VATICAN CITY (AP) 鈥� The Vatican on Thursday gave the green light for Catholics to continue flocking to a southern Bosnian village where children reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary, offering its approval for devotion at one of the most contested sites of Roman Catholic practice in recent years.
In a detailed analysis after nearly 15 years of study, the Vatican鈥檚 doctrine office didn鈥檛 declare that the reported apparitions in Medjugorje were authentic or of supernatural origin. And it flagged concerns about contradictions in some of the 鈥渕essages鈥� the alleged visionaries say they have received over the years.
But in line with in place this year, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith ruled that the positive 鈥渟piritual fruits鈥� stemming from the Medjugorje experience more than justified allowing the faithful to organize pilgrimages there and permit public acts of devotion.
The decision overrules years of doubts about the veracity of the alleged apparitions by the region鈥檚 past diocesan bishops and Vatican experts. And it ignores current concerns about the economic interests that have turned Medjugorje into a thriving destination for religious tourists.
Last year alone, 1.7 million Eucharistic wafers were distributed during Masses there, according to statistics published on the site鈥檚 website, a rough estimate of the numbers of Catholics who visited.
But with Pope Francis鈥� blessing, the doctrine office decided that 鈥渢he abundant and widespread fruits, which are so beautiful and positive,鈥� justified its decision. It said doing so 鈥渉ighlights that the Holy Spirit is acting fruitfully for the good of the faithful in the midst of this spiritual phenomenon.鈥�
In 1981, six children and teenagers reported seeing visions of the Madonna on a hill in the village of Medjugorje, located in the wine-making region of southern Bosnia. Some of those original 鈥渟eers鈥� have claimed the visions have occurred regularly since then, even daily, and that Mary sends them messages.
By some counts, the Virgin Mary has appeared to the 鈥渟eers鈥� more than 40,000 times since 1981.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my third time here and each time I come I feel like I really want to come back,鈥� said Mia Hash, a pilgrim from Lebanon who was visiting Medjugorje on a rainy Thursday as the Vatican made its announcement. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the most peaceful place on earth, I really love it here.鈥�
However, unlike at the more in Fatima, Portugal or Lourdes, France, the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje were never declared authentic by the Vatican.
And over the years, the area鈥檚 local diocesan bishops and some Vatican officials had cast doubt on the reliability and motivations of the 鈥渟eers.鈥� Two experts tapped by Pope Benedict XVI to study the Medjugorje concluded the Medjugorje phenomenon was 鈥渄emonic鈥� in origin.
Even Francis in 2017 expressed doubts about the messages, saying 鈥淚 prefer Our Lady to be a mother, our mother, and not a telegraph operator who sends out a message every day at a certain time,鈥� he said.
Religious tourism has become an important part of the local economy, with an entire industry catering to pilgrims: hotels, private accommodations, family-run farm businesses, even sports complexes and camping sites. Their growth has contributed to the surrounding municipality鈥檚 financial well-being after the Bosnian war in the 1990s devastated the economy.
Yet the Vatican expressed no concern about the economic interests behind Medjugorje, and the Holy See's editorial director, Andrea Tornielli, cited by name one Milan-based religious travel agency, Rusconi Travel, that takes pilgrims there by bus.
Robert Fastiggi, a consultant at the Vatican's Marian apparitions observatory, praised the time the Vatican took to come to a decision and said he believed the Holy See was likely impressed by 鈥渢he many signs of authentic Catholic spirituality connected to Medjugorje.鈥�
"I believe the DDF (Vatican dicastery) made its decision in light of the Gospel criterion: 鈥楤y their fruits you will know them,'鈥�' said Fastiggi, a professor of dogmatic theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
In its assessment, the Vatican doctrine office recalled that in May of this year it announced it was no longer in the business of authenticating alleged apparitions and other supposedly supernatural phenomena that have attracted Catholics for centuries, including statues that allegedly weep blood or stigmatas that are said to erupt spontaneously on hands or feet.
The new criteria envisage six main outcomes, with the most favorable being that the church issues a noncommittal doctrinal green light, a so-called 鈥渘ihil obstat,鈥� which means there is nothing about the event that is contrary to the faith, and therefore Catholics can express devotion to it.
The Vatican on Thursday gave that 鈥渘ihil obstat鈥� to Medjugorje. The local bishop issued the decree authorizing devotion there, and it is now possible that a sanctuary could be built, said the head of the doctrine office, Cardinal V铆ctor Manuel Fern谩ndez.
At a nearly two-hour news conference at which those present were invited to recite the 鈥淗ail Mary鈥� prayer at the end, Fern谩ndez revealed that St. John Paul II was a firm believer in Medjugorje and had wanted to visit but was waved off by the local bishop.
The decision doesn't require the faithful to believe in the Medjugorje phenomenon, but allows them to.
In its analysis, the Vatican listed what it called the many spiritual benefits that have been associated with pilgrimages to the site, including people deciding that they want to become priests or nuns, couples reconciling after troubles in marriage, healings after prayer and new works of charity caring for orphans and drug addicts.
It listed no example of any negative experiences associated with Medjugorje. Nor did it mention that the priest most closely associated with Medjugorje and the six 鈥渧isionaries鈥� was defrocked by the Vatican in 2009 for, among other things, spreading false doctrine.
The Vatican did seem to want to distance the place from the people who received the alleged apparitions, stressing that these benefits haven鈥檛 occurred as a result of meetings with them but rather 鈥渋n the context of pilgrimages to the places associated with the original events.鈥�
Fern谩ndez said there was no prohibition on contact with the 鈥渟eers,鈥� but that it wasn't advisable. And in an indication that the jury is still out on them and the entire phenomenon, he reaffirmed that Francis' personal envoy to Medjugorje would keep watch over the site and evaluate any future messages purportedly received by the 鈥渧isionaries鈥� before they are published.
鈥淭he nihil obstat doesn鈥檛 resolve everything for the future,鈥� he said.
In its 17-page document, it used nearly four pages to list concerns about problems in some of the thousands of individual messages the alleged visionaries have received, including cases where the message contradicted aspects of Catholic doctrine.
The decision will surely impact Medjugorje, which lies in the municipality of Citluk, one of the smallest in Bosnia with some 18,000 residents but economically well-off.
鈥淢edjugorje means a lot, all economic sectors lean on Medjugorje,鈥� said Ante Kozina, the tourism association chief. 鈥淚t is a growth generator for the entire municipality.鈥�
On Thursday, pilgrims in raincoats and umbrellas said they were pleased with the Vatican's decision.
鈥淚 think that is OK so they don鈥檛 make hasty decisions,鈥� said Darko Dumic, a pilgrim from the Croatian coastal town of Split. But he expressed hope that there will be an even more positive decision in the future, 鈥渁n official one for Medjugorje to become a holy place.鈥�
___
Emric contributed from Medjugorje, Bosnia. Gec contributed from Belgrade, Serbia.
Nicole Winfield, Eldar Emric And Jovana Gec, The Associated Press
