Cardinal Pulic in Rome and speaks of Medjugorje.

[bluecross]

Zenit quote Cardinal Puljic on Medjugorje

http://www.zenit.org/article-20415?l=italian

[OnASpiritualJourney2]

Here's the translation per Google translator:

L CARDINAL OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Medjugorje apparitions
Post No. 2674 issued November 20, 2009 by diglilaverita
Picture diglilaverita

Contrary to rumors some time ago, Cardinal Vinko Puljic, Archbishop of Sarajevo and Bosnian President of the Episcopal Conference, there is in Rome these days to discuss the controversial issue of the Marian apparitions of Medjugorje.Lo told ZENIT the same Cardinal , who participated in recent days to the plenary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which is a member, convened at the Urban University to reflect on "St. Paul and the new Areopagus." "What is happening in Medjugorje - said Cardinal Puljic - is the responsibility of the Bishop of Mostar, Monsignor Ratko Peric, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. We look forward suggestions and proposals on how to accompany this phenomenon as Bishops and the Episcopal Conference, and I think that the Holy See wants to work in this area. " "Already in the Declaration on Medjugorje since the Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia, dating from the 10th of April 1991, after having observed that you could not see anything supernatural in what was happening, it was stated the need to assist at the pastoral level, under the responsibility of the parish priest and the local bishop, all who come to pray in this place. " "I expect that the Holy See will give indications on confessions and the Eucharistic Celebration - added -. And maybe even setting up a committee to follow the phenomenon and record the contents of the apparitions and messages, given that today are more than thirty . In the book published by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State to Benedict XVI and former U.S. Secretary of this Congregation, "The Last Seer of Fatima" (Ed. Rai-Rizzoli, 2007, pp. 103-104), states that " declarations of the Bishop of Mostar reflect personal opinion, not a final and official Church. Everything has returned to Zadar Declaration of Bishops of the former Yugoslavia of 10 April 1991, leaving the door open to future investigations. Verification must therefore move forward. Meanwhile, private pilgrimages are allowed with a pastoral accompaniment of the faithful. Finally, all Catholic pilgrims may go to Medjugorje, a place of Marian devotion, where you can speak with all forms of devotion. " It 'a reality that the phenomenon of Medjugorje continues to attract thousands of pilgrims, recognizes the Cardinal Puljic. "Praying is not a sin - the cardinal said with a smile -. There are many good looks that have generated even conversions and vocations to the priesthood or religious. They are fruit of prayer where men pray with faith, God gives the fruits of his Grace "." Praying in Marian shrines - explained the Cardinal Puljić - is part of the identity of our Catholic faithful. In the course of events issues of history, our people have been found in various sanctuaries in the region to seek comfort, light, Madonna is a hope and a sign for our faith. "

The wounds of war

Even today, 12 years after the Balkan conflict, the Catholic Church is facing many difficulties, starting with the dispersion of his faithful. "Before the war - told - in the Diocese of Banja Luka were more than 120 thousand Catholics, today fell to 35-40 thousand, the Diocese of Sarajevo before the war there were 528 thousand Catholics today are more than 213 thousand" . Even the return of refugees in some areas remain problematic: "after the Dayton Bosnia has been split into two entities: Republika Srpska and the Federation. While in the latter living together Bosnian Muslims and Catholic Croats, living in the Republika Srpska almost exclusively Orthodox Serbs. In this area - where they remained up to 15 thousand Catholics - should fall around 220 thousand, but are hampered by lack of permission by the Serbian and the difficulty to find work and rebuild homes destroyed . Among those who managed to return, many are elderly and need help to survive. " The biggest problem is the recognition of equal rights between members of different religious communities. "We are not all alike - said the Cardinal Puljić -. outweigh the Serbs in Republika Srpska, the Federation of Muslims. Catholics suffer from the lack of equal opportunity in many ways, especially at the administrative level and access to work." Are often opposed to bureaucratic delays discourage the development of initiatives by Catholic. "In a district of Sarajevo there is a parish for 28 years already but I can not build the church for ten years I was allowed but I have not been assigned a space as you continue is granted for the construction of mosques. Finally I was allocated a small space, but you have to pay a lot and also below is an infrastructure that must be transferred elsewhere and that too is expensive. " Coexistence between the communities is threatened mainly by external influences. "A group has printed one hundred thousand books against Jesus Christ who has distributed free among the Muslim population, and when I protested with a Muslim religious leader for such a book does not help the living, he told me just to ignore it." "The petrodollars - added - help build many mosques and Islamic centers, causing a change in mind against Christianity and especially against Catholics. When he has no respect for human rights, fear takes over. We continue to dialogue on the board but inter - is not easy to solve very complex situation because there are three stories, one for each religious community and each one tells her. " The international community seems not to understand the situation. "In late October, the turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said in Sarajevo that the aim of Turkish politics is the new rise of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans, as in the sixteenth century: no voice in Europe and America has risen in protest. A River and Cologne is given permission to build mosques and this is just, but because no one looks at how the Catholics living in Sarajevo or in Turkey? should state reciprocity, not against someone, but positive for the good of all. " The difficulty does not break down the vitality of the Bosnian Church: "Our ethnic institutions 'Schools for Europe', founded during and immediately after the war, arrived at 15 and count 5 thousand students and recently the Faculty of Theology in Sarajevo was inserted State University and its degrees recognized by the Bosnian government. " "For us there is a proverb - concluded the Cardinal - the men can do whatever they want, but until they want. Our hope is from God, we are in his hands .- Chiara Santomiero - Zenit --

Awesome find Bluecross!

[OnASpiritualJourney2]

"Praying is not a sin - the cardinal said with a smile -. There are many good looks that have generated even conversions and vocations to the priesthood or religious. They are fruit of prayer where men pray with faith, God gives the fruits of his Grace "." Praying in Marian shrines - explained the Cardinal Puljić - is part of the identity of our Catholic faithful. In the course of events issues of history, our people have been found in various sanctuaries in the region to seek comfort, light, Madonna is a hope and a sign for our faith. "

It seems from this that he is conceding that Medjugorje is a "Marian shrine". That's good news.

On the rest it's kind of ambiguous - partly due to the inadequate translation. But it appears that he said that it is in the hands of both the local bishop and the Vatican - not one or the other.

"What is happening in Medjugorje - said Cardinal Puljic - is the responsibility of the Bishop of Mostar, Monsignor Ratko Peric, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith."

It also appears that they're not contradicting the 1991 ruling that this has been placed back in the hands of the local bishop. Admittedly I'm confused.

Bluecross can you shed some light? I'm going to re-read this and see if I can understand better too.

[OnASpiritualJourney2]

This part sounds very hopeful:

"I expect that the Holy See will give indications on confessions and the Eucharistic Celebration - added -. And maybe even setting up a committee to follow the phenomenon and record the contents of the apparitions and messages, given that today are more than thirty ."

Bishop Peric has said that St. James can't distribute the messages, and yet here we have that a committee may be formed - sounds likely to me - to record the messages and content of the apparitions and to follow what's happening in Medjugorje. Awesome!!!!

[bluecross]

I find the comment about about recording the messages somewhat puzzling.

I can’t believe that this has not already been done as part of earlier investigations.

However this does tie in with something else I was told when I was in Medjugorje recently, and that is that the visionaries have been invited and agreed to undergo further scientific tests.

If this is the case, and the messages are also being looked at again, it tells me that there will not be any negative decision made against Medjugorje as opponents might like to think. The jury is still out.

As to the Holy See giving indictations on Confessions and Eucharistic services, isn’t this the job of the local bishop?

[OnASpiritualJourney2]

Yes, I agree. I can't imagine that they haven't been keeping track of the messages all along.

So you've been holding out on us! Good news - well for Medjugorje, but I do feel sorry for the visionaries having to go through all of that again. I'm sure that they're more than willing though.

I agree - they wouldn't be going to these lengths if they had any intention of a negative decision. Maybe they are searching more for "proof" that this is indeed supernatural.

Bluecross wrote: "As to the Holy See giving indictations on Confessions and Eucharistic services, isn’t this the job of the local bishop?"

That's what makes this article confusing. But it looks like the first tangible evidence that the Holy See is in charge and not Bishop Peric.

[bluecross]

I see that the Catholic News Agency has presented a different slant to the Cardinal’s comments (surprise, surprise) – and conveniently left out his comments on the messages and that the Holy see may give indications on Confession and Eucharistic services.

No mention that the Holy See is considering shrine status, “shrine” being a word repeated several times by the cardinal.

CNA even twists the truth when it states: In 2006, the cardinal was involved in setting up a commission concluding that the alleged Marian apparitions were not supernatural.

This is a blatant untruth. There was no outcome or judment on the apparitions from the commission, only to hand it back to the Holy See.

The commission was charged with looking into granting Medjugorje shrine status. With the Bishop of Mostar on board it wasn’t surprising that the three-man bishop’s conference (the commission) could not reach a conclusion.

It truly amazes me that the Catholic Media is so hostile to Medjugorje and is even prepared to distort facts in this way to hide the truth.

In some ways, the cardinal’s statement has given opponents what it needed to start another campaign against Medjugorje. It was desperate for something to combat and turn the focus away from the good news of cardinal Schonborn’s visit. But I did post a warning about this a few days ago.

[OnASpiritualJourney2]

We can't say you didn't warn us.

It baffles me why CNA and other "Catholic" groups and people are so against Medjugorje. When the secrets happen, they'll be shouting the loudest "I knew it was all true".

[leo daly]

"There are many good looks that have generated even conversions and vocations to the priesthood or religious. "

Of course, the beauty of Our Lady's face will do that !!!!

[BobMcCall]

I am looking forward to potentially more scientific tests. It has been awhile since the last series of tests were done. Technology has greatly advanced since then, so it is possible that a completely new understanding of the apparitions would be uncovered.

[bluecross]

Ten days ago (November 11) I posted this item on my blog:

Daily Communions at Medjugorje

Can. 1234 §1. At shrines the means of salvation are to be supplied more abundantly to the faithful by the diligent proclamation of the word of God, the suitable promotion of liturgical life especially through the celebration of the Eucharist and of penance, and the cultivation of approved forms of popular piety.

FACT... last month in Medjugorje, an average of 5,000 communions were distributed each day. The daily average for the year so far is 4,173.

I wonder how many other small parish churches around the world distribute such a high number of communions every day?

Medjugorje is Sacramental!

And yesterday from the Puljic statement we read:

The cardinal also said that he expected that the Holy See will give indications on Confession and Eucharistic celebrations...

Could this be a reference by the cardinal to the canon reference above
“the suitable promotion of liturgical life especially through the celebration of the Eucharist and of penance...”

If so, it confirms to me that the Holy See IS undertaking the process of shrine-making!

[Patriciadonovan]

I am looking forward to potentially more scientific tests. It has been awhile since the last series of tests were done. Technology has greatly advanced since then, so it is possible that a completely new understanding of the apparitions would be uncovered.

Hi! Bob, There is a very good book out at the moment Medjugorje investigated by Michael Kenneth Jones is is more scientific It is very good and in full support of the apparitions. 'Medjugorje Investigated' is a candid viewof these dynamic,spiritually,scientifically,politically, economically, and historically.

It wont be as wonderful as having seen the beauty of Our Lady's Face as Leo has.



God Bless
Patricia

[julia60]

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!

But we have to keep praying and God will help the church, and us to respond to Heavenly Mothers calls.

[BobMcCall]

Thanks Patricia - I will check it out. What did you mean when you said: "It won't be as wonderful as having seen the beauty of Our Lady's Face as Leo has."?

[leo daly]

I haven't physically seen Our Lady's face. I mentioned above that the beauty of Our Lady's face has drawn many people to her. It is just an expression.

Cheers
Leo.