Pope authorized pilgrimages to Medjugorje, but not apparitions

ROME.- After years of uncertainty, the

Pope

has today authorized pilgrimages to the Marian Shrine of Medjugorje – visited every year by millions
faithful of the world, even
Argentines – but without pronouncing on the authenticity of the apparitions, which are still under study. Up to here
pilgrimages were allowed but only in a "private" way.

The decision was communicated at the mbad in the parish sanctuary of Medjugorje by the nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Luigi Pezzuto, and by the Polish archbishop Henryk Hoser, special apostolic visitor of the Holy See.

Andrea Gisotti, acting spokesman for the Holy See, said that beyond the papal approval of the pilgrimages to the mausoleum of Medjugorje, which has more than 40 million followers, "should be interpreted as an authentication of well-known events, which still require an examination on the part of the Church ". "It is therefore necessary to avoid that such pilgrimages create confusion or ambiguity in the doctrinal aspect and it is also incumbent upon pastors of all ranks and ranks who intend to go to Medjugorje to solemnly celebrate or concelebrate, "he said.

Gisotti pointed out that the Pope's decision was due to pastoral rather than doctrinal reasons. "In considering the remarkable flows of people that go to Medjugorje and the abundant fruits of grace that have emerged, the approval is framed in the particular pastoral care that the Holy Father wanted to give to this reality, in order to foster promote the fruits of good, "he said.

He also stressed that the apostolic visitor, with the papal approval of pilgrimages, will have more facility to establish contacts with the priests responsible for organizing visits to Medjugorje, "as safe and well-prepared people by offering them information and indications enabling them to carry out such pilgrimages effectively ". .

The tradition of the Church is to badyze the Marian apparitions over a long period. In fact, he never spoke of the apparitions that began to be reported in Medjugorje from June 1981, a phenomenon still in effect. As he recalled
Vatican News, of the six seers, at the time of the children or teenagers, three declare that they still have today the daily appearance of the "Queen of Peace", always at the same time in the world. in the afternoon and wherever they are: it is Vicka, who lives in Medjugorje; Marija, who lives in Monza; and Ivan, who lives in the United States but often returns to his native country. A fourth clairvoyant, Mirjana, says that she receives an apparition every month, the second day, while for the last two "exchicos" of Medjugorje, this happens once a year.

"I think that in Medjugorje, there is a grace, it can not be denied, there are people who become," said the pope, discussing in 2013 with the father Alexander Awi Mello, a Mariologist and Secretary of the Dicastery of the laity, family and life. . In this interview, which was later transformed into a book (
It's my mother, meeting with Maria), the pope also warned against the protagonism of visionaries and the proliferation of secret messages, according to Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Vatican. "But without ever ignoring the positive fruits of the experience of pilgrimages," he said. In fact, in the prologue of this book, the Argentine theologian Carlos Galli, dean of the Faculty of Theology of the UCA, wrote: "For Francis, the most important is the Marian faith of the" holy faithful people of God "which teaches us to love Mary beyond theological reflection".

Tornielli also emphasized the importance for the pope of "popular piety" and the fact that "millions of pilgrims over these years have experienced a significant experience of faith in Medjugorje: the long lines to confessionals and adorations confirm it.Eucharistic night in the great parish church, without a square meter free kneeling faithful. "

"It is precisely for this reason that, pursuing the study of the phenomenon of Medjugorje and without deciding on the authenticity of the apparitions, the pope wanted to take care of those who face the inconvenience of the journey of going to pray at this place, "said Tornielli. . For the same reason, on May 31, Francisco appointed one of his permanent envoys, Bishop of the Holy See, in charge of the pilgrim pastoral (Hoser). "And for this reason, it is now going beyond what the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared more than twenty years ago, which allowed pilgrimages to Medjugorje but only" privately. "Dioceses and parishes can now organize and guide these pilgrimages, an expression of the Marian piety of the people of God," he concluded.