Medjugorje Priest Defrocked
This just in–Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, a principal figure in publicizing the Medjugorje apparitions, has been defrocked. (HT: Thomas C. Fox at NCR.) A report from the London Telegraph is here.
Here’s the conclusion of the Telegraph’s item:
[Under investigation on various charges,] [i]t emerged on Sunday that he has chosen to leave the priesthood and his order, a move which has brought the investigation to an abrupt halt.
But the Pope has insisted that Father Vlasic observes a set of conditions on pain of excommunication which include a total ban on teaching Christian doctrine and giving spiritual direction.
There is also an “absolute prohibition of releasing declarations on religious matters, especially regarding the phenomenon of Medjugorje”.
But I wonder if we’ll be hearing more from Vlasic. On one hand, if the man’s merely a cynical exploiter, and the whole thing was a put-on, now he’s lost the insider status that made it profitable for him–now comes the tell-all book perhaps.
On the other hand, what if he isn’t a fraud, and truly believes in the apparitions he did so much to publicize? Well, would you listen to the Pope’s order not to speak about Medjugorje over what you believe was the Virgin Mary’s command (through 6 schoolchildren) to do so? After all, he told John Paul II in 1984 that he was the one: “who through divine providence guides the seers of Medjugorje.” Surely Mary’s authority supervenes that of the Pope, right?
Whatever the next act in this drama is, it should prove interesting.
Message of July 25, 2009 “Dear children! May this time be a time of prayer for you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
While the sayings of Jesus that we have — not all necessarily authentic, and none in the original language — would fill only a small booklet, if you believe the apparitions at Medjugorje to be authentic, we have thousands upon thousands of utterances from the Virgin Mary, Do any of them measure up to . . .
Even Mary cannot override the message of the gospels. Everything we need to know for our salvation may be found therein.
I could care less about Medjugorje, Fatima, Lourdes, etc.
There are many chapters in this book:
a) here is a letter from this guy to JPII: http://www.medjugorje.org/vlasic1.htm
here is a fuller account: http://ncronline.org/node/1767
b) the church including local bishops have never authorized these visions
c) two Franciscan priests were behind this fraud – both now gone and corrected;
d) Vlasic got rich as did the locale on this fraud; he had a son with a nun that he then rejected (some talk that he demanded she have an abortion);
e) when pressure was put on him, he went to Italy and started a co-ed community (lots of talk about that adventure);
f) now, after years action is finally taken but the reason seems to be more about his Italian community than his earlier activities.
g) no statements about the “apparitions”; the millions spent on this, etc.
h) this started in 1983 – had son 4 years later and is ordered to Italy – only now is he defrocked. Appears that the Franciscans let this guy do what he wanted – another Maciel. It is to B16, then CDF head, that any investigation was done – JPII seems to have handled this just like the LC group – an extension of his cult of personality.
If Rome stays on top of this, would guess he will wind up excommunicated given his pathology.
When I was in first grade, a relative went to Medjugorje and brought me back a little medal. I didn’t know what “Medjugorje” was, but the medal was pretty — the Blessed Mother on a cerulean background — and I was fascinated by the way the word sounded, and the way it was spelled. And I knew from the way my grandmother talked about it that it must be a very holy place. So I wore it to school, pinned to my navy-blue Catholic-school uniform cardigan, until the medal broke and got lost. (It may have been holy, but it was also plastic.) That was really the last I thought about Medjugorje until I was an adult, and then I learned that its reputation is not as stellar as Grandma’s reverence had led me to believe. I hope she never heard any of this stuff while she was alive.
This has always been a fight between the Franciscans and the local bishop with Rome supporting the bishops. Clearly political.
http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/medjugorje.htm
Even Mary cannot override the message of the gospels.
In order to be believable, sayings from an apparition don’t have to reveal new truths. In fact, given the position of the Church that there can be no new revelation, that would rule them out as authentic. However, one would expect the Queen of Heaven, the Co-Redemptrix, and the Mediator of all Graces to be at least as interesting and well spoken as, say, St. Francis of Assisi or Saint Teresa of Avila.
That’s Mediatrix to you, pal. :-)
FWIW, here are the Marian titles bestowed by Lumen Gentium: Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix.
“This, however, is to be so understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator.” [LG 62]
Jim – don’t forget that Paul VI opened the Fourth Session of Vatican II by declaring Mary as the “Mother of the Church” which impacted the bishops considering the schema on revelation and what Vatican II would say about Mary.
Bill – love the way EWTN can spin a story; splitting canon law hairs; and ending with a quote that they despise when the “cafeteria catholics” use it.
Here is another slant on this whole episode providing an historical context for this region; its WWII history, ethnic hatreds, and the Franciscan involvement: http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/2189236/sex-lies-and-apparitions.thtml
Paul VI was right on when he declared that Mary is “truly our sister.” Which became the title of a superlative book on Mary by Elizabeth Johnson which puts Mary just where she should be. A hard working peasant who never wore blue but was not exempt from human suffering and toil.
Long, long overdue. I have always maintained that a substantial Achille’s heel of Catholicism is Mariolotry. Medjugorge is a blatant example of how so many people can be sucked into pure and simple heresy, mainly because of Catholicism’s overemphasis of Marianism that quickly becomes Mariolotry. I have always felt that this obsession with Mary is a denial of the efficacy of the Incarnation, i.e., the mediation between God and human by Jesus. All other elements of “mediation” are fallacy.
You skeptics are in for a rude awakening. But if you exercise your humility muscle now, you should be ok when the time comes. But take the time to look more deeply. Don’t rely on biased news reports about a priest who left Medjugorje in the mid 80′s. Surely you know that the devil will do everything he can to discredit the Works of God. And that’s the way it’s been on all previous apparitions. All of them were tried through the taunts of skeptics.
I believe that Medjugorje is an authentic site of apparitions by our Blessed Mother. The scientific evidence from the studies of the visionaries is very convincing. Also, the miracles are impossible to explain away. But most convincing is the depth of the messages that are often dismissed.
For you other bible thumpers who don’t refer to Mary as Our Blessed Mother, please read Luke 1:48.