Medjugorje: A Warning
MICHAEL DAVIES
The Remnant Press

5. THE TRUTH ABOUT MEDJUGORJE: PART 1

A Statement by Mgr. Pavao Zanic, Bishop-----Published in 1990

1. The truth regarding the events in Medjugorje is being sought out by a Commission of the Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia (BKJ). Their work is progressing slowly. Therefore with this statement I wish to help the Commission in coming to a decision as soon as possible. Propaganda in favor of Medjugorje is being rushed in order to place the Church and the world before a fait accompli. This has been the intention of the defenders of Medjugorje from the beginning. It must be admitted that they have succeeded, because the other side is either working too slowly or remaining silent. For these reasons and due to the motivation that I have been given from many from all over the world who realize that the truth has been trampled upon, I have decided to make another statement according to my duty and my conscience, and help the Commission. With this statement I wish to awaken the consciences of those who defend Medjugorje. Their path is simple, wide and downhill all the way, while mine is difficult, thorny and uphill. The Church and Our Lady have no need of falsehoods. Jesus says: "The truth will make you free" (Jn 8:32). "I am the way and the truth and the life" (Jn 14:6). "For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth, hears my voice" (Jn 18:37). For a short description of the falsehoods about Medjugorje we would need 200 pages, but for now all I will give is this short summary without a scientific approach. I am somewhat uneasy because of the fact that in some statements my name is in the forefront, yet from the beginning of the "apparitions" I have been in the center of the events due to my episcopal position and duties. I am sorry as well for having to mention some "unpleasant things," but without them the arguments lose their strength. However, the most unpleasant things will not be mentioned.

2. A characteristic attitude: Marina B., a tourist guide for Atlas Travel, brought a priest from Panama to my office in August 1989. His name: Presbitero Rodriguez Teofilo, pastor of Nuestra Senora de Lourdes. With him came Carmen Capriles-----a journalist, Gerente General of the IATA agency, and Averrida Alberto Navarro, Apartado 1344 Zona 7, Panama. Marina presented herself as a tour-guide, translator for English and a convert of Medjugorje. The priest asked me for the reasons why I do not believe in the "apparitions". I told him that I have at least 20 reasons not to believe, of which only one is necessary for those who are sober and well instructed in the faith to come to the conclusion that the apparitions are not of the-----supernatural. He asked me to please tell him at least one reason. I told him about the case of the ex-Franciscan priest Ivica Vego. Due to his disobedience, by an order of our Holy Father the Pope, he was expelled from the Franciscan religious order OFM by his General, dispensed from his vows, and suspended a divinis. He did not obey this order and he continued to celebrate Mass, administer the Sacraments and pass the time with his mistress. It is unpleasant to write about this, yet it is necessary in order to see of whom Our Lady is speaking. According to the diary of Vicka and the statements of the "seers", Our Lady mentioned 13 times that he is innocent and that the bishop is wrong. When his mistress, Sister Leopolda, a nun, became pregnant, both of them left Medjugorje and the religious life and began to live together near Medjugorje where their child was born. Now they have two children. His prayerbook is still sold in Medjugorje and beyond in hundreds of thousands of copies.

I asked Marina to translate this in English. Marina cannot be blamed for having fallen into a community which is concealing the truth. She spontaneously responded according to the practice in Medjugorje: "Do we have to tell them these ugly things?" I responded by saying that if you had not held back and covered these "ugly events" these people from Panama would have found out earlier and they would not have had to travel to Medjugorje for nothing. It is an injustice and a sin to hide this truth, even though it be unpleasant, it must be said.

3. The Marian theologian Rene Laurentin behaves in the same manner. He came to visit me around Christmas 1983, and I offered him dinner. He asked me why I do not believe in the apparitions. I told him that according to the diary of Vicka, and the words of the other "seers", this "Lady" has been speaking against the bishop. Laurentin quickly responded: "Don't publish that, because there are many pilgrims and converts there." I was scandalized by this statement of this well known Mariologist! Unfortunately this has remained Laurentin's position: to hide the truth, and defend falsehoods. He has written around ten books on the topic of Medjugorje and in almost all of them, the truth and Bishop Zanic are under fire. He knows well what people like to hear. Therefore, it was relatively easy for him to find those who would believe him. "A veritate quidem auditum avertent, ad fabulas autem convertentur"-----"They will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths" (2 Tim 4:4). The "seers" and defenders of Medjugorje led by Laurentin, from the very outset have seen that the modern believer in a communist country very quickly believes in everything "miraculous", in apparent miraculous healings and apparent messages from "Our Lady".

4. The main players on which Medjugorje rests are retired Archbishop F. Franic, R. Laurentin, L. Rupcic OFM, Amorth, Rastrelli S.J., and some Franciscans and charismatics from all over the world. Many books have been quickly published, as well as articles, brochures, films and souvenirs. On the move are tourist agencies, pilgrimages, prayerbooks written by two Franciscans Vego and Prusina who were expelled from the Franciscan Order, published in many languages in 600,000 copies, fanatical prayer groups that are inspired by the apparent messages of Our Lady and the greatest motivator of all-----money. No one even mentions that which throws doubt on the "apparitions". The bishop has been warning everyone, but the "machinery" has been breaking forward. There have been mentioned 50 miraculous healings, then 150, 200, 300 and so on. Laurentin chose 56 dossiers and sent them to the "Bureau Medical de Lourdes". Dr. Mangiapan responded in their Bulletin April 1986, that these dossiers have no practical value, and they cannot be used or considered as serious proofs of the apparitions in Medugorje. Much has been written about the healing of Diane Basile. I sent the dossier to Dr. Mangiapan who studied the case and then took the position: "opinion plus que reservée". It is a case of sclerosis multiplex. More will be written about this later in a book.

5. The credibility of the "seers"-----Mirjana Dragicevic. One month after the beginning of the "apparitions" I went to Medjugorje to question the "seers". I asked each of them to take an oath on the cross and demanded that they must speak the truth. (This conversation and oath was recorded on tape.) The first one was Mirjana: "We went to look for our sheep when at once . . ." (The associate pastor in the parish interrupted and told me that they actually went out to smoke, which they hid from their parents.) "Wait a minute Mirjana, you're under oath. Did you go out to look for your sheep?" She put her hand over her mouth. "Forgive me, we went out to smoke." She then showed me the watch on which the "miracle" occurred because the hands of the watch had gone haywire. I took the watch to a watch expert who said that the watch had certainly fallen and become disordered. After bringing the watch back to her I told her not to mention that a miracle occurred. Yet, on cassettes taped later on, she went on to speak of how a miracle occurred with the watch and that initially they had gone out to search for their sheep.

Later on, she claimed that Our Lady stated that all faiths are equal. To what extent can we believe Mirjana?

6. Vicka Ivankovic is the main "seer" from the beginning, and through her the creator of Medjugorje. Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, OFM, has launched the main portion of falsehoods regarding Medjugorje. He presented himself to the Pope in a letter May 13, 1984 as follows: "I am Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, the one according to Divine Providence who guides the seers of Medjugorje." It would have been better for him that he withdrew himself into the desert and that he remained silent, because his past speaks enough about him. Vicka spoke and wrote much, and in so doing she fell into many contradictions. Prof. Nikola Bulat, a member of the first Commission, questioned her and wrote a 60 page study on her. He numbered all the illogicalities and falsehoods of her diary. Here I will only mention the bloody handkerchief. Word spread around that there was a certain taxi driver who came across a man who was bloody all over. This man gave the taxi driver a bloodied handkerchief and he told him to: "Throw this in the river." The driver went on and then he came across a woman in black. She stopped him and asked him to give her a handkerchief. He gave her his own. but she said: "Not that one but the bloody handkerchief." He gave her the handkerchief she wanted and she then said: "If you had thrown it into the river the end of the world would have occurred now." Vicka Ivankovic wrote in her diary that they asked Our Lady if this event was true and she said that it was, and along with this, "That man covered with blood was my son Jesus, and I (Our Lady) was that woman in black."

What kind of theology is this? From this it appears that Jesus wants to destroy the world if a handkerchief is thrown into a river and it is Our Lady who saves the world!

7. On the 14th of January 1982, Vicka, Marija and little Jakov came to visit me. Vicka began to speak quite nervously because she was speaking falsehoods. She said: "Our Lady sent us to you to tell you that you are too harsh with the Franciscans . . ." In what way? "We don't know!" Two Franciscan chaplains in Mostar, Ivica Vego and Ivan Prusina, whom the bishop sought to remove from Mostar because of disorder and disobedience towards the faithful of the newly established cathedral parish in Mostar, defended themselves before their superiors by saying that they would not leave Mostar because Our Lady, through Vicka, told them not to leave. This was mentioned to me by a member of the Franciscan Provincial council. I asked Vicka at our meeting: "Did Our Lady mention anything about the Mostar chaplains, Vego and Prusina?" "She did not, we don't know them," responded all three. Our conversation lasted 30 minutes and I taped all of it. I brought up the question of the chaplains of Mostar several times and they always responded: "We don't know them." Later on, I found from Vicka's diary that they knew the chaplains very well. It was clear to me that they were lying, yet I did not want to mention this to them in order to maintain their confidence during our conversations.

8. On the 4th of April 1982, Vicka and Jakov came to visit me ". . . sent by Our Lady." The chaplains of Mostar, Vego and Prusina were expelled from the Franciscan Order OFM in January of that year by the superiors of their Order. Many followers and "Our Lady" defended the expelled chaplains. During our conversation Vicka very excitedly began: "The last time we were with you we didn't tell you everything and for this reason Our Lady scolded us. We spoke of many things and therefore we forgot . . ." "What did you forget?" "Our Lady told us to tell you that those chaplains Vego and Prusina are priests and therefore they can celebrate Mass just as other priests." "Wait a minute. Did Our Lady tell you this before our last meeting?" "Yes, that's why she sent us to you. Last time I spoke of many other things and I forgot to mention this." During that previous meeting I asked her directly several times if Our Lady mentioned anything about the two chaplains. It was clear to me that Vicka was lying and this was proof enough for me not to trust her statements. Marija and Jakov also participated in this lie.

9. Towards the end of January 1983, Fr. Grafenauer, a Jesuit priest, came to me with the intention of searching out the phenomenon of Medjugorje. He listened to 20 cassettes and after having listened to them he said that he would not go to Medjugorje because he concluded that Our Lady is not there. Upon my insistence he went to Medjugorje and after a few days he came back as a "convert" of Fr. Vlasic. He brought some documents, threw them on the table and said: "Here's what Our Lady wishes to tell you!" I understood this as a plot to overthrow the bishop with the help of Our Lady. The documents he brought were a compilation of Vicka's diary, the parish chronicle and hand written documents. For this reason it is difficult to establish where they were first written. Vicka and those who defend Medjugorje hid this from the bishop for more than a Year. Here are a few quotes:

Dec. 19, 1981. "Our Lady said that the bishop is to blame for the disorder in Hercegovina. She also said that Fr. Ivica Vego is not to blame, yet that the bishop has all authority. Our Lady said that he (Vego) should remain in Mostar and not leave.

January 3, 1982. All the "seers" together asked Our Lady about Fr. Ivica Vego. Our Lady answered: "Ivica is innocent. If they expel him from the Franciscan Order, may he remain courageous . . . Ivica is innocent." Our Lady repeated this three times.

January 11, 1982. We asked again about the two chaplains of Mostar, and Our Lady repeated twice that which she mentioned earlier regarding them. Note: January 14, 1982 Vicka was at the Chancery office with the bishop and at that meeting she stated that she did not know Vego.

January 20, 1982. The children asked what Fr. Ivica Vego and Fr. Ivan Prusina were to do now that they had been expelled from the Order. Our Lady answered: "They are innocent. The bishop was harsh in his decision. They can stay."

April 15, 1982. Vicka asked Our Lady a question. "Could you generally tell me everything about Ivica Vego and Ivan Prusina?" Our Lady smiled at the first and then she said: "They are innocent." She repeated twice that: "The bishop has made a mistake . . . let them remain in Mostar . . . they can say Mass sometimes but they should be careful to stay away from attention until things calm down. They have no faults . . ."April 16, 1982. Yesterday while we were with Our Lady we asked her if we could pray an Our Father for them (Vego and Prusina). She answered immediately: "Yes you can," and she prayed with us. When we finished the prayer she smiled and said to me: "Those two are constantly on your mind." I answered: "You're right."

April 26, 1982. Our Lady: "The bishop has no real love of God in his heart. Regarding the bishop, may Ivica and Ivan remain calm. What the bishop is doing is contrary to the will of God, yet he can do as he pleases, but one day justice such as you have never seen shall be revealed."

10. Vicka never denied that Our Lady said these things or that she wrote these things down in her diary. The assurance and authenticity of this can be best confirmed by a cassette taped by Fr. Grafenauer during his talks with Vicka and Marija. He left taped copies of the cassette in the parish of Medjugorje, with the bishop and also with the Bishops' Conference in Zagreb. The cassette should be heard!

A conversation with Vicka: "The bishop has the duty to judge whether or not this is Our Lady . . ." said Fr. Grafenauer.

Vicka: He can judge as he wants, but I know it's Our Lady. Graf: The Church says of those who are confident in themselves, that this itself is a sign that Our Lady is not in question here.

Vicka: Let those who are doubtful remain doubtful, I'm not. Graf: This is not a good thing
. . . you once told the bishop that he should pay more attention to Our Lady than to the Pope.

Vicka: Yes I did. Graf: This means that the bishop should listen to you more than to the Pope.

Vicka: No, not me. Graf: But the bishop doesn't know what the phenomenon is and perhaps it is not Our Lady.

Vicka: Yes it is Our Lady. Graf: You told the bishop that he is to blame and that those two (Vego and Prusina) are innocent and that they can perform their priestly duties.

Vicka: Yes I did. Graf: Can they hear confessions? Did Our Lady mention this?

Vicka: Yes. Graf: If Our Lady said this and the Pope says that they cannot . . .

Vicka: The Pope can say what he wants. I'm telling it as it is! Graf: See, this is how one can come to the conclusion that this is not Our Lady . . . when the Pope says no, they cannot celebrate Mass, and they cannot hear confessions, and then on the other hand, Our Lady says they can do both, this cannot be!

Vicka: I know what is right (What Our Lady said). Graf: This cannot be true. I would put my hand into fire to testify that this is not Our Lady speaking. When a person has a greater gift there also exists a greater danger that the devil could be at work upon this person.

What a degrading humiliation of Our Lady! From these statements she is destroying obedience in the Church, obedience to the bishop, to the heads of the OFM Order, and to the Holy Father. She is defending Vego!

6. THE TRUTH ABOUT MEDJUGORJE: PART 2

11. The apparition in Cerno. Cerno is a village not far away from Medjugorje. The eighth day after the beginning of the apparitions in Medjugorje there was an "apparition" near Cerno. The "seers" told Fr. Jozo Zovko, the pastor of Medjugorje at the time, of this happening the evening of the event.

They mentioned that Our Lady said four or five times that she would appear three more days, that is, on July 1, 2, and 3. This was taped on cassette publicized by Fr. Ivo Sivric, OFM. The cassette was reproduced. A few years later Fr. Janko Bubalo published a book titled: A Thousand Meetings with Our Lady. This is a book of conversations with Vicka. Vicka does not mention this event, therefore Fr. Bubalo asked whether or not Our Lady said "only three more days." Vicka responded that she does not remember!

It is evident that Vicka is speaking falsehoods and that Our Lady cannot say that which Vicka is saying. Vicka is fabricating these statements. Should this remain unknown to the rest of the world? Evil (such as speaking falsehoods about Our Lady) must not be done in order to obtain a good (such as pilgrimages, prayers, etc.).

12. "Seer" Marija Pavolovic. Here is a written account of the taped conversation between Fr. Grafenauer and Marija:

Graf: Did Our Lady say that the bishop is to blame? Marija: Yes.

Graf: Did she say that Vego and Prusina were not to blame? Marija: Yes.

Graf: When Our Lady says that the bishop is to blame this immediately appears suspicious and we could conclude that . . . this is not Our Lady speaking. The seers are apparently
. . . spreading word around that the bishop is to blame. Marija: Our Lady told us this.

Graf: This is causing revolt in Hercegovina and these are not good fruits. People will be angry with the bishop and will defame his reputation. How can Our Lady do such things? The Church knows . . . well that Our Lady is good and that she would never do such
. . . things. Marija: Our Lady told us this.

Archbishop F. Franic, Laurentin and many others know all this, yet they remain silent. What kind of theology can accept these statements by Our Lady through the declarations of the "seers" that their Teacher, Pastor and Liturgist-----the bishop, who has legally received his duty from Christ through the Church-----has no love of God in his heart, that he is declared a sinner throughout the world, that he should convert and that prayers will be said in Medjugorje for this intention? There were even statements made that Jesus Himself would pray for the bishop so that the bishop would believe and then take better action in favor of the events in Medjugorje. To say that the bishop is to wait for Our Lady's judgment is an absurdity. It is an offense against Our Lady the Mother of the Church. God knows that I am not without sin, and that Our Lady could criticize me, yet God alone is the judge. I have never been reprimanded or warned by the Holy See for my episcopal service.

13. The creator of Medjugorje, Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, amongst other things has published and distributed in many languages a seventeen page booklet titled: A Calling in the Marian Year, Milano, March 25, 1988. This regards the founding of a prayer group for young men and women (from Medjugorje) who would live together at Parma in Italy, something which has been unheard of in the history of the Church. They would be the ones who would save the world. Our Lady apparently gave Fr. Vlasic and Agnes Heupel (a German woman supposedly healed in Medjugorje) the inspiration to establish and to lead this community together in a manner similar to Saints Francis and Clare, as described by Vlasic. In order for this action to succeed, Fr. Vlasic asked Marija to add "her witnessing" on three pages. She is a member of this community and on April 21, 1988 she wrote: "Sento il bisogno . . ."-----I feel the need . . . As can be concluded, Our Lady has given a set program to this community of the "Queen of Peace" and she leads this community through Fr. Vlasic and Agnes who give messages to the community. "I have been in the community for a month and a half. I have apparitions and Our Lady leads me in the mystery of suffering which is the foundation of this community. I must write down everything and publish this once Our Lady tells me to. I have understood God's plan which he began through Mary in the parish of Medjugorje." This quote is taken from pages 15 and 16 of Fr. T. Vlasic's text. The defenders of Medjugorje quickly understood that this community of young men and women living, sleeping,
working and praying together in the same house would eventually destroy themselves and Medjugorje. Therefore, they sent their Provincial, Fr. Jozo Vasilj to Parma. He went together with the Bishop of Parma, Msgr. B. Cochi and Fr. T. Vlasic to the Congregation in Rome. They were told there that the Church cannot allow such a community to exist and then Fr. T. Vlasic was ordered to dissolve the community and to return to Hercegovina. Vlasic did not obey immediately, yet he returned later. This is what was explained to me by Fr. Jozo Vasilj regarding the community.

14. The same Marija Pavolovic made another public declaration on 11th of July 1988. On a single sheet of paper distributed in the same manner as the statement of 21 April 1988 (referred to in paragraph 13). In this statement she retracted her claim that Our Lady has given her approval to the Vlasic/Heupel community in Parma. She explained that Fr. Vlasic had pressurized her into making this statement which did not correspond to the truth. (The full text of this statement is provided in Section 4.)

15. Marija does not deny that she made her first statement. Fr. T. Vlasic sought statements from her many times and this obviously turns out to be manipulating one of the "seers". So we can conclude that Marija has consciously spoken falsehoods on the first or second occasion. She has lied and this she attributes to Our Lady. It is evident that she (Marija) is a toy in Fr. Vlasic's hands. This was clear to me even earlier, yet up till now I didn't have material proof to back this up. Fr. T. Vlasic has manipulated all the "seers" in the same fashion. Under this type of manipulation Marija saw how Our Lady cried when someone mentioned the bishop at a prayer meeting: "From Our Lady's eye flowed forth a great tear. The tear ran down her face and disappeared into a cloud under her feet. Our Lady began to cry and she ascended to Heaven crying" (Aug. 22, 1984). An obvious fabrication by Fr. T. Vlasic intended to frighten the bishop.

Why don't the defenders of Medjugorje mention these two statements of Marija? Must these "ugly" things be hidden from the world because there are many "conversions" in Medjugorje? Laurentin writes in his book Dernieres Nouvelles 3, on page 27, that a certain monsignor asked Marija to pray for a message from Our Lady for his priest. Marija answered: "Our Lady said that they should read Laurentin's book and spread it around!"

It is a terrible sin to attribute one's own lies to Our Lady. When the world learns of this, who will believe them anymore? They have been discredited. No one can destroy this material evidence. It will be reproduced and spread by word of mouth. I know well that there are many who disregard such material. They accept the events of Medjugorje irrationally, with great emotion and with personal interests. They are blind, but these
documents will remain a part of the history of the Church and of Mariology.

16. The "seer" Ivan Dragicevic. Regarding the "great sign", Vicka mentions this 13 times in the diaries, it is mentioned 14 times in the Parish chronicle, 52 times on the cassettes, and on numerous occasions in talks with the bishop. In the spring of 1982, I asked the "seers" to write everything they knew about the sign without making the "secret" public. The way I suggested they do it was to write down information on paper in duplicate. Then this would be sealed in an envelope and a copy would remain with them, and one with the bishop.

 When the "sign" occurs, then we would open the envelopes and see whether or not the "sign" was predicted. Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, pastor of Medjugorje at the time, told the "seers" to say that Our Lady said not to write anything down for anybody, and so they didn't. Ivan Dragicevic was in the Franciscan minor seminary at Visoko, Bosnia at that time and he wasn't informed of this on time. Two members of the first Commission, Dr. M. Zovkic and Dr. Z. Puljic (now bishop of Dubrovnik), went to visit Ivan in Visoko. They gave him a sheet of paper which was somewhat greenish in colour with questions typed out on it. Ivan wrote down the content of the "sign", dated the document and signed it in their presence without a word or any sign of fear. A few years later, Laurentin wrote that Ivan told him personally that he wrote absolutely nothing down on that sheet of paper and that he tricked the two members of the Commission. On March 7, 1985, three members of the Commission went to ask Ivan if what Laurentin writes is true. Ivan said it was true and that they could freely go ahead and open the envelope in the Chancery office because in it they will only find a white sheet of paper. They came back to Mostar where the Commission was having a meeting and before all the members, they opened the envelope. In the envelope on a greenish sheet of paper they found written the content of the sign: Our Lady said that she would leave a sign. The content of this sign I reveal to your trust. The sign is that there will be a great shrine in Medjugorje in honor of my apparitions, a shrine to my image. When will this occur? The sign will occur in June."

Dated: May 9, 1982. Seer: Ivan Dragicevic

After having heard this lie, the members of the first Commission wanted to end all further work, yet they stayed on. Within a few days of this event Fr. Slavko Barbaric, OFM, took the "seers" somewhere and instructed them all, including Ivan, to write a declaration that Ivan did not disclose the sign!

Ivan sent messages from Our Lady to the bishop. On April 24, 1984 Our Lady said the following regarding the bishop:

"My Son Jesus is praying for him so that he (the bishop) would believe and therefore take better action in favor of Medjugorje." She added: "How would he react if my Son were to appear on earth? Would he then believe?"

Regarding the Commission, Our Lady says only the following: "Pray, pray, pray! Think over and live the messages I have given and you will see why I have come."

Ivan Dragicevic, Medjugorje

17. "Tell the bishop that I seek a quick conversion from him towards the happenings in Medjugorje before it is too late. May he accept these events with plenty of love, understanding and great responsibility. I want him to avoid creating conflicts between priests and to stop publicizing their negative behavior. The Holy Father has given all bishops the duty to fulfill certain tasks in their respective dioceses. Among these, the parishes in Hercegovina. For this reason I seek his conversion towards these events. I am sending my second-last warning. If what I seek does not come about, my judgment and the judgment of my Son await the bishop. This means that he has not found the way to my Son Jesus." Our Lady told me to give you this message.

With greetings, Bijakovic, June 21, 1983

Fr. Tomislav Vlasic brought this document to me, which he more than likely wrote himself in a moment of exaltation.

18. Ivan kept his own diary of the apparitions for a couple of years. This has not been made public as Vicka's has not, nor the writings of the others. These are original fonts of the events, yet they are full of naive statements, clear falsehoods and absurdities. They are good proof of the fact that the "seers" do not see Our Lady or receive messages from her. These messages were written by someone else and they were given to Ivan for him to sign as his own. When Fr. Grafenauer brought excerpts from Vicka's diary to me, I later on asked Vicka to bring her diary to me. She wrote to me on May 7, 1983: "I have found out that excerpts from my diary are being distributed . . ." This was a very important point which the Commission accepted as good argument that the diary was written by Vicka herself or that she considered it her own. Later on, Fr. T. Vlasic also came to this conclusion, and therefore in 1984, he declared before the Commission and myself, that Vicka did not write that letter to me but rather, that a Franciscan did (probably Vlasic himself) and that he gave it to her to sign! There are many similar examples of manipulation, but none have such clear cut evidence as this.

19. Secrets and secrecy. From the beginning of the "apparitions", in order to evade the detection of discrepancies in their accounts, the "seers" have obviously been instructed to claim that "Our Lady" speaks differently to each of them. When the "secrets" were fabricated, each was to have his/her own (60 in total) and no one was to reveal them to anyone. Mirjana and Ivanka received a letter from Our Lady which nobody was to read. In the beginning there were no moments of ecstasy nor avoiding the community. They admitted that they were consulted, they asked "Our Lady" if they could write down the content of the" great sign" on paper and seal it in an envelope. "Our Lady" responded: "NO!" Ivan though, wrote down the sign and later on he said (which has been taped as well) that "Our Lady" did not scold him for doing this. The secrets were to be given to a priest (a Franciscan). Why were they not given to the Commission, the bishop, or to the Pope? In the first months they often said that the" great sign" would come: very soon, quickly, and so on . . . When the first year ended, they changed their tone. Vicka wrote "Our Lady's life," for a year and a half, and this is a great secret which shall be published "when Our Lady permits." The Commission asked for this diary about Our Lady, yet "Our Lady" did not comply with their demand. Can the Commission just see the diary without taking it or opening it? No, it cannot! This turns out to be a plot to make fools out of all those who are naive enough to wait for this sign until the end of the world. I have already declared earlier, and now I repeat the same declaration, that if Our Lady leaves a sign which the "seers" are speaking of, I'll make a pilgrimage from Mostar to Medjugorje (30 km) on my knees and beg the Franciscans and the "seers" for forgiveness.

20. Slander against the bishop. "The bishop also believed in the beginning." This is not true! While the communists were persecuting the Franciscans, the "seers" and pilgrims, I defended all of them and therefore I did not change my mind "because of threats by the Republic commission or because the diocesan priests sought this from me." This is simply fabricated slander by many. While I was publicly defending the imprisoned Franciscans, Fr. Jozo Zovko said during the investigations that the bishop is a "wolf" and a "hypocrite". These are the exact words written down in his sentence. Zovko's lawyer, N.N. asked through a colleague what I had done to Zovko to deserve such heavy accusations. Fr. T. Vlasic often put "Our Lady's" words into the mouths of the "seers", such as "Our Lady's" affirmation that Satan (in this case the bishop) is out to destroy her plan. He wrote this more clearly in a letter to friends in the Vatican. I complained about this accusation-----that he had called the bishop Satan, in front of Vlasic and his Provincial. He did not deny my objection but rather, he justified his words by saying that he wrote this while under the influence of extreme emotion. A person can say something while under emotion, but this cannot be written down and translated into foreign languages.

7. THE TRUTH ABOUT MEDJUGORJE: PART 3

21. By their fruits. The most common argument of the defenders of Medjugorje is that the fruits of the events in Medjugorje prove that Our Lady is appearing there. Those who know a little more than the pilgrims who come to Medjugorje say: The fruits of the staunchest defenders of Medjugorje show that they themselves do not believe in the apparitions. If all the "ugly things" could be made public then surely the answer would be clearly negative to everyone. Yet, Laurentin, Rupcic, Valsic, Barbaric and others meticulously hide the truth. If the defenders of Medjugorje come across someone who is skeptical of the apparitions, they quickly isolate this person, accuse him of something or declare him mad (J. L. Martin). The majority of the pious public has naively fallen victim to the great propaganda, the talk of the apparitions and of healings. These people themselves have become the greatest propaganda for the events. They do not even stop to think that the truth has been hidden by deliberate falsehoods. They are unaware that not even one miraculous healing has occurred that could have been verified by competent experts and institutions such as the "Bureau Medical de Lourdes". No one knows of any healed from Hercegovina. Everyone knows that little Daniel, old Jozo Vasilj, Venka Brajcic and others cited in the first books about  Medjugorje were not healed.

22. Promises of healings are characteristic of the events. When they don't occur as promised, then they are denied because they were never taped or written down on paper. There have been many promises that have ended tragically. What interests us is whether or not "Our Lady" is giving these promises, or whether or not they are thought up by the "seers". The tragic end of Marko Blazevic as described by the retired archbishop of Belgrade, Msgr. Turk, says much regarding "promises" of healing. The archbishop writes May 22, 1984, that he was received as a patient of the Cardiology clinic at the Belgrade hospital. The archbishop was given the bed that was previously occupied by Marko Blazevic of Buna, near Mostar, who was to go in for an operation. Mr. Blazevic told the archbishop and many other patients, doctors and hospital staff that Our Lady had promised, through the "seers", that the operation would succeed. A nun who assisted in the operation room, wrote to me later that Blazevic's wife and his daughter spoke to her with a fanatical type of faith in "Our Lady's promise." A certain doctor was also convinced in this promise. The patient did not wake up after the operation. During the operation, a group of patients prayed fervently outside the doors of the operating room. Many spoke of this incident which left many very disappointed and ashamed before people of other faiths and atheists. Fr. T. Vlasic, in his typical fashion of hiding the truth, succeeded in convincing the daughter of the late Mr. Blazevic to go to the bishop to tell him that Our Lady only told them to pray, not that she promised them that the operation would succeed. I told her not to make a liar out of her late father or liars of the others to whom he spoke.

23. The Franciscan and diocesan clergy. The relations between the Franciscan and diocesan clergy regarding pastoral duties in the parishes of Hercegovina were established by a Decision of the Holy See in 1899 by the suggestions of the Franciscans themselves and then Bishop Paskal Buconjic, OFM. According to this Decision the parishes were to be divided equally into two groups of 50% of the faithful between the clergy. Since there were no diocesan clergy at the time, the parishes that rightfully belonged to them were, in 1923, left to the Franciscans ad nutum S. Sedes. Bishop Cule, the first diocesan bishop of Mostar, in 1948 was sentenced to 11 years and 6 months in jail. He served eight and a half years of this sentence before being released. After his jail term the number of diocesan clergy began to rise. In 1968, the Holy See ordered the Franciscans to hand over five parishes to the diocesan clergy. They barely gave two parishes. In 1975 after many years of talks and consultations a Decree of the Holy See was issued regarding the division of parishes in Hercegovina. The Franciscans publicly and collectively denounced this Decree even though they administer to over 80% of the faithful in the diocese of Mostar. In 1976, due to disobedience, the hierarchy of the Franciscan Province along with then Provincial Silic, lost their authority and since then, the Province has been without its independence, and the General of the Order rules directly over the Province ad instar. Another penalty was that in 1979, the Franciscans from Hercegovina were not allowed to participate in the election of the General. The first point mentioned by the new General of the Order to his brothers in Hercegovina was: "the development or creation of obedience to, and cooperation with the bishop in Hercegovina." Disobedience prevails today as before, and "Our Lady" from the beginning has been defending disobedient Franciscans. Vicka writes in her diary of the apparitions, that Our Lady said that the bishop is to blame for all the disorder in Hercegovina (see no. 9). This is repeated many times. The Franciscans themselves are divided. The Franciscan opposition that defends Medjugorje succeeded in toppling their own ad instar superiors who had developed good relations with the bishop, and they installed a group that defends Medjugorje. The new Provincial ad instar, Fr. Jozo Vasilj, did not succeed in creating peace and order amongst his brothers so he escaped to the missions in Zaire and won't come back! (Fruits?) He has been replaced by the Vice Provincial and the General has called for obedience from all or else the Province shall be abolished. "It is time that everyone take their own personal responsibility before judicial sanctions are made or the Province is abolished" (Acta Ordinis F. M. fasc. 1/89). The Province will not receive its own hierarchy until the Decree is completed. Three visitors of the OFM Order who came to the Province in 1988, said that there is not one Franciscan in the Province who is in favor of completing the Decree. This opinion is exaggerated yet still important.

24. This is only a portion of the "good fruits" of the events. The pilgrims, though, only know that the bishop "hates the Franciscans." There are a good number of Franciscans in the Province who cooperate well with the bishop and these Franciscans do not believe in the apparitions either. Some of them have never set foot in Medjugorje.

A number of good Franciscans have begged me to write something so that, together, we could start a battle against the lies of Medjugorje, because they believe that "God will punish us Franciscans severely because we have spread lies and falsehoods throughout the world and made money from them."

Of the one hundred diocesan priests in the dioceses of Hercegovina, not one believes in the apparitions. Of the 42 bishops of Yugoslavia (ordinaries, auxiliaries and retired), only one has been outspoken in declaring his belief and has defended the events. Of the 15 members of the first Commission, which was formed by the Bishop of Mostar with the help of the bishops and provincials from Yugoslavia, 11 of the members said that there is nothing supernatural in the events of Medjugorje, 2 (Franciscans) claimed that the apparitions are authentic, 1 member said that there was something in nucleo (in the beginning) and 1 abstained. Contrary to what has been spread by the defenders of Medjugorje, the Holy See has never asked for, seen, or passed a judgment on the three year work of the Commission. Neither did the Holy See abandon the bishop.

25. From the beginning of the events I warned the Franciscans that they must wait for the judgment of the Church, so that together we can search for the truth. The leaders of the events though, had as their aim to bring the masses as soon as possible to Medjugorje, obtain a lot of money for propaganda and use Our Lady for their battle against the bishop. They fabricated miracles regarding the sun. Many pilgrims damaged their eyes from staring into the sun. They cited 50, 150, 200 and 300 healings and they spoke of all sorts of things seeing that the faithful believed everything they said, especially when Archbishop F. Franic and Laurentin were there to back them up. The faithful in Medjugorje look upon the events as they are instructed, as is the case in all other places of apparitions be they true or false. The marveling and excitement here has been regarded at times as leading to great blindness and fanaticism.

26. The Italians know well the "story" of Gigliole Ebe Giorgini, the foundress of the false order of "Pia Opera di Gesu Misericordioso." Separated and remarried civilly, she spent time doing quackery. She gathered young women for her order and she received and earned great amounts of money. She had two priests in her service and many houses. She led a double life and had false stigmata which she made herself. Her "sisters" followed her fanatically and they called her Mamma Ebe. She had male vocations as well. but some who left her later on declared that she led an immoral life. She had many jewels and gold, two yachts, 32 furs, etc. Many in the Church objected to her way of life, while others fanatically defended her, citing good fruits. She even received praise from two bishops. Twice during the night police raided her room in the mother house and they found her in bed with one of her seminarians. A scandal broke out and she was sentenced twice to many years in prison along with a Franciscan who was her confessor. The press wrote for years about this scandal. An illicit film was made as well, yet her followers fanatically and blindly defended her even when the order fell apart. According to them, she was a Saint who attracted many vocations and this was argument enough for many that from the "fruits" she was obviously inspired by God! Religious blindness is extremely hard to cure. Fanaticism brought the beginning of the heresies in the Church, today it is the foundation of sects.

The Protestant pastor Fr. Jim Jones developed a great charitable organization in southern Chicago and he gathered great sums of money and many fanatical followers of his sect. In order to be freer in their work, about 1000 of them went to Guyana. South America where they established "Jonestown" as their new home. They established a dictatorship and fanatical obedience to their "Messiah". Much was written about terrible things that went on. about the immorality of Jones and how some tried to escape the community but were caught and killed. Then they were without money. Rumors spread that the American army would intervene, so Jones ordered them to retreat to the jungle. Seeing no way out, he called on everyone to give up their lives in order to travel to eternity. Over 900 of them came with cups to a huge pot in order to drink poison and then fall dead. What gave them the strength to commit suicide? Fanaticism! Yet when the Christian faithful hear of apparitions and miracles they easily accept these events as facts without being at all critical of the events. They are then caught up in their blindness and fanaticism. Whatever is spoken is believed automatically, such as, that ordinary rosaries in Medjugorje turn to gold! And people actually believe this!

27. This blindness towards the events in Medjugorje has also caught some priests and bishops. Many priests from Italy, (such as Amorth, Restrelli and others), easily could have heard that the bishop, the Commission, the bishops of Yugoslavia, a portion of the Franciscans and all the diocesan priests do not believe in the events. Yet, they avoided the truth, even though I received everyone who inquired about the events and gave them my time. I'm particularly surprised at the lack of collegiality by some bishops. Nobody has to accept my judgment, but everyone is obligated by conscience to study well the events of Medjugorje before taking a position, especially if that person has a position of authority in the Church, as bishops do.

What have they done to you Our Lady! For nine years they have been dragging you along as a tourist attraction. They have been speaking with you whenever it pleased them, as if you were a bank teller. They have fabricated messages, and they say that you come and appear there, but beyond their own arguments they have nothing to prove that what they say is true. The whole world is in expectation of a "great sign" and the naive still wait and believe. Unfortunately this false sensation will bring great disgrace and scandal upon the Church. Those who lead the events are not converting even though the threat of the abolition of the Province by the General hangs over them.

This is only a small compilation of that which I would like to write about. I hope that I will have the opportunity to expand further, with precise documentation and publish a book on these events.

28. There are many prayers and pious activities in Medjugorje. Some say that there have been conversions as well. I have received indeed many truly touching letters, and I feel sorry for those who will sooner or later be disappointed. But there has also been fanaticism, superstition and misinformation in the events of Medjugorje. I have also received many rude accusations in the mail which I cannot mention, all in the name of the "Queen of Peace". That which is positive in these events cannot justify the falsehoods and lies that have been spread in order to win the world over for God. Jesus said: "I have come into the world to give witness to the truth" (Jn 18:37). The Church would easily be able to attract the masses if it dropped the sixth commandment, if divorce were allowed, if it let everyone believe and do what they wanted. But, Jesus died on the Cross for the truth, and the Martyrs gave up their lives for the truth. St. Paul writes to his faithful: "If anyone preaches to you a gospel besides that which you have received, let him be anathema" (Gal. 1:9). Today, many prayer groups all over the world pray from Fr. Ivica Vego's prayerbook and meditate over the supposed messages of Our Lady as if these things were more important than the Bible and the teaching Magisterium of the Church. I do believe despite these events, that Our Lady shall beg the necessary graces for the Church in order for it to live Christ's truth.

I know that there will probably be many sincerely pious souls that will misunderstand me and consider me an enemy of Our Lady. I have been to Lourdes many times and to other shrines of apparitions that the Church has recognized. What I am doing is defending the truth, defending the Church, and I pray to God that I be able to give up my life for this.
 
29. Those who have written about Medjugorje have sold their books well and have made great profits. Unfortunately, those who have written critically, haven't fared as well because they have come across an organized boycott. For the other side of the story, people should read:

Sivric, Dr. Ivo, OFM. (A Franciscan born in Medjugorje and now living in St. Louis, MO, USA), La Face Cachée de Medjugorje, tome I, 1988, p. 400 (edizione françese), Editions Psilog, C. p. 300, Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec, Canada JOC IMO. Tel. (514)568-3036.
Idem, The Hidden Side of Medjugorje, Vol. I, 1989. Ed. Psilog, Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec (English version).

Gramaglia, P.A. L'Equivoco di Medjugorje: Apparizioni Mariane o Fenomeni di Medianita? Claudiana, Toronto, Canada, 1987,pp. 172.
Jones, E.M., Medjugorje: The Untold Story, Southbend, IN, 1994, pp. 144.

Pavao Zanic
 Bishop of Mostar


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