Medjugorje: Holy See will need to OK alleged future messages

The Holy See authorized the devotion linked to the Medjugorje shrine in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but any future “messages” from alleged Marian apparitions will have to be approved before publication, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, said in a press conference on September 19, 2024. Observers see this decision as a way of supervising the site, which has been the subject of controversy in the last 40 years.

Since the first alleged apparitions to six children in 1981, the shrine of Medjugorje, whose fame has spread throughout the world, has given rise to contradictory opinions from the Catholic hierarchy. In addition to warnings from various local bishops -- the shrine is within the Diocese of Mostar -- a commission of inquiry launched under Benedict XVI’s pontificate expressed reservations about the authenticity of the phenomenon and the personal lives of the “visionaries.”

While the Catholic Church officially authorized pilgrimages in 2019, Pope Francis has repeatedly criticized the idea of a Virgin Mary who seems like a “mail carrier.” Some of the alleged visionaries from Medjugorje say they continue to receive apparitions from the Mother of Jesus, some on a daily basis.

Rome today gave the devotion of the “Queen of Peace” a green light, deeming the overall Medjugorje message to be "positive and edifying," without saying that they are words spoken by the Virgin.

However, the DDF also highlighted that vigilance is still required. The Vatican did not comment on the supernatural nature of the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary.

From the beginning, it says, "the reader should be aware that whenever this Note refers to 'messages' from Our Lady, it always intends this to mean 'alleged messages.'"

The Vatican also pointed out reservations about certain particular messages, urging caution in their interpretation.

“The nihil obstat does not resolve, nor close, everything for the future,” said Cardinal Fernández in the press conference presenting the dicastery's note. He, for example, underlined that Rome would intervene "if there was a scandal, a public fact that could confuse the faithful.”

The Prefect in fact explained that the texts from the past that have yet to be published, and any future ones, will need to be “evaluated” and receive the authorization of the “apostolic visitor” appointed by the Pope in 2018 - currently Archbishop Aldo Cavalli - before any publication.

“Until they are analyzed, the faithful are advised against considering them as edifying texts. [...] There could be errors in the new messages,” he continued.

Responding to questions by journalists, Cardinal Fernández said the DDF did not contact the alleged visionaries when preparing their note. He said that he had sent them a “short letter” with “a few suggestions,” that was supposed to be read to them by the Apostolic Visitor and remain “confidential.”  

The Prefect also declared that relations with the visionaries are “not forbidden” but also are not “advised.” He explained this caution is justified also to ensure the psychological balance of these people, who have sometimes been swarmed by pilgrims wishing to approach them. 

Cardinal Fernández noted that much criticism had been leveled at the alleged visionaries, who were accused of lying, or of having enriched themselves with this affair. But even if the supposed apparitions were of divine origin, this would not give a guarantee of the visionaries’ “holiness,” he emphasized. “They could and can sin seriously. [...]  All of this will not make it so that the good things of Medjugorje become bad or demonic, and the Queen of Peace will continue to do good. [...] [The visionaries] are weak and tempted by sin like everyone else.”

The six Medjugorje alleged visionaries “were also somewhat left alone in a situation that was beyond them,” Cardinal Fernández acknowledged. He referred to the problematic figure of their first spiritual director, former Croatian Franciscan Tomislav Vlasic, excommunicated in 2020 for spreading dubious doctrine and disobedience to Rome.

The young visionaries, whom he may have influenced, have not benefited from “true accompaniment,” the prefect of the DDF commented, urging however to not demonize the overall Medjugorje phenomenon because of these issues.

Cardinal Fernández also agreed that Medjugorje did not pose “doctrinal problems” like other places of alleged apparitions, but that there is always the risk of “being too fanatical about the message.”

“Even if Our Lady gives you a message, that doesn't mean you're a puppet [...], you retain your capacity to discern, your responsibility,” he added.

The Argentine Cardinal, who once visited the shrine and said he felt it was a place of “prayer, of peace, and of desire to change one’s life,” also ruled out the possibility of Pope Francis recognizing the possible supernatural nature of the phenomenon.

According to the new norms for investigating supernatural phenomena, only the pontiff can decide to pronounce himself on the matter. “The pope told me explicitly, [...] ‘no not at all" and that he "considered absolutely sufficient the ‘nihil obstat,’” the Prefect explained.

Cardinal Fernández also made it clear that recognition of the devotion at Medjugorje did not legitimize the “rebel Franciscans” living there, a community that had been involved in a power struggle with the diocese since the 1970s.