In the New

Medjugorje USA will now respond having received near 100 emails over the gossip spreading on the internet about the punishment of former Medjugorje Franciscan priest Tomislav Vlassic. These sources be it from the lay person to priests, nuns, online Catholic news sources of other media sources have all neglected to ask themselves the one most important singular question. Instead of asking themselves this one most important question and pondering it, everyone has chosen to gossip and spread information like a wild fire burning out of control. Many years ago in the Medjugorje Press Bulletin (no longer published) we were warned to exercise caution over matters of gossip, rumor and speculation but even having been instructed properly, the overall population still chooses to spread misinformation and gossip. It amazes me how people can talk out of turn with no real knowledge of the truth and how they will believe what little they hear without asking themselves a single question. So lets get to the truth.

The most important question to ask in regard to the information on Fr. Vlassic is who publicly released this information? The information of punishment against Fr. Vlassic has been publicly displayed and announced by the current Bishop of Mostar who also governs Medjugorje as part of his diocese. It is a know fact the Bishop himself has publicly announced countless times that he does not believe in the Medjugorje apparitions . He has stated in writing, internet diocese newsletters, a book and publicly that priest, nuns and lay people going to Medjugorje are in violation. Is it really possible all the people gossiping on the internet about Fr. Vlassic could really believe the Catholic Church would make public knowledge to the whole entire world that they chastised a single priest? If the Catholic Church was to reprimand a priest they would not do so putting  a Scarlet Letter on him for the whole world to see. The Bishop of Mostar who openly admits he hates the Medjugorje apparitions, is also the person who has released the so called punishment of Vlassic to the world. This is another attack and attempt to destroy Medjugorje and the visitation of Our Lady. For those who want to live outside of gossip and rumor below is what you need to speak truthfully about all that is going. However the thing people hate most of all is reading, which is why people gossip so much with misinformation. However, for those who want the truth it is below in this article.   

This article is not meant to defend nor deny the allegations and claims of possible disciplinary actions against Franciscan Friar Father Tomislav Vlasic. This article is written to present facts I know to be true and also to ask the reader they consider the whole picture before making any personal observations, comments and or judgments.

Why is it when negative information spreads about Medjugorje people read it, believe it and do not question it? People accept what they read these days as gospel truth, which is a mystery to me because all things have their own motivation. The gospel truth does not exist unless you yourself do the research sifting through the grains of sand and wallowing in the hogwash. Facts come only by study, research and investigation and not by accepting other writings as fact when the information being presented may well be fiction dictated by self motivation. 

In regard to recent information about disciplinary action against Franciscan Friar Father Tomislav Vlasic, ask yourself one single question! Why did the Church previously try to quietly handle the matter of hundreds of pedophile priests internally instead of making it public knowledge but now practically stands on the roof tops to make public knowledge of some small tiny claims of cautionary warnings against only one Franciscan Friar that once served in Medjugorje?  The comparison, result and justification seem odd and unbalanced? This tells me the allegations against Fr. Vlasic are in somehow and someway self motivated with malicious intent.

Things are still unfolding in regard to Fr. Vlasic. However, one need be careful as misinformation circulates quickly. I am already received emails claiming Fr. Vlassic "IS" a Medjugorje priest and so on. Fr. Vlasic "WAS a Medjugorje priest but "IS" not currently serving the Church in Medjugorje. There was a time he did serve the church in Medjugorje but I want to say he has not been there since about 1989 or 90. However, I don't recall exactly when he was sent to work in another parish. People are also writing me saying Vlasic was or still is the Spiritual Advisor of the Medjugorje visionaries which is false. Fr. Vlasic has certainly talked with the visionaries but no priest has ever been officially appointed as Spiritual Advisor to the Medjugorje visionaries.

Some claims against Fr. Vlasic have recently popped up on a number of different online Catholic news sources. The news sources circulating complaints against Fr. Vlasic all seem to agree the direct source comes by way of the current Bishop of Mostar, "Ratko Peric." Sources say Bishop Peric is acting accordingly having received a letter from the Vatican director of the "Doctrine of Faith." Let “assume” that in fact a letter from “The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) signed by Cardinal William Levada was in fact sent to Bishop of Mostar-Dovno (Bishop Ratko Peric) whose diocese covers Medjugorje. Hypothetically lets further “assume” that in this letter the CDF did indeed issue a “cautionary warning” against Fr. Vlasic. All considered, we need ask the same question! Why did Bishop Ratko Peric turn a small cautionary warning against one priest into such a huge media circus? This question leads to the heart of the matter.

It is Church policy to handle negative matters internally far away from media attention as possible. The Church deals with such matters silently for many reasons but one major reason is because if negative news reaches the faithful it can cause the flock to scatter and it is the prime duty of the Church to tend the flock. The allegations against one priest certainly do not warrant spreading news far and wide throughout the land and throughout the world. Claims again Fr. Vlasic, true or not, are irrelevant to the fact we need consider the motivation of the source who blatantly handed trivial matters over to outside media sources. The person who handed Father Vlasic to devouring media wolves is likened to a wolf himself dressed in sheep clothing. Such, actions are self motivated and self serving with roots in wrong doing. These actions also violate vows of obedience to the Church and in following the rule of the Church. Church policy demands silence in such matters as not to stir and scatter the flock. Regardless of Church policy, vow of obedience, or Church rule and procedure, Bishop of Mostar Ratko Peric acted of his own accord to publicly make know claims of misconduct by a priest who once served in Medjugorje.

As a faithful member of the flock I have pledged my alliance and obedience to the Catholic faith but I can not watch injustice accomplish its goals because I have swore obedience and pledged my alliance. If something is not in the guidelines of truth, there is injustice and injustice cries out in indignation. So I must announce the truth per my own investigation and research and simply put Bishop Peric is a Medjugorje hater. Peric was also good friends with previous Medjugorje/Mostar Bishop Pavao Zanic. Like Zanic, Peric is an outspoken hater of the Medjugorje apparitions. During the first investigation of Medjugorje the director of the "Doctrine of Faith" at the time was Cardinal Ratziner (now Pope) and Ratzinger sent a letter to the Conference of Bishops in then "Yugoslavia" telling the Conference to tell Bishop Zanic to stop his attacks again Medjugorje during the investigation of the apparitions. Bishop Zanic was not obedient to the letter from the Vatican and continued to bad mouth Medjugorje even until his dead. I have documented proof of Ratzinger's letter.

The current Bishop (Peric) is the one who publicly released the disciplinary actions against Fr. Vlasic. Bishop Peric has boldly  stated from the altar of St. James in Medjugorje that he does not believe in the apparitions and never will. He has also written a book where he states the visionaries and priests are liars and not right with God or Church. Peric also writes all pilgrims and priest who go to Medjugorje are in violation, even though Church law offers the faithful the right to visit and offer prayer until such time a decision has been handed down through an appointed Commission and a full investigation has been completed.

The question we all need ask ourselves here is why would the Church publicly chastise a priest for the whole world to see, ponder and gossip about? Such an action is not the ways of the Church as such matters are conducted silently and not exposed using a huge sensational media medium. If the Church was to publicly state what is being done to Fr. Vlassic, it would not only hurt Vlasic himself but it hurts the Church as a whole. When we the faithful of the Church here of such things, we can loses faith and hope in our priests and Church. As such the faithful flock scatters away from the Church who is suppose to be our Shepherd. So again, publicly releasing this so called disciplinary action against Fr. Vlasic has been done for show and media attention and exposure and not for any possible personal corrections for Fr. Vlasic.

This gets into a very long explanation that would take me several months to write about so this article is the short version. I wrote a book about the war over Medjugorje between the apparitions, priests, the Bishops and the Vatican. The book is called "Medjugorje Investigated" and it is based on U.S. State Department documents that were declassified for me personally to write this book. The long and shot is, these Bishops hate Medjugorje as do many others both religious and lay people and they publicly do everything possible to make people turn away from the Medjugorje apparitions.

The Vatican is aware of all this even though it is confirmed many priests who are apparition haters are also in service at the Vatican. Even so, the Vatican is aware of the going ons of those who hate apparitions and as a result the Vatican is currently conducting a third investigation of Medjugorje. The Vatican has taking the investigation out of the hands of the local Bishops which would be normal procedure. This is the first time in the History of the Church where authority to appoint a Commission and investigate claims of apparitions were taken away from a local Bishop. When the second Medjugorje Commission was stopped prior to a finding, the Vatican said Medjugorje would not be investigated again till the apparitions were over. 3 weeks after the release of my book (when on the shelves in Medjugorje) supplying valid documentation proving beyond a shadow of doubt the previous Commissions investigating the Medjugorje apparitions were tainted with unbelievers, the Vatican announced they would form a new Commission which is currently still investigating.

My conclusion from all this gossip about Father Vlasic is this is not about a single priest who may or may not have made error but it is about spreading any possible negative information possible about Medjugorje and the apparition by those who hate Medjugorje and apparitions.  I do know the information circulating on the internet is the result of Bishop Ratko Peric who I have documented proof, hates the Medjugorje apparitions. I also know the Catholic Church would not publicly place any priest in the public eye and accuse him in front of the whole world. The Church handles these things internally. Knowing all this tells me that if the information on Fr. Vlasic is or is not valid is irrelevant to the fact that Bishop Peric has publicly released this information to media sources as this is not how the Church handles such matters. Peric has clearly made this information public in his continued campaign to denounce the Medjugorje apparition. Church Rule insists on silence during an apparition investigation. Peric's decision to attack an individual priest publicly in the media, is more about a personal vendetta than concern over the salvation of priest who may have acted poorly.

It is also interesting to note recently someone in the middle of the night broke off the left hand of the statue of Our Lady on Apparition Hill and in the same week there was large fire on Apparition Hill but thank God it stop just some 50 yards from the place where Our Lady so often has appeared. Satan seeks to make us all believe the Medjugorje apparitions are fake. We the faithful can no longer believe things as a given, we are living in a time where Our Beloved Church is in great division within itself, which is the real issue.  

The question having read this article one might ask is why many priests, nuns and lay people hate Medjugorje and other apparitions so much? In regard to Medjugorje this is part of an ongoing feud when the Diocese began a campaign prior to the appointment of Bishop Zanic to take away all the richer parishes from the Franciscans and to hand them over the Diocesan priest. This would have put the Franciscan ministry in extreme poverty unable to support its missions but would have greatly enriched the income of the Diocese of Mostar. This is a local feud in the region but on a grander scale the question one has to ask here is why would Bishops destroy a possible apparition of Our Lady? In this one question is the great concern of all. I would simply say there is a problem in our Church and it is serious. The problem of grave concern we face as Catholic’s is a war between Traditionalism and Modernism. Back in the days of King Henry Vlll the Catholic Church split in half and it would not surprise me or many priest and nuns I have talked with about this issue, if the Church splits again.

Traditionalists want the Church to live according to the ways of our forefathers of the faith before us, whereas Modernists want to change dogma and in many cases serve more the people and serve God less. For the sake of Modernism, we have Catholics who think abortion is okay and they support. We also have priests who say woman should be allowed to be priests and we have others who say men should be allowed to marry and still be in the priesthood and there are still others who believe doctrine such as the Virgin Mary should be removed from the Dogma of the Church. The Medjugorje apparitions are not only caught up in the politics of the region but also in the balance of the ways of traditions from those who no longer believe in apparitions and seek to modernize the Church and change Dogma.

 In the Love of Gospa <3
Michael, webmaster of Medjugorje USA

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