Apparitions of Our Lady in the Monastery of Medjugorje: Part III

Religious conflicts between the Franciscans and the secular clergy

The religious conflict that arose in this widespread climate of war was more serious for Medjugorje. In 1985, René Laurentin foresaw the formal condemnation of the apparitions by the bishop and also by Joseph Ratzinger, who transferred jurisdiction to the Episcopal Conference.

The distinguished Mariologist wondered why the pilgrimage, subjected to an ecclesiastical repression far heavier than the communist repression, could still be kept alive. Bishop Žanić of Mostar said that pilgrimages were forbidden and that in those years the episcopate throughout the world gave wide resonance to this decision. But Archbishop Franić of Split had specified that, if official pilgrimages to the site of an unrecognized apparition were not authorized, private pilgrimages were still open to Christian freedom, since this was not an empty word.

It was the local bishop’s interpretation that gave the pilgrimage a bad name and helped put an end to it in numerous dioceses where the action of the local bishops conformed, as is normal, to the position of the bishop of the place of the apparition. Bishop Žanić, a good-hearted but impulsive and combative man, took one striking action after another against Medjugorje. In October 1984, he published his position against the apparitions and the pilgrimages. His writings were circulated in Yugoslavia and sent to all the episcopal conferences, including in Rome. This had a noticeable effect.

René Laurentin’s book La Vierge apparaît-elle à Medjugorje?, which circulated in 85,000 copies between February and November 1984, lost visibility until the 1990s. But despite all these seemingly official attempts at dissuasion, the pilgrimage continued and grew, because the testimonies of those converted at Medjugorje spread across the five continents.

The priests of the parish of Medjugorje found themselves in a very difficult situation, having to face a double opposition: that of the government and, above all, that of the bishop. They had to meet the liturgical and sacramental needs of a pilgrimage on a scale equivalent to that of Fatima, and all this with only the resources of a small parish, without the means or the authorization to put up the necessary buildings. Moreover, they had to submit to prohibitions that placed them in difficulty.

For example, the apparitions that took place discreetly in a small, already very neglected room next to the sacristy were forbidden, and at that point the apparitions took place discreetly in the rectory. They were banned there too, and so on, several times over. Father Orech, an intelligent man of action, who undertook to erect the minimum of buildings needed for the spiritual welcome of pilgrims and to meet the needs of the pilgrimages, was removed from his post and suspended.

This happened, more or less, to all his predecessors: Tomislav Zlasić and Slavko Barbarić, among others. His suspension was extended even though the General Curia of the Franciscans welcomed and supported his humanitarian work, which aimed to obtain thousands of prostheses to be made available to the victims of the war in Bosnia and Croatia. In 1985, the parish priests, caught in this inextricable case of conscience, wrote a detailed letter presenting the problem to Rome, as a cry of despair.

The letter was sent in seven copies to the main congregations concerned: that for Evangelization, that for Religious, that for the Doctrine of the Faith, and so on, up to the Pope. This letter received no reply, and the priests continued to carry out the work of God in that place, even though they were marginalized.

Since the religious event at Medjugorje was difficult to attack, the bishop made a notable attempt to provoke a revolt on the spot. When he came to the parish in 1987 to administer Confirmation, instead of preaching on the Holy Spirit or on the sacrament, he delivered a long indictment against Medjugorje, against the seers, and against this Virgin who has appeared just about everywhere. He did not obtain the result he expected: that the parishioners would immediately go and protest against the bishop.

For these parishioners, good Croats, respect for the bishop, who represented Christ and the apostles, was even stronger. There was not a word out of place, not even a murmur, despite everything that stirred in their hearts. At that moment the bishop had thought he could draw this conclusion: As you can see, they no longer believe in it. The Franciscan fathers of the parish struggled to convince him otherwise.

The story of this daily war could go on indefinitely, and it is recounted in the series of volumes Dernières Nouvelles by Fr. Laurentin, who took care to document everything and to put everything in its proper place, beyond the controversy. These facts must be remembered because the slogans claiming that Medjugorje is a parish turning against its bishop continue to be spread.

The reality is quite different. The crux of these unpleasant incidents remains the historical problem of relations between the Franciscans and the secular priests. In keeping with the tradition of evangelization, missionaries, the founders of the faith, such as Saint Paul, for example, established a native hierarchy on the spot to ensure the free autonomy of the local Church. A tree is judged by its fruits: conversions, evangelization, spiritual retreats.

For priests and young people at the international level, Medjugorje, which can show fruits in no way inferior to those of World Youth Day, is, together with Lourdes, the place in the world where the most people go to confession, and confessors observe a proportion of deep and lasting confessions and conversions that bears no comparison with anything they have been able to see elsewhere.

Those who regularly go to confession in Medjugorje are convinced of the authenticity of the facts. These fruits have been widely recognized, including by Pope John Paul II and by many bishops of other dioceses. It is for this reason that about a hundred of them, some incognito but a good number also openly, made a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, despite the opposition of their brothers in the episcopate.

They speak of the immense humanitarian work carried out in the region after the war to help widows, orphans, the wounded, and so on. Many are surprised that this positive result is not officially taken into account in resolving the question at the various hierarchical levels.

It is also a cause for surprise that all the seers are married, but marriage is one of the seven Christian sacraments, and these intuitive young people understood, in different ways, that there was no place for them in the priestly and religious hierarchy of the Church.

Ivan decided to become a priest, but was excluded first from the Franciscan novitiate and then from a minor seminary in Dubrovnik, on grounds of intellectual inadequacy, whereas the young man proved to be very intelligent, wise, and also enlightened, first in his work as a farmer and later in the United States of America, during meetings with members of the U.S. Congress.

Jakov, some years earlier, had asked to enter the Franciscan Order: he was told to wait a year, but in November of the following year the bishop ended up summoning the priests of Medjugorje together with the seers, including Jakov, to tell them triumphantly that their Spiritual Director was a hypocrite and had an unacknowledged child in Germany (which was formally denied by that child’s mother). Jakov, who had no means of defending himself, cried his eyes out and never spoke of his vocation again.

Ivanka had been practically engaged to the love of her life since the time of the apparitions. The story of each of the seers is edifying. All of them married after an engagement, remained faithful, and raised good families.

Vicka, a victim soul who over the years concealed great suffering, both spiritual and physical, was the last to marry, at the age of thirty-six. Once healed, she realized that her place was not within a religious order: her free and generous personality would have created many problems. When she met a man who shared the same underlying motivations, she ended up starting a family.

It is quite remarkable that, despite their respective problems (the life of the seers is by no means easy, since it oscillates between opposition and admiration, which is sometimes excessive), despite being so young and exposed to every risk, since in any case they occupied a prominent position as if they were oracles and were an easy target for opponents, these adolescents managed to maintain, each in his or her own way, a faith of disconcerting strength, a balance in life and in the family, and a Christian fullness, together with an authentic witness.

The spiritual dimension of the Medjugorje apparitions and their call to prayer and penance are framed theologically in John Paul II’s encyclical Redemptoris Mater, which underscores Mary’s role as a mother who continually intercedes for humanity before Christ.

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See the complete list of Marian apparitions recognized by the Church.