Bosnia: Medjugorje Priest Defrocked
Sarajevo | 28 July 2009 | Srecko Latal
The decision could constitute another blow to the aspirations of Medjugorje - a remote village in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina - that its famous sightings of the Virgin Mary would be investigated and confirmed by the Vatican, a Mostar daily, Dnevni List, reported on Tuesday.
The Vatican had already reportedly decided to defrock Fr.Tomislav Vlasic in March. An official note confirming the decision was sent to Catholic officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Italy a few days ago.
“According to the order of the Holy Father […] he [Vlasic] is absolutely prohibited from carrying out any apostolic activities and giving any statements related to religious life, especially regarding the Medjugorje phenomenon,” the Vatican letter read, according to local media.
Vlasic was at the centre of the purported Medjugorje apparitions. On June 1981, six young parishioners from Medjugorje reported seeing a white form with a child in her arms on one of the surrounding hills. They interpreted this, and other visions they witnessed, as sightings of Mary.
The story spread quickly and Medjugorje became one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in Europe, attracting millions of visitors each year. Related development has transformed the remote, poor village into one of the most developed and richest small towns in the country.
Though the Vatican’s lack of recognition has not stopped the pilgrims, it has come close to creating a split within the Roman Catholic Church in Bosnia, with some local priests continuing to conduct services in the Medjugorje church even under threat of expulsion from their order.
Mostar's Bishop Ratko Peric, whose diocese covers much of southern Bosnia, still publicly denies that any apparitions occurred in Medjugorje.
Vlasic himself claimed to be the “spiritual leader” of the six parishioners who claimed to have seen Mary.
A year ago, the Vatican began investigating his alleged exaggerations relating to the Medjugorje phenomenon. Vlasic was also investigated for heresy and for fomenting a schism with official Catholic authorities.




The issue of national identity is taken seriously by Balkan people – including the least serious among them.













2009-07-28 20:10:53