Although the headline says "The Vatican" [said this,] that's not quite the case.
...one of the most respected voices in the Roman Catholic church has accused the visionaries of perpetuating a 'diabolical deceit'.
Andrea Gemma, 77, a bishop and once the Vatican's top exorcist, told a magazine in Italy: 'In Medjugorje everything happens in function of money: Pilgrimages, lodging houses, sale of trinkets..
'This whole sham is the work of the Devil. It is a scandal.' He said the Vatican would soon crack down on the group.
The Medjugorje phenomenon began on June 25, 1981, when six children told a priest they had seen the Virgin on a hillside near their town.
A church investigation dismissed the vision, and the Vatican banned pilgrimages to the site in 1985. But many Catholics ignored the ban.
Today, the seers own smart houses with security gates and tennis courts and expensive cars. One is married to a former U.S. beauty queen.
Catholic officials in the U.S. have recently banned the group from speaking on church property during their world tours, on which they allegedly take the Virgin with them.
This is not exactly news--but it's worth repeating. The 'money' situation is largely the work of the Franciscans who happen to occupy the site; the Diocesan Bishop long ago determined that there was no "there" there.
What IS 'news' is the explicit language about "demonic."
But that doesn't seem to hold much water for some people, including a priest from West Bend, WI.
HT: HatLady
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6 comments:
Dad...
What are your thoughts about Medjugorie and the what is happening there? I have a number of friends who have gone there and are convinced in the authenticity of the seers and the apparitions. As a Catholic with no opinion one way or the other, I'd be interested in what you think.
It matters not what I think.
The authority is the local Bishop, and HE said it was all poppycock about 15 years ago (!!)--and that was affirmed by a couple of other regional Bishops, as well.
I've read a good amount on Medju., and agree with the Bishop.
If that Bishop is wrong, this will be the first Marian apparition where the 'seers' engaged in serious (and serial) immoral activities post-vision.
Think about that for a moment.
This is just a phony story.
The decision is still to be made by the bishop's conference there under the current investigation and the Vatican will not be involved in their decision.
There is no such thing as the Vatican's top exorcist and in this case he was the Bishop of Bishop of Isernia-Venafro, Italy and as far as I can tell never even worked in the Vatican.
That being said I totally agree with this Bishop in what he said. Medjugorie does not fit any patters of previous apparitions and if filled with disobedience by the seers and at times messages that conflicted with Church teaching. I will be glad when their bishop's conference once again condemns this.
People so often confuse spriitual conversion among people as being the direct result of some seer or seers when the fact is that even apparitions condemned by the Church have good fruit born of them in some peoples spiritual awakening.
Thanks for responding to my inquiry. Jeff also had some very intriguing comments. Having no idea there was any controversy at all about the apparitions and the seers, this post really grabbed my attention. The only people I've ever talked to about this are people I know who went to Medjugorie and came back with only positive things to say. But as Jeff said, even apparitions condemned by the Church can have good fruit born of them. Can either of you suggest some sites to go to where the concerns are discussed in greater length?
Thanks again.
Here's someplace to start:
http://www.culturewars.com/CultureWars/Archives/cw_feb98/surmanci.html
You can reach Jones, who has published a book on the topic, too.
This is one of the best posts and discussions I have ever seen on this blog.
Catholics will talk about the attack on the church by those such as Dan Brown, but it doesn't help when you have priests all over the world and in our own Archdiocese (e.g. Michael Lightner) stating that these apparitions are real. It's a scandal to the faith that makes Catholics seem anti-intellectual.
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