The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has not held any “plenary” sessions or a “feria quarta” on the Herzegovina apparitions. Cardinals and bishops have not yet examined the case, with everything postponed until after the summer. The outcome of the discussions will be presented to the Pope who will ultimately decide. Francis has shown his appreciation for the work carried out by Ruini’s commission.
No decision has been taken regarding the Medjugorje apparitions, which began in 1981 and have not yet come to an end. The institutional bodies of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith have not yet met to examine the case along with the conclusions of the lengthy and important study carried out by the commission headed by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, which concluded its work last year.
The former Holy Office has not held any “plenary” sessions (the next one is due to take place next January). Even the “feria quarta”(a once-a-month meeting – held on a Wednesday – held by cardinals and bishops of the Congregation to examine current cases) did not deal with Medjugorje. The last “feria quarta” was took place on 17 June, authoritative Congregation sources tell Vatican Insider. The next meeting will be held after the summer, possibly after the Synod has ended. This means no announcement is to be expected before autumn 2015.
On the occasion of the 34th anniversary of the first apparition there was a great deal of expectation regarding an announcement, which was considered imminent. Answering a journalist’s question on the return flight from Sarajevo, Pope Francis had said: “In regard to the issue of Medjugorje, Pope Benedict XVI at the time convened a committee presided over by Cardinal Camillo Ruini; there were other Cardinals, theologians and specialists on the committee as well. They did an investigation and Cardinal Ruini came to me and gave me the study they did, after many years of labour, I don’t know, maybe three of four years, more or less. They did a fine job, a fine job indeed.”
“Cardinal Müller (Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) told me that he would be having a feria quarta (a meeting dedicated to this specific question) at the right time; I think it was done on the last Wednesday of the month. But I am not sure… We are close to coming to a decision. And then the results will be communicated. For the moment, all that is being done is to give guidelines to the bishops, but along the lines that will be taken.”
Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi later stated that the “feria quarta” on Medjugorje had not been held yet. Vatican insider has learnt that it will not take place until after the summer. The “feria quarta” is attended by 25 cardinals and bishops, including: the Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin; the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Fernando Filoni; the President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Francesco Coccopalmerio; the Archbishop of Naples, Crescenzio Sepe; the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schönborn (who has a notoriously positive attitude to the Medjugorje phenomenon) and the Archbishop of Bordeaux, Jean-Pierre Ricard.
This is the assigned place for the examination of the case. “Feria quarta” participants have not yet received the material and are not therefore familiar with the contents of the text prepared by Ruini’s commission. Other material from the archive of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith could be added to the conclusions reached by the working group headed by the former president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference. The outcome of the discussions held by the “feria quarta” will be an authoritative viewpoint but it only serves as advice, which will eventually be presented to the Pope who will make the final decision.
Recent speculations in the media about a highly negative decision on Medjugorje are completely unfounded as no decision has been taken. Pope Francis highlighted his appreciation for the work carried out by Cardinal Ruini and the revelations made in recent months make it clear that the conclusions reached by the commission were not that negative: they gave credit to the first apparitions (the ones witnessed in June and July 1981), separating them from the ones which followed; they criticised some abuses but recognised the spiritual fruits and underlined the need for improved pastoral and spiritual care for seers and pilgrims and the suggestion was put forward to transform Medjugorje into a shrine unto itself or to include it within a new diocese.
Of course, there is nothing to say that the final decision will definitely be as suggested by the commission of cardinals, theologians and experts led by Ruini. The commission’s work spanned four years and involved interviewing seers and witnesses and gathering ample documentation. It is possible that, given that the apparitions are ongoing, the opinion regarding the potential supernatural nature of a phenomenon that has not yet come to an end, may be separated from the opinion about the spiritual fruits witnessed among the pilgrims of Medjugorje. It is also possible that a decision may be taken not to turn the parish church into a shrine. The “feria quarta” will examine and evaluate the case and will then present its appraisal to Pope Francis who is already familiar with the documentation. But all pre-emptive speculations about a negative decision by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the Medjugorje apparitions are completely premature and ignore the fact that Francis’ “consultants” – the 25 cardinals and bishops of the “feria quarta” – have not yet examined the case.
