Te Deum laudamus!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Call to Holiness: Treasures of the Mass - This Saturday!!!

US Postal Registrations are CLOSED;
PAYPAL is closed.

Tickets may be purchased at the door for an added $5 fee.

The 12th Call to Holiness Conference is taking place in metro Detroit on Saturday, October 10, 2009 at the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan. The conference theme for this year is: Treasures of the Mass.

Speakers: Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Karaganda, Kazakhstan (author of Dominus Est), Fr. John Zuhlsdorf (aka "Fr. Z" – What Does the Prayer Really Say?), Michael P. Foley (professor/author), Rev. Eduard Perrone (Pastor, Assumption Grotto in Detroit), and Dr. Ronald Prowse (Director of Music at Sacred Heart Major Seminary). John Vleko (Morally Responsible Investing) will MC the event.

For schedule, speaker topics, and registration, and other information, please go the Call to Holiness – Treasures of the Mass page.

Mail and online registration is now obviously closed. But, you can still get tickets at the door for an extra $5 (adults regular price was $25). Click the link above for other prices.

From Fr. Perrone's column this Sunday:

The thing most pressing on my mind these days, among the others which vex it, is the near-approach of the Call to Holiness Conference. As I already pre-announced, this will take place October 10th at Shrine (now National Shrine) of the Little Flower in Royal Oak. Grotto friends, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, of the Holy Cross Order will speak, as will Fr. John T. Zuhlsdorf. Michael Foley will demonstrate how much of Western culture derives from the Catholic Mass. Ron Prowse of Sacred Heart Seminary will lead the participants in a mini-course on Gregorian Chant. I am now hard at work on my own talk which is to be a blow-by-blow explanation of the Mass, its ceremonies, words and gestures, with a look at both the new (Ordinary) form and the Tridentine (Extraordinary). What makes me particularly enthused about the presentation I am working on is not so much the talk itself (the attendees will judge its worth) but the audio visuals that I hope will make it a most interesting presentation. Thanks to the technological knowhow of Father Bustamante and his patience, there should be a large-screen video component to the talk that will show closeups of the priest, his vestments, gestures, etc. while I narrate pertinent facts about the meaning or history of these things. Shrine of the Little Flower Church has this visual capability and we will utilize it in an appropriate way: to illustrate a talk. In the process of making my preparations, I am learning many things about the Mass that I did not know, or that I knew but dimly. It has been an enlightening discovery which I hope to share with you. To do that you must come to the Conference and take in some of the rich offerings that have been provided for your soul. There’s a cut off date for pre-registration. I encourage you to register now for it. You can get a better idea of what the Conference is about by taking a look at the website, www.calltoholiness.com

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

Medjugorje Context, Part 2 by Bishop Peric: The Case of Our Lady's Birthday

Richard Chonak, who has done a great job of translating the three part statement by Bishop Peric has completed Part 2.

I have to run off to Mass now, but here is the second part of the bishop's statement. First, I'll start you out with a lead in:

[I'm continuing to present an English version of Bp. Peric's three-part article "The context of the Medjugorje phenomena". This translation is based on the Italian version of the article on his diocesan website. In this portion, Bishop Peric describes the episode in which the alleged "messages from the Gospa", written down by friar Tomislav Vlasic, spoke about the date of the Blessed Virgin's birthday.]

Bishop Peric now starts out...

Vlasic's fantasies about the birthday of the Gospa

The Catholic Church, following the Liber Pontificalis, has celebrated the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary since the seventh century, in the times of Pope Sergius I (687-701); and in the East, at Constantinople, several decades earlier.

According to the Chronicle of the apparitions of the parish of Medjugorje, in the "visions" - as Vlasic regularly calls them - the alleged apparition says that the 2000th birthday of the Madonna was 5 August 1984. The chaplain at the time, friar Tomislav Vlasic, sent that invention to the Pope in Rome and to Bishop Zanic in Mostar. Here is how the matter reads in the Chronicle maintained by Vlasic. But let us turn back three years to see how the nativity was celebrated and how the date changed.

Birthday greetings, 8 September 1981. There are two different official reports, from Vlasic and Laurentin. Vlasic, in the Chronicle, writes:

"Visions: the seers had the encounter with the Gospa. Little Jakov wished her a happy birthday. She was overjoyed, saying it was one of the happiest days for her. She exhorted the seers to perseverance in faith and in prayer.

R. Laurentin, "historian" of the Medjugorje phenomena, reports differently on the same event.

Birthday of the Gospa. On 8 September, the feast of the Nativity, the Virgin appears with the child Jesus, and fittingly in Jakov's house. Again, Vicka speaks familiarly, extending her hand: "Dear Gospa, I wish you a happy birthday", The Madonna takes her offered hand, but Vicka does not dare to do the same, and Jakov, confused by her audacity, asks her not to speak about it.

But she tells it all to Laurentin, and he tells it in his book! [1]

Go read Part 2 in full: Medjugorje Context, part II: what is Our Lady's birthday?

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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!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima at Ss Cryil & Methodius Octobr 14th

This just in:

"The International Pilgrim Virgin Statue (of Fatima) will be at Ss. Cyril & Methodius on Wednesday, October 14. The statue will arrive at 6:00AM and remain until 9:30PM. On that day, we will have our regularly-scheduled Holy Masses at 6:00AM, 9:00AM, 12Noon and we will also have an 8:00PM Holy Mass with an indoor procession throughout the church. Website here"

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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!

Archbishop Chaput: Politics, Morality, and a President - an American View

Thanks to the Catholic News Agency, we have the text of Archbishop Charles Chaput's article recently appearing in L'Osservatore Romano. Do read this.

One of the strengths of the Church is her global perspective. In that light, Cardinal Georges Cottier's recent essay on President Barack Obama ("Politics, morality and original sin," 30 Days, No. 5), made a valuable contribution to Catholic discussion of the new American president. Our faith connects us across borders. What happens in one nation may have an impact on many others. World opinion about America's leaders is not only appropriate; it should be welcomed.

And yet, the world does not live and vote in the United States. Americans do. The pastoral realities of any country are best known by the local bishops who shepherd their people. Thus, on the subject of America's leaders, the thoughts of an American bishop may have some value. They may augment the Cardinal's good views by offering a different perspective.

Note that I speak here only for myself. I do not speak for the bishops of the United States as a body, nor for any other individual bishop. Nor will I address President Obama's speech to the Islamic world, which Cardinal Cottier mentions in his own essay. That would require a separate discussion.

I will focus instead on the President's graduation appearance at the University of Notre Dame, and Cardinal Cottier's comments on the President's thinking. I have two motives in doing so.

First, men and women from my own diocese belong to the national Notre Dame community as students, graduates and parents. Every bishop has a stake in the faith of the people in his care, and Notre Dame has never merely been a local Catholic university. It is an icon of the American Catholic experience. Second, when Notre Dame's local bishop vigorously disagrees with the appearance of any speaker, and some 80 other bishops and 300,000 laypeople around the country publicly support the local bishop, then reasonable people must infer that a real problem exists with the speaker – or at least with his appearance at the disputed event. Reasonable people might further choose to defer to the judgment of those Catholic pastors closest to the controversy.

Regrettably and unintentionally, Cardinal Cottier's articulate essay undervalues the gravity of what happened at Notre Dame. It also overvalues the consonance of President Obama's thinking with Catholic teaching.

There are several key points to remember here.

First, resistance to President Obama's appearance at Notre Dame had nothing to do with whether he is a good or bad man. He is obviously a gifted man. He has many good moral and political instincts, and an admirable devotion to his family. These things matter. But unfortunately, so does this: The President's views on vital bioethical issues, including but not limited to abortion, differ sharply from Catholic teaching. This is why he has enjoyed the strong support of major "abortion rights" groups for many years. Much is made, in some religious circles, of the President's sympathy for Catholic social teaching. But defense of the unborn child is a demand of social justice. There is no "social justice" if the youngest and weakest among us can be legally killed. Good programs for the poor are vital, but they can never excuse this fundamental violation of human rights.

Second, at a different moment and under different circumstances, the conflict at Notre Dame might have faded away if the university had simply asked the President to give a lecture or public address. But at a time when the American bishops as a body had already voiced strong concern about the new administration's abortion policies, Notre Dame not only made the President the centerpiece of its graduation events, but also granted him an honorary doctorate of laws – this, despite his deeply troubling views on abortion law and related social issues.

The real source of Catholic frustration with President Obama's appearance at Notre Dame was his overt, negative public voting and speaking record on abortion and other problematic issues. By its actions, Notre Dame ignored and violated the guidance of America's bishops in their 2004 document, "Catholics in Political Life." In that text, the bishops urged Catholic institutions to refrain from honoring public officials who disagreed with Church teaching on grave matters.

Thus, the fierce debate in American Catholic circles this spring over the Notre Dame honor for Mr. Obama was not finally about partisan politics. It was about serious issues of Catholic belief, identity and witness – triggered by Mr. Obama's views -- which Cardinal Cottier, writing from outside the American context, may have misunderstood.

Third, the Cardinal wisely notes points of contact between President Obama's frequently stated search for political "common ground" and the Catholic emphasis on pursing the "common good." These goals – seeking common ground and pursuing the common good – can often coincide. But they are not the same thing. They can sharply diverge in practice. So-called "common ground" abortion policies may actually attack the common good because they imply a false unity; they create a ledge of shared public agreement too narrow and too weak to sustain the weight of a real moral consensus. The common good is never served by tolerance for killing the weak – beginning with the unborn.

Fourth, Cardinal Cottier rightly reminds his readers of the mutual respect and cooperative spirit required by citizenship in a pluralist democracy. But pluralism is never an end in itself. It is never an excuse for inaction. As President Obama himself acknowledged at Notre Dame, democracy depends for its health on people of conviction fighting hard in the public square for what they believe – peacefully, legally but vigorously and without apologies.

Unfortunately, the President also added the curious remark that ". . . the ultimate irony of faith is that it necessarily admits doubt . . . This doubt should not push us away from our faith. But it should humble us." In a sense, of course, this is true: On this side of eternity, doubt is part of the human predicament. But doubt is the absence of something; it is not a positive value. Insofar as it inoculates believers from acting on the demands of faith, doubt is a fatal weakness.

The habit of doubt fits much too comfortably with a kind of "baptized unbelief;" a Christianity that is little more than a vague tribal loyalty and a convenient spiritual vocabulary. Too often in recent American experience, pluralism and doubt have become alibis for Catholic moral and political lethargy. Perhaps Europe is different. But I would suggest that our current historical moment -- which both European and American Catholics share -- is very far from the social circumstances facing the early Christian legislators mentioned by the Cardinal. They had faith, and they also had the zeal – tempered by patience and intelligence – to incarnate the moral content of their faith explicitly in culture. In other words, they were building a civilization shaped by Christian belief. Something very different is happening now.

Cardinal Cottier's essay gives witness to his own generous spirit. I was struck in particular by his praise for President Obama's "humble realism." I hope he's right. American Catholics want him to be right. Humility and realism are the soil where a commonsense, modest, human-scaled and moral politics can grow. Whether President Obama can provide this kind of leadership remains to be seen. We have a duty to pray for him -- so that he can, and does

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Reuters - Cardinal Puljic: Awaiting New Directive from Holy See on Medjugorje Soon

This is coming from Adam Tanner at a Reuters blog. Reuters interviewed Vinko Cardinal Puljic - the head of the BiH Bishop's Conference about Medjugorje and the Holy See's position.

The headline of the Reuter's blogpost is: Vatican ruling on disputed Medjugorje shrine expected soon (do read this in it's entirety - I am home briefly for lunch and cannot cover it all).

However, in the base of the article what we get goes deeper than the "shrine" (it is not an official shrine and the parish was ordered - again - in June to remove any mention of "shrine" from it's parish website, but this has still not been done). This part of the headline is sure to be exploited by Medjugorje promoters.

I took my heading from the Cardinal's own words as published in English. In part, the Reuters blogpost reads:

After observing events sceptically for many years, the Vatican may soon issue firmer guidance for Catholics on the claim that the mother of Jesus has been visiting the Balkans, Cardinal Vinko Puljic, head of the bishops’ conference in Bosnia, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. That guidance, if it clearly expresses the scepticism the official Church has long shown towards the Medjugorje phenomenon, could deal a serious blow to a site some Catholics see as a “new Lourdes.”

“We are now awaiting a new directive on this issue,” said Puljic, the Sarajevo archbishop who survived the city’s long wartime siege in the 1990s. “I don’t think we must wait for a long time, I think it will be this year, but that is not clear… I am going to Rome in November and we must discuss this.”

Official Church scepticsm about Medjugorje has become more public in recent months. In June, Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar, the nearest city in Bosnia, warned Catholics against uncritical belief in Medjugorje and issued a series of restrictions on the parish. “Brothers and sisters, let us not act as if these ‘apparitions’ were recognised and worthy of faith,” he said in a sermon.

I don't think we can look at any one part of this in isolation. Rather, it needs to be viewed in the context of recent events, including a series of notifications and statements coming out of the Diocese of Mostar Duvno (see list below).

I received word back from that diocese early today that they will soon make available official translations into english and german of the 3-part statement of September 26th by Bishop Peric found in Italian on the diocesan homepage. Richard Chonak provided us with an unofficial translation of In the Context of Medjugorje - Part 1, and the two letters found in Part 3.

Like any thing being investigated, discernment of apparitions is most interested with what happened in the early days, weeks and years. Details can take many years to come out, and even more to piece together. In 2008, news surfaced that fra Tomslav Vlasic was disciplined by the Holy See for “for the diffusion of dubious doctrine, manipulation of consciences, suspicious mysticism, disobedience towards legitimately issued orders and charges contra sextum [against the sixth commandment].” In part 1 of his recently released statement, Bishop Peric chides the media for attempting to distance Tomislav Vlasic from Medjugorje.

For a complete list of statements at the Diocese of Mostar website, click here. To be added yet is the three-part statement released in Italian on the homepage on September 26th, 2009.

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

Our Lady of the Rosary

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Lifechain today at Grotto and around Metro Detroit

LifeChain in front of Assumption Grotto last year. It was spread out like this for about a block in front of the parish from 2:30-3:30pm as it will be today.

If you can't make it to the LifeChain event in front of Grotto, maybe you can make one of the other locations. I wont be able to be there today, unfortunately.

Here is a listing of area LifeChain locations, many are in front of Catholic churches, from the LifeChain Web site. All times are 2:30-3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, unless otherwise noted. For additional information, contact Deborah Bloomfield, state director, at (734) 283-9753 or a contact listed at one of the sites.

Berkley/Royal Oak Woodward Avenue from 11 to 12 Mile Roads, (248) 478-8878
Brownstown Township Gibraltar Road between Fort Street and Allen Road, (734) 664-6731
Clinton Township Gratiot at 15 Mile Road, 2-3:30 p.m., (586) 864-3645
Commerce Township Commerce Road, west of Union Lake Road, (248) 478-8878
Dearborn Telegraph Road at Cherry Hill, (313) 274-6237

Dearborn Michigan Avenue at Schaefer; Telegraph Road at Oxford Road; Telegraph Road at Schaefer, (248) 478-8878

Dearborn Heights Ann Arbor Trail at Kinmore Street, (248) 478-8878

Dearborn Heights - north Telegraph Road at Ford Road to Hass Street, (248) 478-8878

Dearborn Heights - south Telegraph Road north of Van Born at Colgate, (734) 283-9753

Detroit Gratiot at Six Mile Road (Grotto), (248) 478-8878

Farmington Hills 12 Mile Road at Orchard Lake Road, 2-3:30 p.m., (517) 580-4250

Ferndale Nine Mile Road at Woodward Avenue, (248) 478-8878
Ferndale Woodward Avenue at Cambourne Avenue, (248) 982-2416
Fraser 14 Mile Road west of Utica Road, (248) 478-8878
Highland Township M-59/Highland Road at Milford Road, (248) 887-9867

Huntington Woods Woodward Avenue at Lincoln Drive, 1:30-3 p.m.; (248) 982-2416

Lake Orion Lapeer at Indianwood in front of St Joseph Church, (248) 693-4792

Lapeer M-24 (Main Street) at M-21, (810) 664-2463

Lincoln Park Fort Street at: Champaign, Goddard, Southfield, (734) 283-9753

Livonia Farmington Road between Lyndon and I-96, noon-1 p.m. Middlebelt at Jamison, south of Five Mile Road to Six Mile Road, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Plymouth Road between Farmington and Merriman Roads, 2:30-3:30 p.m., (248) 478-8878

Milford 620 General Motors Road between S. Milford Road and Main Street, (248) 478-8878

Monroe Telegraph (M-24) north of Elm (River Raisin), (734) 552-5668

Mount Clemens Gratiot Avenue from 15 to 16 Mile Roads, (248) 478-8878

New Boston Huron River Drive at Sibley Road, (734) 260-9156

Pontiac Telegraph Road at Walton Road, noon-1 p.m., (248) 478-8878

Riverview Fort Street at Sibley; signs at Sibley and King, (734) 283-9753

Rochester Hills John R Road between Auburn and Hamlin, (248) 478-8878

Romulus Ecorse Road at Merriman Road, 248-478-8878

St. Clair Shores Gratiot Avenue at 13 Mile Road, (248) 478-8878

Shelby Township Schoenherr Road between 21 and 22 Mile roads, (248) 478-8878

Southgate Fort Street from Eureka to Northline, (734) 283-9753

Sterling Heights 18 Mile Road at Ryan Road, (586) 864-3645

Taylor Telegraph Road at Eureka, Northline, Wick Road; signs at Northline and Wick, (734) 283-9753

Trenton Fort Street at King Road, (734) 283-9753

Troy Big Beaver at Civic Center Drive, (248) 703-3577

Utica M-59 at Van Dyke Road, (248) 478-8878

Walled Lake Pontiac Trail at Maple Road, 2-3:30 p.m., (248) 478-8878

Warren Ryan at 11 Mile Road, (248) 478-8878

Washington Township 26 Mile Road between Van Dyke Road and Mound Road, (248) 478-8878

Waterford Township Elizabeth Lake Road west of Telegraph Road, (248) 478-8878

Westland Warren Avenue at Wayne Road, (248) 478-8878

West Bloomfield Township 6765 Orchard Lake Road at Women's Center, quarter mile south of Maple, 2-3:30 p.m., (517) 580-4250

Wyandotte Fort from Eureka to Northline, (734) 283-9753

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

Saturday, October 3, 2009

News about Fr. John A. Hardon - The archive, the guild, and a blessing...

In my email inbox...

Rite of Blessing with Archbishop Raymond L. Burke

James Maldonado Berry

On Monday, September 21st, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, the Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, presided over the Rite of Blessing of the offices of The Fr. John A. Hardon S.J., Archive and Guild, located in the former convent of the Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis. Approximately one-hundred people turned out for the event, during which Archbishop Burke praised Fr. Hardon as a priest who courageously preached the faith “in and out of season.” Immediately following the blessing there was an open house at the office and a reception in the Jubilee Garden of the Cathedral-Basilica Rectory. The blessing was a highlight for the archbishop emeritus of Saint Louis, who has been overseeing the cause of Fr. John A. Hardon S.J for several years now, and also for the small team of officers working on the Cause. Fr. Robert T. McDermott, a priest from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, serves as the Postulator of the Cause and James Maldonado Berry is the Executive Director of the Archive and Guild. Msgr. C. Eugene Morris, pastor of Saint Mary Magdalen Parish in Brentwood, serves as the Episcopal Delegate; Fr. Kristian Teater, a professor at Kenrick Glennon Seminary, is the Promoter of Justice and Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell, working from Milwaukee, is the theological consultant.

The work of The Fr. John A. Hardon S.J., Archive and Guild has been underway quietly for a couple of years now. This news may come as a surprise to many faithful who didn’t even know that such a project was underway in the backyard of their own Archdiocese. Upon Fr. Hardon’s death on December 30, 2000, he willed his extensive library and correspondence to Archbishop Raymond L. Burke. “For some time, we have been occupied primarily with the nuts and bolts of “setting up shop” but now, with the long distance encouragement of Archbishop Burke from Rome, and the enthusiastic blessing of Archbishop Carlson, we’re expecting to move forward in the upcoming year with a higher public profile,” said Fr. McDermott. The office itself serves as a repository and a museum of sorts, dedicated to preserving the memory of Fr. John A. Hardon, and spreading devotion to him and his spirituality as well. The archives contain numerous files, such as personal correspondence, academic papers, and manuscripts, all pertaining to Fr. Hardon. The basement serves as a library, housing Fr. Hardon’s voluminous personal collection of books, numbering well into the thousands. “It was really the only place in the entire house that could comfortably store so many books,” remarked Fr. McDermott. The most poignant feature of the office is the Fr. John A. Hardon S.J. Room. Set in the living room of the former convent, this room serves as a museum dedicated to the life of Fr. Hardon. Several glass display cases contain various personal effects of Fr. Hardon’s, like his rosary, scapular, passport and even his Jesuit cassock, which, throughout his life, he would devoutly kiss every day before putting it on. In this room, the officers of the Archive and Guild meet to discuss the multi-layered dimensions of the cause and its future path.

In the upcoming months, the officers working on the cause will begin collecting official testimonies from individuals across the country and in other parts of the world who knew Fr. Hardon. Fr. Hardon assisted Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in establishing the contemplative branch of the Missionaries of Charity. Given the scope of Fr. Hardon’s academic and spiritual writings, which consists of over forty books and other unpublished manuscripts. This investigative process is expected to take several years. Those interested in learning more about Fr. Hardon’s life, writings and spirituality are encouraged to check out the website of The Fr. John A. Hardon S.J. Archive and Guild at: http://www.hardonsj.org/.

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

Friday, October 2, 2009

Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels

Guardian Angels by Mann

" Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared." (Ex 23-20).

Our Guardian Angels (Fr. Joseph Ventura, CP - Catholic Culture)
Catechesis on the Angels (Church documents at Opus Angelorum)

It's "First Friday" too. Consider going to Mass tonight if there is a parish in your area with an evening Mass. Tomorrow is "First Saturday". At Assumption Grotto it is also the day on which the St. Monica Sodality has the prayers and Mass for loved ones who have fallen away from the faith.

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

Context of Medjugorje Phenomenon - Part 1: Bishop details Vlasic involvement, disobedience; and heresy by the "Gospa"

UPDATE 10/28/2009: Links to translations of all three parts of the bishop's statement can be found here: September 26, 2009 Statement of Bishop Ratko Peric - Ordinary of Mostar-Duvno

The contents of this post originate from an unofficial translation by Richard Chonak at the Catholic Light blog under a post heading: Medjugorje Context: Vlasic's involvement -- or: why the "Gospa" is a heretic. My comments are bracketed in red.

Thanks to Richard's time and work, we have this translation. When the laicization of Tomislav Vlasic was reported by the media some months ago, some sources downplayed the involvement of Vlasic because he has been away from Medjugorje for many years. However, discernment process is concerned with facts and like any case, these facts are often found near the beginning of an event, not decades later. These facts have been there, but perhaps not as readily visible as they are now.

Keep in mind as you read this, that when the Holy See first sanctioned Tomislav Vlasic canonically a year ago - then, still a friar - he was silenced and sent to a monastery as his case was being investigated, "in the context of Medjugorje". This is what was downplayed, or entirely missed, by some media sources reporting on it. Now, the bishop puts together the puzzle so the picture may be seen.

*********************

[This is a translation of a recent document from Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar-Duvno, from the Italian version on his diocesan website. Corrections to the translation are welcome in the comment box [make those corrections at the original blogpost and I will get them].

The web page begins with a bare statement of Mr. Tomislav Vlasic's laicization, and proceeds to the bishop's article. --Richard Chonak]

The bishop's view:

Vlasic's involvement in the "Medjugorje phenomenon"

Just as last year, when the Holy See sanctioned the Rev. Vlasic with interdict, warning him of more severe penalties if he would not obey, once again numerous comments have appeared in the mass media to proclaim the non-connection between the "Medjugorje phenomenon" and the "Vlasic case". If in both the letter and in reference to the two more serious penalties there is an explicit reminder of the "Medjugorje phenomenon",[1] in which Tomislav Vlasic in involved, why is there never any connection between the one and the other? We would like to recall just that undeniable connection, from the beginning.

Tomislav Vlasic, born at Socivi, 16 January 1942, was ordained a priest as a member of the Herzegovinian Franciscan province, 16 July 1969, at Frohleiten, Austria.[2] After ordination he worked for some time as a spiritual assistant at Humac[3] and starting in 1973 as superior of the residence at the Franciscan house in Jablanovac, Zagabria.[4] At the proposal of the provincial superiors, he was canonically named spiritual assistant in the parish of Capljina in 1977,[5] where he remained in service until 17 August 1981, when he moved to Medjugorje, on his own initiative, without any necessary warning and without the approval of the bishop.[6]

But, according to the Reverend R. Laurentin, the quasi-official historiographer of the "Medjugorje apparitions", the Provincialate gave Fr. Vlasic permission to reside at Medjugorje, all without the knowledge of the Bishop. Fr. Laurentin writes:

"Coming to know of the arrest [of the parish priest --RC] that same day, August 17, Tomislav Vlasic, parish priest from Capljina, went to Medjugorje in order to inform himself and take account of the situation. From there he went immediately to the provincialate, at Mostar, to inform them of the serious situation and the danger that weighed on the parish left without anyone to guide them. The provincial found his observations sensible and his visit providential. He immediately named him to replace the imprisoned parish priest. - Therefore, at the end of the next day, friar Tomislav settled into the presbytery of Medjugorje. For the second time, he contacted the seers, whom he had rapidly questioned on June 29. He became their 'spiritual director' and this would be the title he kept later in the parish....'[7]

Therefore, by the sixth day after the "apparitions" happened at Medjugorje, and after the arrest of friar Jozo Zovko, 17 August, transferred to the parish of Medjugorje, where the Provincialate "appointed" him parochial vicar. Obviously, the Provincialate cannot appoint him as a parochial vicar, but can only propose him, because it is the Bishop who canonically appoints a parish priest or a chaplain, but again such "appointments" are part of the tragic "Herzegovina case" and the "Medjugorje phenomenon".

The Provincialate did propose Fr. Vlasic as "spiritual assistant at Medjugorje", only a year later, 19 July 1982, although it could and must have known about the sad "Zagabria case", which had to be resolved in another way. Bishop Zanic, not knowing about Vlasic's moral life and the implications of the "Zagabria affair", sent the decree on 27 July of that year for his transfer and carrying out his activity at Medjugorje.[8]

Since the year 1981, Fr. Vlasic has been implicated in the events of Medjugorje, accompanying the "seers" and inseparably connected to the "Medjugorje phenomenon", from its beginnings and also in what followed. Or rather, the "Medjugorje phenomenon" was created in a sense , even before its beginning. Already in May 1981, over a month before the beginning of the "apparitions"

"Fr. Vlasic went to Rome for an international congress of leaders of the Charismatic Movement. During the congress he had asked some of those present to pray with him for the healing of the Church in Yugoslavia. A religious, Sister Briege McKenna, who was united with those in prayer, had a vision: she saw Fr. Vlasic seated and surrounded by a great crowd of people facing him, and from the place where he was seated, there flowed rivers of water. Another religious there, Fr. Emile Tardiff, OP, said in prophecy, "Do not be afraid, I will send you my Mother." After a couple of weeks, the Madonna began to appear in Medjugorje." [9]

And above all he has been involved in the "Medjugorje phenomenon" after having been proposed by his Superiors in July 1982 and having been approved and appointed by the Bishop as chaplain of Medjugorje. Here are written proofs.

Friar Tomislav Vlasic and Friar Slavko Barbaric tell the seers what they are to say to the people. In the Chronicle of the apparitions, prepared then by friar Tomislav Vlasic, we read:

21. VIII. 1982. (Saturday). In the morning friar Tomislav and friar Slavko spoke with the seers. The conversation turned toward the direction of the edification of themselves as persons, and toward indicating their role in the context of these events, especially in regard to their authority, which they must not put at risk in responding to all the questions, but direct the people to the way of conversion and waiting for the promises of God."

--Two Franciscans want to indicate the role of the "seers", that they must not put their own authority at risk in responding to all the questions, but speak of "conversion" and "waiting for the promises of God", because they won't make any mistakes that way; at least that is compatible with the real Madonna!

"The seers must not make statements without informing us." In the Chronicle of 12 April 1984. Vlasic wrote:

"Today I spoke with all the seers. I brought to their attention again the necessity of not releasing statements to anyone without informing us."

-- This means that he is to control, verify, approve, and announce what is true and what is false in the "messages of the Gospa". The censor of the "messages of the Gospa"! What an interference in the "Medjugorje phenomenon"!

A grave theological error. In spite of Vlasic, who was illicitly at Medjugorje, a notorious theological heresy showed up, which he had already written down in the Chronicle, 6 May 1982, getting it sincerely from the "seers":

"This evening the young people posed a theological question and received the answer. Are people in heaven present with their souls, or with the soul and the body? - they asked. They are present with the soul and with the body - that was their answer."

-- All of us profess the Catholic faith that the resurrection of the body (resurrectio mortuorum) will be at the Last Judgment, and Fr. Vlasic takes down the fable of the "seers" of Medjugorje: not only Jesus and the Madonna, as we believe in the Catholic Church, but also all the other saved persons in heaven "with the soul and the body"! And he leaves that in the official Chronicle, with no other observation! This means that even he is not clear about this Catholic dogma, and that after 13 years of preaching on the Nicene Creed at Humac, Jablanovac, Capljina, and Medjugorje. No wonder that last year the Congregation indicated he should take the elementary course on theology and pronounce the profession of faith, on the approval of the Holy See!

"The apparition" of Medjugorje praises the work of Vlasic. In Vicka's diary manuscript of 28 February 1982, the alleged apparition greatly praised the work of Vlasic as a guide to the "seers". Vicka's literal text:

"I and Jacov were there. The Gospa came at 6, 3 minutes, she looked kindly at us. Then the Gospa spoke about Tomislav, first she looked at him, and then said: "you can thank Tomislav very much because he is guiding you so well."[10]

-- The one who is illicitly at Medjugorje, and is directing everything so well, and -- directing everyone to follow him. And the "Gospa of Medjugorje" praises and approves it all!

"The apparition" recommends Vlasic as a spiritual teacher. He himself writes in the Chronicle of the apparitions, 5 March 1984, speaking of Ivan Dragicevic:

"The Gospa expressed the desire and recommended, after his request for advice, to finish his upper levels and after that she would show him what to do. She also told him to entrust himself to friar Tomislav Vlasic to guide him spiritually."[11]

The one who, furthermore -- either one of them -- have acted without regard to the "message" of the "apparition" of Medjugorje! Friar Tomislav talks to the "seer" Ivan, Ivan talks to friar Tomislav, and then the whole thing is attributed to the Blessed Virgin.

Vlasic accompanies the seers according to "divine providence". In the letter of 13.IV.1984, he presents himself to the Pope as the one who "through Divine Providence guides the seers of Medjugorje". He reports that "the Madonna continues to recount her life to the seers" and informs the Pope:

"I will be in Rome from 19 April to 10 May for an international meeting. I know that you are very busy, but if you can receive me for a few minutes, I will be able to tell you about the main points of the apparitions."[12]

--The Pope did not receive him.

Barbaric on Vlasic

On the role and the connection of Vlasic with the "Medjugorje phenomenon" even from the beginnings, how he "channeled" the apparitions and events, another disobedient person of Medjugorje has testified, in a better way, writing chronologically: the propagandist of the "apparitions" and myth-maker of the events, friar Slavko Barbaric.

Appointment by the bishop and then the request that friar Slavko leave Medjugorje. The Provincialate proposed Rev. Barbaric as parochial vicar of Medjugorje in the letter of 16 August 1984. Bishop Zanic approved the Tabula the same day and the transfer of Barbaric.[13] But the bishop, on 3 January 1985, writes to the Provincialate, "I ask you to transfer friar Slavko Barbaric from Medjugorje to another position. He at Medjugorje, on the very important questions regarding the alleged "apparitions" of the Madonna is making propaganda in a way completely opposed to the directions I have given many times orally and in writing."[14]

The desire of the "Gospa" for friar Slavko to remain at Medjugorje. The apparitional "phenomenon", however, intervenes, expresses the "desire" that friar Slavko stay at Medjugorje to guide things and collect the information so that after the visit of her "apparitions" a synoptic image may remain of what has happened. In the Chronicle of the apparitions friar Slavko personally wrote this "message" sent to himself:

"3 February 1985. (Sunday) The vision came suddenly. Shorter this evening than in some days, just 2 minutes. Marija, Ivan, and Jakov were present. The message was for friar Slavko, as promised in the vision yesterday. It was given by Ivan. It went as follows: "I would like that Slavko remain here, and attend to all the details and the notes so that at the end of my visit we will have a synoptic image of everything. I am praying especially for Slavko at this time and for all those who work in the parish." [15]

-- It is well known that such a "synoptic image" was a typical Medjugorean daydream of friar Slavko, because he died on 25 November 2000, while the apparition has not ceased to multiply, even nine years now after his death, and as things stand, the apparitions of Medjugorje will have no end! An image truly a-synoptic [a-sinottica], not synoptic.

Vlasic "channels" the "apparitions". Here is what Barbaric wrote in the Chronicle of the apparitions of 1984,[16], which needs to be read in the light of what the Holy See decided in regard to Vlasic during 2008-2009. After the departure of Vlasic from Medugorje, friar Slavko Barbaric wrote that he remained in Medjugorje in the hope that he too would be "chosen according to divine providence" to continue to guide what had become a "tradition".

"2.IV.1984 (Sunday) I cannot fail to mention what happened today. Friar Tomislav Vlasic has been transferred. He said his goodbyes during the high Mass. The whole church was moved to tears, and with reason. Tomislav remains a luminous figure in the history of these apparitions. He was truly prophetic and courageous to come after the imprisonment of friar Jozo Zovko and carry on his work. How much work and fatigue he invested, how much pastoral prudence and prayer, no one could count it all. The grace of God chose him and sent him. He responded and worked. With his pastoral and spiritual experience he channeled this great fountain which welled up on the day of the apparitions. Also wise, full of the Spirit of God he has guided the seers, the parish, and the pilgrims. Despite all the positive activity every day he had to combat the attacks and dangers ready to destroy what was happening at Medjugorje. He knew prophetically to foresee events, read the situation, and move ahead. I am a witness like no one else, because I was here 13 months with him together in this place. In his case, we speak of wisdom and dedication. And in the most difficult moments he remained calm.

And at the more serious attacks, coming from inside and outside, he responded with dignity. He was always ready to support more difficult sacrifices, so that the things of God could advance. Just when I recall all the attacks on the part of the Curia, I have sufficient reason to say: the deportment of Tomislav, the answers and the behavior in the face of the bishop, the prayers and fasting despite denigrations, are one of the proofs that she is - the Queen of peace.

He often repeated. if anyone is disturbed, I'll be ready to get out of the way, because that's for the glory of God. When he knew about the transfer he reacted with calm: I am ready, in humility, to accept every decision and every decree. All of us in the house reacted with emotion. And Tomislav knew, as we all knew, that our Superiors were moving him at the request of the Bishop. It is difficult to say how unjust this request is: one thing is certain - the intention is to punish Tomislav and shut down everything that happened here.

He is already at Vitina. We hope he will be able to come and continue to work in the extraordinary plan of God and collaborate with our Gospa, who is slowly but surely revealing her plan.

I am profoundly convinced, and this is also my prayer: that the Gospa, who in so many messages has made people know to count on her, with impart the grace of love and more profound peace!

With reason Fr. Laurentin said: friar Tomislav, the diligent gardener has cultivated and guided the new people of God.

I remain here, I hope to be chosen in the providence of God to continue what has become a tradition. If I am not sure that God is guiding these events, this evening I will be without fear and trepidation before the great responsibility. I will continue to labor with the groups of pilgrims and with individuals to inform them about the message and development of the events here at Medjugorje. I know that was much more secure while Tomislav was here continually. But may God's will be done. That's how the Gospa's plan will be fulfilled. That the thing will not happen without our sacrifice, prayer, and fasting, that is clear above all. I learned from my dear brother Tomislav and experienced concretely what it means to let yourself be guided and be ready to work as long as God wants. And as well, I know the other friars are ready as are the sisters.

Today friar Petar Ljubicic arrived. He loves Medjugorje, loves the Gospa, and that's enough.

Amen. So be it!"

-- From this statement and from the subsequent events some clear facts follow, in plain terms:

First, friar Tomislav Vlasic does not remain "a luminous figure in the history of these apparitions", but a shadowy figure, "a myth-maker [mistificatore] and charismatic magus" as Bishop Zanic called him.[17] and finally the Holy See dismissed him from religious life and reduced him to the lay state warning him of excommunication if he does not obey the precepts issued up to now. The gravest sanction for a priest.

Second, he spiritually and pastorally "channeled" all these "apparitions", as his colleague friar Slavko put it in his inspired and accurate way; he controlled it, he created myths. created fantasies, always glorified himself, and even perjured himself before the Bishop.

Third, the "attacks" of the Bishop are founded on facts and canonically justified. And the "denigrations" of which friar Slavko writes are the sad facts, easily demonstrable about T. Vlasic because of his double life.[18] All these sad truths were known also to the Superiors and to the same friar Slavko Barbaric, and yet he speaks of denigrations!

Fourth, the thought of R. Laurentin, quasi-official historian of the "phenomena" of Medjugorje from 1983 to 1997, according to whom Vlasic was a "gardener who cultivated and guided the new people of God", is shown to be completely out of place in the light of the statement of Holy See on Vlasic, accused of "spreading dubious doctrines, manipulating consciences, suspect mysticism, disobedience to legitimate orders, and violations against the sixth commandment." If you understand that this does not only refer to his time in Italy, since he regularly and systematically came to Medjugorje, to his big house whose construction the Franciscan fathers, through the parish priest of Medjugorje, approved in 1994, and where he directed retreats in which he not only "manipulated consciences", but also called upon spirits! The Curia of his community have received proof.[19]

Fifth, friar Slavko wants to continue the work of friar Tomislav, to "channel" things according to his own intentions. He too, like Vlasic, will be praised by the "apparitions of Medjugorje". He too is convinced of being chosen by the providence of God. And now: how can you prove to such fanatics that they are "false prophets"!

[NOTE: The titles in the references have been translated where possible. --RC.]

[1] The whole case has been presented in the Official Bulletin of the dioceses of Herzegovina, 2/2008, pp. 79-81.

[2] Ž. ILIĆ, The Church in Herzegovina, Duvno 1974, p. 82-83.

[3] General Overview of the Catholic Church in Yugoslavia, Zagreb, 1975, p. 398.

[4] The Christian people and the Franciscans in Herzegovina, Mostar, 1977, p. 202.

[5] Letter of the diocesan curia, no. 638/1977, 19 August 1977.

[6] Official Bulletin, 2/2008., p. 80.

[7] R. Laurentin, Reports and messages of the apparations of Medjugorje Brescia 1987, p. 90.

[8] Letter of the curia confirming the Tabula, no. 711/82, 27.VII.1981. In the accompanying note Bishop Zanic writes regarding the parochial vicar at parrocchiale di Međugorje, Fr. Vlašić: "You need to be attentive to the further development of events in the parish of Medjugorje You have shown the hope that the new vicar in the parish of Medjugorje will make, if things are clarified, purified, and overseen. It is necessary to sustain and pursue your work in this sense.".

[9] Official Bulletin, 2/2008, p. 80, quoting from Rooney - R. Faricy, Mary the queen of peace, Milano, 1984, p. 34. See also P. Žanić, Current (non-official) position of the episcopal curia of Mostar on the events of Međugorje, Mostar, 30. X. 1984, pp. 6-7.

[10] V. Ivanković, The third diary, handwritten manuscript, copy in the diocesan curia of Mostar.

[11] S. Barbarić (handwritten), Chronicle of the apparitions, p. 747. Copy in the curia.

[12] Letter from T. Vlasic to the Holy Father, 13 aprile 1984, in italian. Cf. Ogledalo Pravde, p. 56, with a photocopy of part of the letter.

[13] Letter of the diocesan Curia to the Provincialate, no. 857/84, 16 August 1984.

[14] Letter of the diocesan Curia to the Provincialate, nr. 1/85, 3 January 1985.

[15] S. Barbarić (handwritten), Chronicle of the apparitions, vol. III, p. 247. Laurentin changed this "message" of the apparition regarding the guide of the parish: :"I desire that Fr. Slavko remain here, he who is guiding the parish and keeping the records, so that when I am no longer coming, a more complete image of everything that has taken place. In this moment I pray especially for Fr. Slavko and for all those who are working in this parish" - R. Laurentin, Latest News, 3 (1985) in French: pp. 25-26; In Italian: pp. 29-30; Ogledalo Pravde, str. 59.

[16] S. BARBARIĆ (handwritten), Chronicle of the apparitions, vol. III, pp. 3-6.

[17] P. Žanić, Current (non-official) position..., 30. X. 1984, p. 22.

[18] It suffices to have a look at the "correspondence" of Vlašić, published several times; copies are already on file in the Curia From Zagreb, 7. XII. 1976; from Zagreb, 9. I. 1977; from Međugorje, 15. XII. 1981; from Krapanj, 15. V. 1982; from Dubrovnik, 15. V. 1983.

[19] Official Bulletin, 2/208, p. 81.

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ADDITIONAL LINKS:

- Two Letters - one to pastor of St. James and to parochial vicar contained in Part 3 of the three part statement.

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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!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

October 1: Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux

I applied myself above all to practice quite hidden little acts of virtue; thus I liked to fold the mantles forgotten by the Sisters, and sought a thousand opportunities of rendering them service.

~ Story of A Soul, Chapter VII

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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!