Bishop of Saint-Denis de La Réunion, the secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Bertone, cited the previous 1991 finding of by the Yugoslav Episcopal Conference, and noted that since the division of Yugoslavia the jurisdiction now laid with the Episcopal Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bertone also stated that Bishop Perić's statement "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". == Petar Palić ==

Petar Palić succeeded Ratko Perić as bishop of Mostar-Duvno in 2020, and had not made his position on Medjugorje public. However, a report from Deutsche Welle stated that Palić holds similar views as his predecessor Perić. == Position and investigations of the Holy See (1996–2017) ==

In response to an inquiry from a French bishop, in March 1996 then Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, stated that official pilgrimages to Medjugorje, if presumed as a place of authentic Marian apparitions, were not permitted to be organized neither on the parish nor on the diocesan level. The following June, in response to reporters' questions, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, spokesman for Holy See Press Office, said that Archbishop Bertone was referring specifically to official pilgrimages. He also said that Catholic parishes and dioceses were not allowed to organize pilgrimages to Medjugorje, as that might have given the impression of a canonical endorsement. Ruini commission A commission on Medjugorje was established in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI and chaired by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, on the alleged Medjugorje apparitions. Other prominent members of the commission included Cardinals Jozef Tomko, Vinko Puljić, Josip Bozanić, Julián Herranz and Angelo Amato, as well as psychologists, theologians, mariologists, and canonists. The commission was established to "collect and examine all the material," and publish a "detailed report" based on its findings. On 18 January 2014, the commission was reported to have completed its work, the results of which it would communicate to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Regarding the pastoral fruits of Medjugorje, the commission voted in two phases. Firstly they focused on the spiritual fruits of Medjugorje but putting aside the behaviors of the seers. They voted six in favor of the positive outcome, seven stating they are mixed with most being positive, and the other three experts stating the fruits are a mix of positive and negative. In the second phase, taking into consideration the behavior of the seers, twelve members stated that they could not express their opinion, and the other two members voted against the supernatural origin of the phenomenon. Once completed, the Ruini Report was received by Pope Francis. Pope Francis also mentioned that the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, which reviewed the Ruini report and other material to which it was privy, expressed doubts about both the phenomenon and the Ruini report. The Pope's decision on the situation was to be made by rendered after Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser had completed his additional examination of the pastoral situation in Medjugorje. On 7 December 2017, Archbishop Henryk Hoser, Pope Francis' envoy to Medjugorje, having completed his assessment, said in an interview that official pilgrimages at Medjugorje are allowed, stating: "dioceses and other institutions can organize official pilgrimages". He also said: "The decree of the former episcopal conference of what used to be Yugoslavia, which, before the Balkan war, advised against pilgrimages in Medjugorje organized by bishops, is no longer relevant". == Official authorization of the Church ==

Official authorization of pilgrimage On 7 December 2017, Archbishop Henryk Hoser, Pope Francis' envoy to Medjugorje, having completed his assessment, said in an interview that official pilgrimages at Medjugorje are allowed, stating: "dioceses and other institutions can organize official pilgrimages". He also said: "The decree of the former episcopal conference of what used to be Yugoslavia, which, before the Balkan war, advised against pilgrimages in Medjugorje organized by bishops, is no longer relevant". Prior to Hoser's review, pilgrimages to Medjugorje organized by official Church groups were discouraged, although people could make them privately or through pilgrimage tour groups. Hoser announced that the previous impediment put in place by the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia had been lifted. The first sanctioned pilgrimage then took place for five days from August 2–6, 2019. During the pilgrimage, approximately 60,000 young Catholics from 97 countries took part in the celebration of the Medjugorje International Youth Festival. Fourteen archbishops and bishops and about 700 Catholic priests attended as well. Official authorization of devotion In September 2024, the final decision of the Catholic Church, the document The Queen of Peace, was made public by the Holy See. In it, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (new name of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) stated that it authorized the devotion linked to the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje, but "without making a declaration on the alleged supernatural character of Marian apparitions". ==See also==