Medjugorje: A Warning
MICHAEL DAVIES
The Remnant Press
Published by permission of the Author,
May he rest in peace.
WEB MASTER'S NOTE
INTRODUCTION
DOCUMENTATION
1. MEDJUGORJE: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN
2. 1987 COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE YUGOSLAV BISHOPS
CONCERNING THE FACTS OF MEDJUGORJE
3. VISIONS IN ALABAMA
4. MARIJA PAVLOVIC CONTRADICTS HERSELF
5. THE TRUTH ABOUT MEDJUGORJE: PART 1
6. THE TRUTH ABOUT MEDJUGORJE: PART 2
7. THE TRUTH ABOUT MEDJUGORJE: PART 3
8. THE IRISH BISHOPS' CONFERENCE STATEMENT, 1990,
AND THE BISHOPS 'LEAKED RULING' ON THE YUGOSLAV SHRINE
9. ROME STUDIES THE NEW REPORT AND THE
MEDJUGORJE INDUSTRY
10. A NEW BISHOP OF MOSTAR
Note from the Web Master
For some time now this web site has had to remove various links,
including 2 Marian web rings because of the problem of Medjugorje
enthusiasm. Recently a visitor requested information on Medjugorje, the
facts. So we are putting up this little directory as a sub-directory of
Mary's Index. Although written during the last decade, since that time
there has been nothing from the Vatican that would change the
determinations as set forth in Michael Davies' work.
-----------Pauly Fongemie, March 28, 2005
Introduction
Since the Second Vatican Council there has been a grave crisis of
authority within the Catholic Church. The ordinary faithful have not
received the firm and unequivocal teaching and guidance from their
ecclesiastical superiors to which they had become accustomed. Cardinal
Ratzinger has noted the extent to which individual bishops have
abdicated their authority to national episcopal conferences which, only
too often, have been manipulated into propagating the opinions of
so-called theological experts of dubious orthodoxy. Parish priests
frequently abdicated their authority to parish councils, and Rome
itself has sometimes appeared to speak with an uncertain voice. But
certainty is what the faithful seek, and when they do not receive it
from the Magisterium they will seek it elsewhere. Some have sought
certainty in the charismatic movement which, if examined objectively,
renders the Magisterium unnecessary, for what need is there of a
teaching authority when each individual Christian can communicate
directly with the Holy Ghost?
Other Catholics have put their faith in one of the numerous apparitions
which are allegedly taking place in many countries. Once again, if
heavenly guidance can be communicated directly through the sect which
is witnessing the alleged apparitions, then what need is there of a
Magisterium? In the years following the Council a very clear pattern of
behavior has emerged among supporters of these apparitions. It is a
tendency to make belief in the authenticity of a particular apparition
the criterion of orthodoxy. True Catholics believe in the apparitions,
and the faith of those who do not is suspect in some way. Those drawn
towards these apparitions tend to be conservative in outlook, the type
of Catholic who might have been expected to defend the teaching of the
Magisterium. Once such Catholics become "hooked" on an apparition all
their efforts tend to be devoted to defending it and propagating it.
They have thus been removed effectively from the battlefield for
orthodoxy. There can be no doubt that spurious apparitions are one of
Satan's most effective weapons in his war against the Mystical Body.
The problem is, of course, to discern authentic from spurious
apparitions. I certainly do not believe that any of the alleged
apparitions taking place at present with the possible exception of
Akita in Japan, possess a shred of credibility.
I recollect very clearly a decade or so ago that I scandalized some
very devout friends by maintaining that the alleged apparitions at
Palmar de Troya in Spain were inspired by the devil. I was asked how I
could make such a claim in view of the piety manifested there
-----all
night vigils, heroic acts of penance, the Rosary, financial sacrifices
of staggering proportions. I knew one devout and highly educated
English Catholic who sold everything he had and abandoned his
profession to go and live there. Later, when Clemente, the self-styled
seer, proclaimed himself to be Pope and "excommunicated" everyone who
did not recognize him, this friend and others withdrew from Palmar in
horror and admitted that they had been deceived. But the tragedy is
that there are thousands who did not. Their faith had become identified
with the authenticity of the Palmar sect. Satan had amputated them from
the Mystical Body.
How can one reconcile the devotion that I have mentioned with diabolic
inspiration? The answer should be self-evident. If a seer claiming to
be inspired by Heaven denied the doctrine of the Trinity or advocated
free love he would hardly be likely to deceive faithful Catholics.
Satan will obviously seek to introduce error and separate the faithful
from the Church under a veneer of piety.
Medjugorje
Several years ago I was visited by some good friends with a booklet in
Croatian about some apparitions allegedly taking place at Medjugorje in
Yugoslavia. They wished my wife, who is Croatian, to translate it. When
I had been given a resume of the alleged messages I advised my wife not
to waste a second of her time translating them as, in my opinion, they
did not possess a vestige of credibility. I am glad to say that these
friends now share my opinion. Since that time the alleged apparitions
at Medjugorje have attracted more attention and more enthusiasm almost
daily, and millions of Catholics now flock there from throughout the
world. The initial opposition of the then communist government of
Yugoslavia was transformed into an attitude of enthusiastic
co-operation once it became clear that pilgrimages to Medjugorje
provided an extremely lucrative source of foreign currency.
It is obvious that the bishops and clergy of Yugoslavia have every
reason to be predisposed in favor of Medjugorje. If the visions were
authentic they would be a tremendous asset to the Church in a country
with so many atheists and adherents of non-Catholic religions. Not only
would the income from the pilgrimages benefit their poor country, but
it would provide badly needed financial help for the Church. However,
as Bishop Zanic explains later, only one of the Yugoslav bishops
(Archbishop Franic of Split) has expressed belief in the apparitions,
and not one of the hundred diocesan clergy in Hercegovina accepts them
as authentic. Only two members of the 15 man Commission which examined
the events at Medjugorje, accepted the authenticity of the visions (and
they were both Franciscans). The Franciscans themselves are divided on
the matter, but some of the most influential among them support the
position of Bishop Zanic. Those who support the authenticity of the
alleged apparitions have been quite unable to suggest any credible
ulterior motive to explain the rejection of their authenticity by the
clergy of every rank in Yugoslavia outside the Franciscan Order.
My object in this study is simply to show that there is a case against
the authenticity of the Medjugorje apparitions, a viewpoint which has
been kept from most Catholics due to the vast publicity campaign in
favor of authenticity conducted in the mainstream Catholic media (which
derives considerable financial benefits from Medjugorje advertising). It
is not without significance that the Liberal Catholic journals which
have not shown the least interest in the Fatima message are
enthusiastic in their support of Medjugorje. I know that it was the
view of the late Hamish Fraser that
Medjugorje was a means being
utilized by Satan to subvert the message of Fatima. [Emphasis added, here and below.]
Before providing documentation to prove the falsity of the alleged
apparitions I will give just two examples of the degree of credibility
which should be given to the self-styled "seers" of Medjugorje. The
"seers" and their Franciscan manipulators have consistently maintained
that during their "ecstasies" they are immobile and without
communication with the outside world. A French journalist wished to
test this claim, and while one "seer", Vicka, purported to be in
ecstasy, he made a stabbing movement towards her eyes with his fingers.
Vicka gave a start and threw her head backwards. Fortunately, the
entire incident was filmed. The girl left the room and returned a few
minutes later with one of her charismatic mentors, an expelled
Franciscan. She claimed that at the moment the journalist made the
movement she was witnessing an apparition of the Virgin Mary with the
Child Jesus in her arms, and the Child slipped. "I made a movement to
stop Him from falling. That's all."
There could hardly be a more evident case of outright lying. It is
inconceivable that during an apparition of Our Lady with the Child
Jesus, the Child could possibly slip. If, per impossible, this did
happen, it is stretching coincidence beyond the bounds of credibility
to be asked to believe that it happened at the precise moment the
journalist made the movement towards Vicka's eyes, and, finally, if she
had been speaking the truth she would have moved forwards towards the
apparition and not backwards!
The second incident is documented in the 1990 statement by Mgr. Zanic
which is printed in full in Sections 5-7. It concerns a Franciscan
priest, Father Ivica Vego, w
ho was dispensed from his vows and expelled
from the Franciscan Order by a direct command of Pope John Paul II as a
result of his immoral conduct, which involved the seduction of a nun,
Sister Leopolda. When she became pregnant they both left the religious
life and began to live together near Medjugorje where their child was
born. They now have two children. But prior to this he refused to
accept his expulsion and continued to celebrate Mass, administer the Sacraments, and pass the time with his mistress.
Why mention such a
distasteful event? The reason is that the "seers" claimed that Our Lady
appeared to them on thirteen occasions stating that Father Vego was
innocent, that he was as entitled to celebrate Mass as any other
priest, and that the bishop was harsh! Any reader with a true sense of
being a Catholic, a
sensus catholicus,
will need to read no further to
realize the full extent of the mendacity of the self-styled "seers", a
mendacity which cannot be excused simply on the grounds that they have
been manipulated by their Franciscan mentors. What credibility can be
given to those who claim that the Mother of God told them repeatedly
that an immoral priest, expelled from his order on the instructions of
the Holy Father himself, is innocent. and that the Bishop who had taken
the only course open to him, was the guilty party! And how does a
so-called reputable theologian, such as Father Rene Laurentin. who has
made a fortune from books on Medjugorje react when confronted with such
facts? Mgr. Zanic gives us the answer. He begged the Bishop not to
publish details of the incident. Mgr. Zanic tells us that this has been
Laurentin's consistent position, to hide the truth and defend
falsehood. Despite the fact that the truth about Ivica Vego can no
longer be denied, his prayer book is still sold in Medjugorje and
beyond in hundreds of thousands of copies!
One might add, almost as an afterthought, that if Our Lady had truly
appeared at Medjugorje on about 26,000 occasions by the end of 1993, a
claim which in itself defies credibility, she did not bother to warn
the Croatian people of the coming onslaught, which they would have to
undergo from fanatically anti-Catholic Serbia.
Documentation
1. MEDJUGORJE: The Other Side of the Coin, Geoffrey Lawman, p. 7
2. 1987 Communiqué of the Yugoslav Bishops Concerning the Facts of Medjugorje, p. 15
3. Declaration of the Bishop of Mostar Concerning Medjugorje
Medjugorje, 15 July 1987, p. 17
4. An Extract From the Letter of the Bishop of Mostar
to Mariya Davies Thanking Her for Her Translation, p. 21
5. Visions in Alabama, Excerptedfrom "Letter from London",
The Remnant, 31 March 1989, p. 22
6. Marija Pavlovic Contradicts Herself, p. 24
7. The Truth About Medjugorje-----A Statement by Mgr. Zanic
Published in 1990, p. 27
8. Irish Bishops' Conference Statement of 13 June 1990, p. 49
9. "Bishops 'leaked' Ruling on Yugoslav Shrine, p. 49
10. "Rome Studies New Medjugorje Report", p. 51
11. The Medjugorje Industry , p. 51
12. A New Bishop of Mostar , p. 58
13. Further Information , p. 60
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