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This website has been established to help address assertions disseminated by several recent sites critical to the Marian Apparitions occurring at Medjugorje.  The motivation for these wide ranging contentions are unclear but could be considered expected, as most Marian Apparitions have encountered some form of resistance.  Some Catholics may be concerned that Marian Apparitions might distract our focus from Jesus Christ, or they may have difficulty comprehending the whole Catholic Co-Redemptrix philosophy (1).  Some non-Catholics may also have difficultly understanding the Co-Redemptive process, considering Mary to be only some kind of a birthing vessel, even capable of possessing the same sins and sinful desires as any other woman.

The Ark of the Covenant was so Holy, that God gave specific instructions as to how It must be built.  Every single detail; from the wood that must be used, to what metals to incorporate, how to carry It, how to hold It, what was to be placed in It, etc.  God even warned; if It starts to tip or fall don't touch It.  We all know what happened when the Ark was being carried by the Israelites on an ox-cart and began to tilt, an Israelite put his hand on It to stabilize It, and God instantaneously struck him dead.  God warned not to touch It, and He immediately defended His Vessel with severe capital punishment. God doesn't give these exacting instructions in the Old Testament only once, but He gives them twice.  The Ark possessed such incredible power, that armies who carried It before them, won their victories.  When King David recovered the Ark he danced every seven steps proclaiming his joy at getting the Ark Back.  He was even chastised by his wife who said he was making a fool out of himself.  He told her that she didn't understand the significance.  We got the Ark back!  He knew there was power there!

And if there was so much power with the Ark because It contained objects that were touched by the very Finger of God (the Jewish Decalogue known as the Ten Commandments, on two tablets that God inscribed with His Finger), how much more power is there in the Container that enclosed the actual Divine Holy Finger of God?  And not just the Finger, but the Hand of God, and not just the Hand, but the entire Body of God?  And how much more Holy of a Vessel would be required to carry all that Divinity?  And how much more exacting and perfect construction would be required to build such a Faultless Holy Vessel?  And that is what Mary is, God's most Perfect Ark, the bearer of Himself.

Considering that God Himself instantaneously struck a righteous Israelite dead on the spot for simply touching the Ark of the Covenant (even when this righteous Israelite was making the noble effort to prevent It from falling), how could some Christians possibly consider that God would allow people to falsify Apparitions, Instructions and Messages from His Beloved Mother, the Holy Faultless Living Perfect Ark of His Very Self, for thirty years without bringing about their rapid demise or ruin?  Those who espouse such irrationality give atheists the very foundation to root the structure of their blasphemous ideologies, as only two conclusions could be deduced, that either God is dead or doesn't exist.  God instantaneously defends His Ark!!!

"The Mostar Bishop Writes Me" (2).

Bishop Ratko Peric

A website highly critical to the Medjugorje Marian Apparitions featured four praising letters (written on: 1/13/08, 1/24/08, 2/3/08 & 12/19/08) from the Bishop of Mostar (this was recently reduced to one partial letter when websites defending the Apparitions exposed clear conflicts of interest) (3).  Certain questions come to mind.  Why would a Bishop be writing love letters to a website attacking these Marian Apparitions, particularly when Pope Benedict XVI took the extreme action of officially relieving him of all judicial authority by forming a commission completely independent of the local Diocese?  Notwithstanding that Pope Benedict provided the symbolism of blessing a statue of "Our Lady of Medjugorje" in Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City on 6/4/08, hoping that this particular Bishop would follow the Vicar of Christ's lead (4, 5, 6).  The Bishop of Mostar refused to take a back seat and continued his aggressive behavior regarding the apparitions, making wild accusations and defrocking Priests sympathetic to the Apparitions.

The Holy Roman Catholic Church has a Hierarchy.  The Code of Canon Law - Book II, Part II, Section I, Chapter I, Article I - gives the Pope full and supreme power over all levels of the Church and free use to exercise this power (7).  The First Vatican Council, Session IV, Chp. IV, p.IX:  "So, then, if anyone says that the Roman Pontiff has merely an office of supervision and guidance, and not the full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the whole Church, and this not only in matters of faith and morals, but also in those which concern the discipline and government of the Church dispersed throughout the whole world; or that he has only the principal part, but not the absolute fullness, of this supreme power; or that this power of his is not ordinary and immediate both over all and each of the Churches and over all and each of the pastors and faithful: let him be anathema" (8).  The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 883 states: "The college or body of bishops has no authority unless united with the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, as its head" (9).

Notwithstanding public criticisms of the Marian Apparitions by Bishop Ratko Peric (Local Bishop of the Diocese of Mostar), the Vatican espoused that no official decision was actually made concerning the phenomenon at Medjugorje on the local level: "The commissions at those levels never came to a conclusion on the question of whether or not the alleged apparitions are supernatural, so the bishops of Bosnia and Herzegovina have asked the CDF to take over investigations" (10, 11). Those who oppose Medjugorje claim that both local bishops, (Zanic and Peric) of Mostar and all the official commissions of investigation were uniformly negative: "supernaturality is not demonstrated".  This is in direct conflict to the Vatican statement that "The commissions at those levels never came to a conclusion on the question of whether or not the alleged apparitions are supernatural". Even if those who oppose Medjugorje could somehow substantiate their claim, the Vatican is the higher authority and It's statement would indicate that the lower level decision was not recognized by the Holy See.

 

CCHD & Saul Alinsky - Real Catholic TV	Catholic Campaign For Anti-Catholic Activities

In his defense against the Arians at the Council of Nicea, Saint Athanasius said "the skulls of Bishops pave the floor of hell" (12, 13, 14).  A famous proverb attributed to Saint John Chrysostom says that; "The road to hell is paved with the skulls of bishops" (15, 16, 17).  It certainly sheds new light on the messages given to Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa by Our Lady of Akita, approved by both the Local Bishop Ito of Akita Japan and then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI): "The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see Cardinals opposing Cardinals, Bishops against other Bishops. The Priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres (other Priests). Churches and altars will be sacked. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many Priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.  The demon will be especially implacable against the souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness.  If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them.  Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary.  I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach.  Those who place their confidence in me will be saved." (18, 19, 20, 21, 22).

"Mirjana And Her Parchment" (23).

"The Gospa And Instigation To Insubordination" (28).

This section evidences how the intimidating hours of cross interrogations and exhaustive days of comparative tape recordings (at the outset when they were still children) may have resulted in one or more of the visionaries perjuring themselves.  The resulting victorious tape recordings touted by skeptics like trophies as proof of the children lying, raised even more questions, as these thirty year old tapes (not even the originals, but recordings, of recordings) evidenced against the children actually contained cuts, deleted segments, doctoring, spliced conversations, as well as being undecipherable in at least 148 instances (29, 30).

  The grueling hours of cross-interrogations, the anxiety and pressure of being caught between the proverbial "rock and a hard place" with the Mother of God who can not lie saying one thing, while the Church (in which they were taught was infallible) assuring them the exact opposite, perceptibly may have caused some of the children to falter.  People are human, should we hold visionaries to a greater standard than our first Pope, the Rock that God built His Holy Roman Catholic Church upon?  Because Saint Peter lied and swore three times that he did not know Jesus, are we to disregard half of Acts of the Apostles and ban all of the Epistles of Peter?  As Our Holy Mother cannot lie, eventually we learned that She was exactly correct all along, as explained by Daniel Klimek (31).

Our Lady of Akita told us that the devil has infiltrated the Church.  When a cunning burglar enters an occupied home, his first priority is severing communications, he cuts the phone lines. When stealthy navy seals overtake an enemy ship, their first priority is severing communications, they disable the antenna. Likewise, when the devil infiltrates the Church, his first priority is severing communications, he gets internal Church legislation enacted by those who he can manipulate to silence God’s prophets: "According to the Catholic faith, nobody is obliged to believe in Apparitions and Private Revelations: therefore, how will the Bishop be judged by the justice of Our Lady if he does not believe in such Apparitions?" (32).

In the Catholic Church, this is known as the "Optional Adoption" philosophy. In fact, this philosophy is the exact opposite of what Our Lady of Fatima attested; as God performed one of greatest miracles of all time specifically to prove this very point. It was witnessed by over 100,000 people, even as far as 32 miles away. All who witnessed it were astonished by the spectacular demonstration of the miracle. Not only did they see the fire of the sun detach itself and fall upon the earth, but they felt the intense heat. The flooded grounds and their soaked clothes from the prior torrential rain, dried up immediately before their eyes. Some were up to their ankles in mud, then standing upon dry soil. Moreover, it was the only miracle in the history of the world that God performed at a predicted time and place. As the Holy Mother of God explained: "So That All May Believe" (33, 34, 35, 36, 37). Proving beyond objection that  God hasn't adopted the "Optional Adoption" hypothesis, and He worked one of the greatest Miracles of all time to prove this very point. God does not want His Church to sever or ignore communications with His Prophets. The devil (whom Our Lady of Akita tells us infiltrated the Church) does, he wants to choke us off from God's Guidance through His Prophets.

Jesus "was obedient even unto death" (38).  Obedient yes, but to His Father.  Several times in the Bible, Jesus is referred to as Rabbi or Rabboni (Priest in those days), it's difficult to argue subordinance when He called his so-called superiors (Chief Priest, Doctors of the Law, Pharisees, Scribes and Seduces) a "brood of vipers" and overturned the tables in the Temple ( Mark 11:15, Matthew 12:34 & Matthew 21:12).  Jesus made a whip out of cords and drove them all out (John 2:15).  The Bible does not portray Jesus as a mindless sycophant fawning over His so-called superiors with servile flattery.  In reality, if the time of the Christ was today, and He was in Mostar, He would most likely be fashioning a whip to defend His Mother.

The Fruits

 

"One has to consider the fruits also. It must be observed that the spiritual fruits alone cannot suffice in discerning the authenticity of apparitions" (39). Jesus taught the very criteria for true accurate discernment; that we will know the tree by its fruit; "So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:17-20). So if we follow Jesus’ concise criteria, since the fruit is good, the tree must be good.

 

This throws a monkey-wrench in Medjugorje challenger’s philosophy, as they must be well aware of the thirty to forty five million religious pilgrims, the enormous group praying of Rosaries, the mind boggling Confession & Eucharist lines, the countless conversions to Catholicism & Vocations to the Priesthood, the thousands of Healings & Miracles they refuse to acknowledge or recognize, etc (40).  According to EWTN correspondent Antonio Gaspari, "More confessions are heard in Medjugorje than in any other parish of the entire world; more than 150 confessors work without interruption there every day. In the year 1990 (before the outbreak of civil war), 1,900,000 people took Communion (more than at Fatima); 30,000 priests and over 100 bishops have visited the site" (41).  "Many conversions are reported, even among those who come out of curiosity, or simply to accompany friends or relatives" (42).  In order to skirt this obvious quandary, the most common antagonist solution becomes attempting to alter the meaning of the metaphorical fruit. In this particular instance, fruits are characterized as "spiritual fruits". Other adversaries will make ardent attempts at digging up whatever dirt they can, then attempt to attribute the resulting negative compilation to Jesus’ denotation of fruits, notwithstanding a lot of the same petty issues occur at other Marian Apparition sites, such as testy boutique merchants or pickpockets at Fatima or Lourdes, etc. What Jesus actually means are the real fruits, the only thing that really counts or matters; saved souls. The earth will pass away (Matthew 24:35). Everything we see and own on this Earth will eventually be gone, at some point the Sun will burn out and the earth will become a big lifeless ice ball. All that remains from this Earth will be saved and condemned souls.

Consider a sporting event. How many people actually attend at the stadium? Many, perhaps anywhere from twenty to eighty thousand, depending on the sport and significance of the event. But how does that compare to the number of people watching it on television? That large number starts resembling a drop in a bucket. Now consider how many people have given up their regular vacations, scrimped & saved, purchased plane tickets, made the necessary arrangements and actually made the pilgrimage to Medjugorje? It has been estimated anywhere from thirty to forty five million pilgrims. Now, how many Medjugorje followers are sitting on the side lines proportional to the television viewers, participating only by reading about it and praying? Suddenly it becomes evident that this figure could literally be in the billions.  Why do all these people competently ignore all the silly nonsense antagonists have propagated?  Jesus explains; "The sheep know the Master's voice" (John 10:27). When the Visionaries stand before Almighty God and He asks them what they reaped, the number of saved souls (via the assistance of His Mother) will be enormous (Matthew 25:14 & Luke 19:12). Why would adversaries want to put themselves in the position of explaining to God the lost souls who were diverted away from His Mother? As Jesus said; "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matthew 7:17-20).

"I knew about Medjugorje for many years, not personally because I have not been here before, but in our Diocese and even further, I experience the fruits of Medjugorje. I always used to say what Jesus has said in the Gospel: 'You will recognize the tree by its fruits.' When I see the fruits of Medjugorje back at home, I can only say that the tree is surely good" (Cardinal Christopher Schonborn, Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna 01/18/10 43).

Ten secrets and one long wait

"By now, almost thirty years have passed and we have not seen anything" (44). There have been apparitions approved by the Roman Catholic Church which occurred for much longer time periods than Medjugorje.  Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Germany received visions for almost seventy years.  The apparitions of Our Lady of Laus, France occurred for 54 years.

The apparitions to Saint Bridget of Sweden lasted more than twenty five years.  According to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the "length of apparitions" is not a factor in determining the authenticity of alleged apparitions. The Church does not set arbitrary standards for judging alleged apparitions, but instead has specific criteria that it follows (47).  Medjugorje Visionary Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo asked Our Lady why the apparitions have been lasting so long.  Our Lady responded: "Because so many people are taking so long to convert.  There have never been so many unbelievers."  Another Visionary Jakov Colo was asked this question many times.  His response has always been the same; "Instead of asking 'why'; 'why have they been occurring for so long', we instead should be saying something else; we should be saying 'thank you', and giving thanks to Our Lord for allowing Our Blessed Mother to be with us for so long."