New medj commission? updates?

[MarieT]

Some time last year, an article was posted on this forum that stated a new medj commission was to be formed. The feedback from some members was that there was NO new commission.

I'm baffled why a cardinal would state there is a new commission if there wasnt. Can anyone assist with where was this 'new commission' plucked up from if it werent legit? I need to provide someone with some documental proof.


heres the original article :

Cardinal says commission to review alleged apparitions at Medjugorje

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, announced a commission would be formed to review the alleged Marian apparitions at Medjugorje and pastoral provisions for the thousands of pilgrims who visit the town each year.

"The commission members have not been named yet," Cardinal Puljic told Catholic News Service in a July 24 telephone interview. "I am awaiting suggestions from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith" on theologians to appoint.

"But this commission will be under the (Bosnian) bishops' conference" as is the usual practice with alleged apparitions, he said.

The cardinal said he did not expect the commission to be established until sometime in September because of the summer holidays.
(this hasnt happened or we have not been told who they are)

He said the primary task of the commission would be to review a 1991 report from the region's bishops that concluded, "It cannot be affirmed that these matters concern supernatural apparitions or revelations."
(why would this need reviewing? are they questioning the original findings?)

In addition, he said, the commission would be asked to review pastoral provisions that forbid official diocesan and parish pilgrimages to Medjugorje, while at the same time allowing priests to accompany groups of Catholics in order to provide the sacraments and spiritual guidance.

When asked if the new commission was the idea of the doctrinal congregation or of the bishops' conference, Cardinal Puljic said, "I would rather not answer that question."

Cardinal Puljic announced the future formation of the commission during the bishops' July 12-14 meeting in Banja Luka.

The Vatican continues to monitor events at Medjugorje, where the apparitions allegedly continue, but it has not taken a formal position other than to support the bishops' ban on official pilgrimages.

An official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith confirmed July 25 that the commission would operate under the auspices of the Bosnian bishops' conference, although the congregation would suggest the names of some commission members.

? new medj commission

need to find some detail about this...i wonder if starting with documentation from the bishops meeting would help. I'll see if i can hunt down a copy.

marie

[MarieT]

starting at the most official catholic site www.vatican.va

and looking for anything with the title 'medjugorje' in the search engine yields:

Search result: Nothing!

official vatican site

marie

[KevinSymonds]

I've got an E-mail from Peric himself saying that there is no new commission.

-KJS

[MarieT]

thanks kev for your feedback.

i wonder why then the cardinal would say there was a new commission?....i just dont get it, but thats whats being thrown at me lately by medj supporters.

blessings
marie

[KevinSymonds]

There is something very fishy here and I have yet to figure it out entirely. There's just not enough information but I have grave reservations about this 'commission,' Bishop Peric and the Cardinal.

We'll see how this develops.

-KJS

[MarieT]

i'm concerned also.

It was brought up at the Bishop's meeting and according to news reports, it wasnt even supposed to be on agenda so there was quite a surprise when it was mentioned.

from the article, notes these 2 interesting quotes

Cardinal Puljic announced the future formation of the commission during the bishops' July 12-14 meeting in Banja Luka.

When asked if the new commission was the idea of the doctrinal congregation or of the bishops' conference, Cardinal Puljic said, "I would rather not answer that question."

why was the cardinal reluctant to answer? ..and why has Bishop Peric stated that there is no new commission?

as you say, kev...time will tell

marie :S

[MarieT]

ps....the dates stated for the formation of the alleged commission have long passed. Why the delay?

marie

[MaggieH]

Thanks everyone I am still looking in to be updated on the latest findings on the subject of Medj.

Glod Bless and many thanks.

[MarieT]

A new Medjugorje investigation
Here’s confirmation of a Croatian newspaper article that was posted in one of the long Medjugorje discussion threads. Catholic News Service reports that a new commission is being formed by the Bosnian bishops’ conference to investigate Medjugorje.

Apparently the “translation” posted in the comments is inaccurate because claims made in it are nowhere found in the original Croatian article (translated by Diane at her blog).

Of course, this begs the question why yet another investigation is taking place. Perhaps the bishop’s homily last month was an indicator that he knew something was up.

medj commission

marie

[MarieT]

New Church commission to study Medjugorje

Sep. 7, 2006 (CWNews.com) - Church leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina plan to assemble a commission to study the effects of pilgrimages to Medjugorje.

Msgr. Mato Zovkic, the vicar general of the Sarajevo archdiocese, confirmed the plans for a study commission during a September 5 conversation with the I Media news service in Rome. He said that the bishops' plans had been discussed this summer with Archbishop Alessandro D'Errico, the apostolic nuncio in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

A 1972 Vatican document sets out the procedures to be followed in investigating the authenticity of extraordinary claims, such as the reported appearances of the Virgin Mary at Medjurorje. The document calls for examination of three questions. First, Church officials are called to assess the phenomena themselves, and the people who report them, looking for evidence of authenticity. Next they are to study any message that is associated with the extraordinary reports, to ascertain whether that message conforms to orthodox Church teaching.

Msgr. Zovkic said that Church leaders are now tackling the third question raised by the document, appraising the pastoral implications of the phenomena, by studying the "fruits" of the reported apparitions.

He explained that the study commission will attempt to answer several related question: What are the experiences of pilgrims who visit Medjugorje? What motivates some people to make repeated visits there? What effect does their pilgrimage have upon the way they live after they return home? These questions contribute to the overall appraisal of the reported apparitions.

In 1991, a commission set up by the bishops of what was then Yugoslavia reached the conclusion that there was no clear evidence of extraordinary events at Medjugorje, saying that the study "could not confirm the supernatural character" of the alleged Marian apparitions. The commission recommended a follow-up study to determine whether or not the pilgrimages to Medjugorje were promoting a firm adherence to the norms of Church teaching and liturgical discipline.

However, the plans for that second study were disrupted by the outbreak of civil war in Yugoslavia. After years of bloodshed the country disintegrated and the newly independent state of Bosnia-Herzegovina emerged.

Now that peace has been restored, and pilgrimages to Medjugorje continue, the Holy See encouraged the formation of a pastoral commission to continue the study, Msgr. Zovkic reported. The commission is to be established under the jurisdiction of the local ordinary, Bishop Ratko Peric, in conjunction with the nation's episcopal conference.

The composition of the new investigating commission has not yet been settled, Msgr. Zovkic reported.

He predicted that it might take several months to choose the members of the panel, including experts in liturgy, Mariology, and theology.

In all likelihood, he said, the commission would include members from the different regions of the former Yugoslavia as well as others appointed by the Holy See.

In July, Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo said that the bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina were waiting for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to recommend theologians for the panel. That Congregation has not offered any public comment on the planned inquiry, although sources there acknowledge that a new study is underway.

The Church is not likely to make any final conclusion on the authenticity of the reported Marian apparitions at Medjugorje, Msgr. Zovkic said, until the "seers" report that those apparitions have ended. To date the seers have continued to say that the Virgin Mary appears to them daily, 25 years after the first such reports.

.... Two commissions established by Church authorities-- one at the diocesan level in 1982, and another by the Yugoslavian bishops' conference-- have cast doubts on the authenticity of the reported apparitions. Nevertheless, Msgr. Zovkic emphasizes, the Church wishes to preserve whatever spiritual fruits the pilgrimages have brought forth

complete article

marie

[MarieT]

The commission is to be established under the jurisdiction of the local ordinary, Bishop Ratko Peric, in conjunction with the nation's episcopal conference.

well thats a relief they arent pushing him outta the scene....but why would bishop peric state there was 'no commission' if he has been named to be a vital part of it. The plot thickens

marie