Friday, May 18, 2012

Resources on Medjugorje



Several people have emailed me Mark Shea's post in the National Catholic Register which discusses Medjugorje. In it, he mentions my blog.

Thanks, Mark!

I must, however, give credit where it is really due. Chances are that if you google Medjugorje, you will find many links to sites promoting the alleged apparitions without any critical balance.  Below are the websites of some men who have done a good bit of highly detailed, critical analysis. I encourage you to explore their websites, and I will offer a links to my own work below theirs.

The first is the website of the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, where Bishop Ratko Peric has whole sections devoted to the topic in Croatian, English, and Italian. Go to http://cbismo.com/ and look in the left sidebar for MeÄ‘ugorski fenomen and expand it for options.

The second website is that of retired University of Montreal researcher, Louis Belanger who has extensive experience with Medjugorje and a keen ability to sift through details, like noticing when words of visionaries were omitted or changed for convenience to fit a positive narrative.  His site has material in English and French.

Another rich online site with details is that of Italian researcher, Marco Corvaglia who has his material in Italian, English and some French.

Last, but certainly not least, I recommend Donal Foley's new book, Medjugorje Revisited, which I reviewed in a previous post.

I also encourage you to sift through the many posts by Richard Chonak of Catholic Light.  Richard has done much translating that has benefitted us all.  Here are some posts of his you can click through.

I have two things to offer here.  One is my Medjugorje label (scroll), and the other is a blog I set up some time ago on the subject.

Regardless of where anyone stands on the matter, we should all hope the Church arrives at the truth and conveys that truth.  I'm prepared to review any and all material the Church offers should there some day be an approval.  I hope an pray that all who are attached to this unapproved apparition are equally prepared to let go, should the Church eventually dismiss the visions as inauthentic.  In the meanwhile, let's pray for Pope Benedict XVI who asked all of us to be co-workers of truth.

It is good to ponder the words of the Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia-Herzegovina on the day the new Commission was announced on March 17, 2010.  Count the number of times His Excellency  uses the word, "a question" preceding Medjugorje.

From personal experience, every time I met the Holy Father he had great interest in the question of Medjugorje, a question to which he was directed from the very beginning that he became prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It deals with a question for which he feels responsible as the supreme head of the Church to pronounce a clear message.

My translation came from the document as it was found on the BiH Bishop's Conference website, unlike some other translations going around which omitted the translation for "pitanje" (question).  In fact, one translation out there blends two sentences into one, and makes it sound ilke the Holy Father can't imagine how anyone could be against Medjugorje.  Why anyone would need to resort to that kind of thing is beyond my understanding.

The latest news on the Medjugorje Commission came some months ago from Cardinal Vinko Puljic who told us that the report on Medjugorje would be done before the end of 2012.


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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.