Cardinal Schönborn issues apology to bishop of Medjugorje

cna ^ | Januay 18, 2010

[NYer]

Bishop Ratko Perić / Cardinal Christoph Schönborn

Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jan 18, 2010 / 04:50 pm (CNA).- Vienna’s Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has faxed a letter of apology to Bishop Ratko Perić following the cardinal's well-publicized visit to Medjugorje. Bishop Perić, whose diocese includes the famous site of alleged Marian apparitions, had previously issued a statement expressing his displeasure at not being informed of the cardinal's visit.

At the end of December 2009, Cardinal Schönborn made what was called a private visit to Medjugorje, where the Virgin Mary has supposedly appeared on a daily basis for over twenty years. The Austrian cardinal's personal secretary said the visit was “private” and not intended to “make a statement” about the authenticity of the apparitions, which do not have Vatican approval.

However, on January 2, 2010, Bishop Perić wrote an open letter to the Viennese Cardinal, saying that the visit could not be considered private because published articles by Kath.net and CNA had made the visit very public.

The bishop also emphasized that the alleged apparitions have caused turmoil in his diocese, including the presence of unapproved religious communities and openly dissenting priests. Cardinal Schönborn’s presence aggravated these problems, Bishop Perić said in his statement.

Bishop Perić also expressed his shock and disappointment at the fact that Cardinal Schönborn had failed to observe the courtesy brother bishops pay of informing the local ordinary of a diocese their plans to visit.

In its most recent statement, the Diocese of Mostar noted on its website that Cardinal Schönborn had a private audience with Pope Benedict in Rome on January 15, and shortly thereafter, the cardinal faxed a handwritten letter of apology to Bishop Perić.

The beginning of the letter reads: “ Your Excellency, Dear Brother in Christ. I have received your letter from January 2 of this year. I am very sorry that you got the impression that my pilgrimage has disturbed the peace. You can be sure that this was not my intention.”

The contents of the rest of the letter are withheld, but the letter concludes: “The Mother of God and her divine Son will certainly lead all things towards that which is good. In this trust, I greet you fraternally united in the Lord and remain, Yours, + Christoph Card. Schönborn O.P.”

[NYer]

Ping

[AnAmericanMother]

Sounds like His Eminence got taken to the woodshed.

I would not like to face the wrath of BXVI. For all he looks like a kindly old Opa, I think those keen eyes could flash lightnings. That would be ten times scarier than having a Superior Court judge threaten you . . . . I mean, after all, all a judge can do is toss you in the clink . . . .

[PatriotGirl827]

Good. It would have been better if he had not gone at all, but at least he has apologized.

[davidtlig]

"I am very sorry that you got the impression that my pilgrimage has disturbed the peace."

Do you call that an apology?? Hardly! It would be nice to see what the Cardinal actually said to Bishop Peric but as the Bishop only wants us to see the beginning and end of the letter we can only surmise as to what he said.

However, we can get a good idea of some of what he will have said to Bishop Peric from part of an interview the Cardinal gave in Germany a week ago:

“The Church is entitled to the last judgment but one thing is for sure: People are experiencing there the help, closeness, and protection of the Mother of God in a special way. And certainly they would not make pilgrimages there for 28 years if there wasn’t anything there. This doesn’t already mean that I am anticipating the decision of the Church but I’m saying distinctly there are fruits there – good fruits – or you could also say there can be no smoke without a fire and in Medjugorje there obviously is a fire.”

Regarding the public criticism by bishop Ratko Peric:

“Of course we can be of different opinion regarding things that have not been ultimately decided yet, and I respect him (the bishop) as a fellow brother. I am united with him in prayer and I also believe that we can both confidently await the decision of the Church and can entrust ourselves to this decision with confidence, without polemics.”

Regarding the bishop’s criticism that the cardinal had not announced himself:

“Of course I could have tried to pay him a visit in Mostar. It is not absolutely necessary and before me there have been many bishops in Medjugorje. We know that he has a somewhat different opinion here. I want to avoid polemics. For me it is not about being proved correct against him, but I certainly have not violated the right that is also the right of a bishop and cardinal.”

• The programme Orientierung in which cardinal Schönborn gave his interview was transmitted on ORF2, Sunday, January 10, 2010.

[AnAmericanMother]

No, that's what he said before he was taken to the woodshed.

The middle of the letter is private because that is where the personal apology is. You don't get to see things like that, because as annoying as Cardinal Schönborn is, he doesn't deserve to have a personal apology spread upon the public press for snipers and gawkers.

And His Holiness knows that - he's well acquainted with calling people to account, that used to be his job. We have been informed that an apology was made. That is enough.

[markomalley]

Good. It would have been better if he had not gone at all, but at least he has apologized.

I've thought about that a bit and I wonder...

The fact that Schönborn had to issue an apology in the fashion in which he did sends a strong message. Not to the "true believers" in the Medjugorje apparitions, but to a lot of folks who might be on the fence on the matter.

[davidtlig]

We have been informed that an apology was made.

ah, that's all right then! The rubbish being spread around the internet about this matter amazes me. I have no doubt whatever that the rumours and the nonsense about the Pope 'dressing down' the Cardinal are TOTALLY without any basis.

Sadly, people are going to continue to believe whatever they want to believe. One thing is fairly sure, however, that following the Cardinal's outspoken support for Medjugorje (and the Cardinal is a member of the CDF), there is little chance of any negative ruling coming from the CDF.

The anti-Medjugorje brigade will, however, no doubt continue to live in hope.....

[markomalley]

davidtlig
Since Jan 4, 2010

Welcome to Free Republic

Is your sole purpose for being on this site to advocate for Medjugorje?

[Servant of the Cross]

Here's a link to this interview with Cardinal Shönborn.

IMHO, his handwritten note clearly stated that he was sorry that Msgr Ratko Peric "got the impression" that the Cardinal's visit "disturbed the peace". I would say that the Cardinal does NOT believe it disturbed the peace and that he did NOT retract any of his statements regarding Medjugorje following his visit. He was not taken to a 'woodshed' by Pope Benedict.

[davidtlig]

Is your sole purpose for being on this site to advocate for Medjugorje?

sorry, maybe I have misunderstood and that only anti-Medjugorje posts are allowed on 'Free Republic'?

I've just noticed an earlier comment:

The middle of the letter is private because that is where the personal apology is.

It is this kind of thing that takes my breath away! The middle of the letter is unpublished so THEREFORE that is where the personal apology is? Come on, I'm sure correspondents on the Free Republic are capable of better than that.

I'm sorry if I am coming across as an aggressive type but actually I'm not at all like that but all sense of fair play seems to leave people when the matter of Medjugorje comes up. Oh and yes, it was the posts about Medjugorje which introduced me to the 'Free Republic'. Is that bad?

[Servant of the Cross]

"The middle of the letter is private because that is where the personal apology is".

I concur with your viewpoint that this is an amazing leap of conjecture. There are also reports that the "middle" of the letter did not refer to Medjugorje at all.

I found this article interesting too: Austrian Church Official Rejects Rumour Against Cardinal Schonborn.

[markomalley]

sorry, maybe I have misunderstood and that only anti-Medjugorje posts are allowed on 'Free Republic'?

That is not what I said, now is it?

• Based upon your postings, to date, I'm not sure we're not dealing with a "one trick pony" here (thus the earlier query: Is your sole purpose for being on this site to advocate for Medjugorje?
• With a grand total of 14 days experience on FR, I don't think you know either AnAmericanMother or me well enough to categorize either of us a member of The anti-Medjugorje brigade or not...or, for that matter to imply it one way or the other.

Of course, if you come out in favor of the Bayside affair or the like, you may find at least me a part of that anti-Brigade...

With all due respect...

[davidtlig]

There are also reports that the "middle" of the letter did not refer to Medjugorje at all.

I went back to Bishop Peric's website and yes, you are right, the Bishop's site itself indicates that the unpublished part of the Cardinal's letter is not connected with Medjugorje.

[davidtlig]

Of course, if you come out in favor of the Bayside affair or the like, you may find at least me a part of that anti-Brigade...

I am pleased to confirm that I do not believe in the authenticity of Bayside.

Based upon your postings, to date, I'm not sure we're not dealing with a "one trick pony" here

Well, I may well be such a pony because when our Lady comes to earth in this remarkable way for such a long time in Medjugorje, it clearly puts things into a particular perspective and discussions about politics lose some of their lustre.

With a grand total of 14 days experience on FR, I don't think you know either AnAmericanMother or me well enough to categorize either of us a member of The anti-Medjugorje brigade or not.

Actually, I believe your postings on this one thread betray your views rather clearly but if I am mistaken I will be delighted!

[markomalley]

Actually, I believe your postings on this one thread betray your views rather clearly but if I am mistaken I will be delighted!

You may well be mistaken.

Actually, my attitude is "wait and see." The CDF has not formally condemned them. So I don't. CDF has condemned Bayside (and that is why this is a "ringer" question).

The local ordinary is not happy with what's happening at Medjugorje, but I don't believe that he has formally condemned the apparitions either. (Having said that, I will be happy to be corrected one way or the other)

I can well afford to be patient. Private revelations do not change the Deposit of Faith:

67 Throughout the ages, there have been so-called "private" revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.

Christian faith cannot accept "revelations" that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfilment, as is the case in certain nonChristian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such "revelations".

You may also wish to read the 2000 CDF document, The Message of Fatima.

It's not that I am skeptical or disbelieving on it. But, as with any private revelation, messages received by way of an apparition, even an approved one, have to be kept in their proper context.

FWIW.

[davidtlig]

The local ordinary is not happy with what's happening at Medjugorje, but I don't believe that he has formally condemned the apparitions either.

That's an understatement. He views them as virtually demonic! Some years ago Cardinal Bertone, who at the time worked at the CDF, issued a letter formally taking away the bishop's authority, stating that the bishop's views were his own personal views. Unfortunately, the current Prefect of the CDF (Cardinal Levada) has rather confused the matter by referring people again to the bishop!

This situation actually illustrates that the whole position of the authority of the local ordinary in these matters is largely one of church 'etiquette' rather than law. There seems to be no canon about discernment of apparitions.

In fact, the quote from the Catechism that you posted is our best guide to how we should proceed with apparition discernment:

Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.

This is what is happening in Medjugorje. The Magisterium of the Church (which is NOT the bishop) has basically offered no guidance at the moment and so the people are making their own discernement which is entirely in keeping with the Catechism's words.

I can well afford to be patient. Private revelations do not change the Deposit of Faith.

No, if you accept for a moment that Medjugorje was authentic, do you think our Lady would have wanted everybody to stay away for 30 years, waiting for the Church to make a decision?

[AnAmericanMother]

I have no opinion one way or the other on Medjugorje. You may be in the position of everything looking like a nail because you're holding a hammer.

My default in this (or any other situation) is to presume that the Holy Father has done what needs to be done. I might have hammered the Cardinal a little harder (he is a sad case) but that's not my decision. Sure it was speculation on my part that he hadn't released the serious hammering, and I was wrong . . . but it was a reasonable speculation until we had more facts, and erring on the side of BXVI doing the right thing.

I am hesitant to criticize a man who is a brilliant thinker, an obviously orthodox Catholic, and working hard to restore continuity with Catholic tradition. All this second guessing, after awhile, borders on disobedience, and there's enough of that going around already (lots of it from people like the Cardinal).

[PatriotGirl827]

“All this second guessing, after awhile, borders on disobedience, and there’s enough of that going around already (lots of it from people like the Cardinal).”

You are correct AmericanMother. And put me down for the “anti-Medjugorje brigade”. I don’t believe that it is authentic. JMHO.

[davidtlig]

The constant and misguided accusations of disobedience by the visionaries and anyone who loves Medjugorje is wearying. I hope I am not breaking any rules on this forum if I paste a little anecdote from one of the visionaries, Mirjana. This item, apart from witnessing to Pope John Paul's love of Medjugorje, also illustrates Mirjana's beautifully humorous nature:

Q: We went on a pilgrimage and we were blessed to stay at your house once and we noticed the Pope’s shoes are in a little display at your house. Can you tell us how Pope John Paul II’s shoes arrived there?

A: I am the only one of 6 visionaries who was lucky enough, had the honor, to encounter Pope John Paul II. You can imagine how the other 5 are jealous of me. [laughter] Jakov always says, “Oh, yea, you have been with Pope...”

I was in the Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica, with an Italian priest. Holy Father was walking by and he was blessing us. When he approached me, he blessed me and he just continued to walk. However, this Italian priest loudly said to him, "Holy Father, this is Mirjana from Medjugorje." He came back and blessed me again and he set out. And I said to the priest, "He just thinks I need a double blessing." But then after, the priest received a note, an invitation to Castle Gandolfo, close to Rome, in order to encounter the Pope. I couldn’t sleep all night because I really loved him and I respected him and I could really feel his love for Our Lady.

So the next day when the Pope and I met alone, I was just crying. I couldn’t say a word out of excitement. He noticed that I was excited. I think he tried to talk to me in Polish because he thought in the Slavic languages there are things in common. I didn’t understand a word! But I finally had enough strength and courage, I asked him, "What are you trying to tell me?" Then we talked. Among other things he said to me, "I know everything about Medjugorje. I’ve been following Medjugorje. Ask pilgrims to pray for my intentions, to keep, to take good care of Medjugorje, because Medjugorje is hope for the entire world. And if I were not Pope, I would have been in Medjugorje a long time ago."

So recently on the Mount of Apparitions, I saw a pair of shoes of the Pope in front of me, and after the apparition, this gentleman who brought these shoes ( he didn’t introduce himself), he said, "It was the Pope’s desire for a long time to come to Medjugorje. I had said, ‘If you do not go, I will take your shoes.’ And that is how I brought his shoes, so they may be present during the apparition."