The Church's Continuing Denial

In June, 1981, six children witnessed what they called the appearance of the “Gospa” or Lady in what is now Bosnia, a region in the former Yugoslavia. The children, Ivan Dragičević, Ivanka Ivanković, Jakov Čolo, Marija Pavlović, Mirjana Dragičević and Vicka Ivanković, ranged in age from twelve to sixteen at the time.

 

The site is in Medjugorje and had become a shrine of devotion to millions of Christians and others, much like Lourdes, Fatima or Guadaloupe, to pray to Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus Christ, to intercede on the behalf of the devotees.

As you may know, she is revered by those who practice the Abrahamic religions. She is known as Maryam, Miriam and Maria, among the Muslim Jewish and Christian faiths.

For years, the Catholic Church has reserved its acceptance of this “miracle ”, but it was reported today in Reuters and elsewhere, via various Vatican sources, that finally, the Vatican’s doctrine office offered a cautiously positive (and mixed) assessment Thursday of alleged Marian messages emanating from Medjugorje, authorizing the local bishop to issue a declaration of “nihil obstat” (“nothing stands in the way”).

It took forty-three years for the Church to recognize what so many others held in their faith without question. The Church in its usual double-speak both honors and still questions the devotion worshippers still hold.

According to the DDF’s note, “the nihil obstat indicates that the faithful can receive a positive encouragement for their Christian life through this spiritual proposal, and it authorizes public acts of devotion.”

But it continues, “the positive assessment that most of the messages of Medjugorje are edifying does not imply a declaration that they have a direct supernatural origin. Consequently, when referring to ‘messages’ from Our Lady, one should always bear in mind that they are ‘alleged messages.’”

Apparently, the Church continues to play both sides against the middle, trying to instill doubt in those who truly believe and accept the appearance of fhe “Queen of Peace”.

You would think the Church would be satisfied and delighted that people would find a pathway to a more religious experience. Instead, it continues to cast doubt masked with false hope on the faith of so many.

When will the Church realize it is people’s faith that matters, not the words of ecclesiastical beaucrats?