X
Edition:
United States

  • Business
    • Business Home
    • Legal
    • Deals
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Finance
    • Autos
    • Reuters Summits
  • Markets
    • Markets Home
    • U.S. Markets
    • European Markets
    • Asian Markets
    • Global Market Data
    • Indices
    • Stocks
    • Bonds
    • Currencies
    • Comm & Energy
    • Futures
    • Funds
    • Earnings
    • Dividends
  • World
    • World Home
    • U.S.
    • Special Reports
    • Reuters Investigates
    • Euro Zone
    • Middle East
    • China
    • Japan
    • Mexico
    • Brazil
    • Africa
    • Russia
    • India
  • Politics
    • Politics Home
    • Election 2016
    • Polling Explorer
    • Just In: Election 2016
    • What Voters Want
    • Supreme Court
  • Tech
    • Technology Home
    • Science
    • Top 100 Global Innovators
    • Environment
    • Innovation
  • Commentary
    • Commentary Home
    • Podcasts
  • Breakingviews
    • Breakingviews Home
    • Breakingviews Video
  • Money
    • Money Home
    • Retirement
    • Lipper Awards
    • Analyst Research
    • Stock Screener
    • Fund Screener
  • Life
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Arts
    • Entertainment
    • Oddly Enough
    • Faithworld
  • Pictures
    • Pictures Home
    • The Wider Image
    • Photographers
    • Focus 360
  • Video
Vatican probes claims of apparitions at Medjugorje
  • Africa
    América Latina
  • عربي
    Argentina
  • Brasil
    Canada
  • 中国
    Deutschland
  • España
    France
  • India
    Italia
  • 日本
    México
  • РОССИЯ
    United Kingdom
  • United States
Lifestyle | Wed Mar 17, 2010 1:54pm EDT

Vatican probes claims of apparitions at Medjugorje

A woman touches a cross at the site where the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared in an apparition in Medjugorje, 120 km south of Sarajevo June 25, 2009. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj
A woman touches a cross at the site where the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared in an apparition in Medjugorje, 120 km south of Sarajevo June 25, 2009. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj
By Daniel Flynn | VATICAN CITY

VATICAN CITY (Reuters Life!) - The Vatican has opened an investigation into reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary at the small town of Medjugorje in southern Bosnia which have drawn more than 30 million pilgrims and divided the Catholic Church.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Church's top doctrinal body, has named an international commission of inquiry headed by Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini, a confidant of former Pope John Paul, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

Since six children first reported visions of the Virgin Mary on a hillside near Medjugorje in 1981 -- reminiscent of famous apparitions in the French town of Lourdes and Fatima in Portugal -- Catholics have debated whether the visions were a modern-day miracle, wishful thinking or an elaborate fraud.

"This commission, composed of cardinals, bishops, theologians and experts, will work in a confidential manner and submit the result of its investigation to the Congregation," the Vatican said in a statement.

Unlike Fatima or Lourdes, the Vatican has not officially recognized the apparitions in the small town, some 100 km (62 miles) southwest of Sarajevo, and claims about it are controversial.

Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar, the nearest city in Bosnia, warned Catholics last year against uncritical belief in the Medjugorje sightings and issued a series of restrictions on the parish.

In July, Pope Benedict defrocked Rev. Tomislav Vlasic, a Franciscan priest who served as a former "spiritual director" to the six visionaries, after a year-long probe into charges he exaggerated the apparitions and had fathered a child with a nun.

Months later, Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, a close ally of Benedict, stirred controversy with a well-publicized visit to the shrine in December that drew a public reproach from Peric.

Schoenborn, who issued a letter of apology, had insisted his visit there was private.

Despite clashes between the Franciscan priests running the site and the Vatican, which expelled 10 of them from the order for promoting the site in defiance of its warnings, the village became a pilgrimage destination, giving many visitors a renewed sense of spirituality and locals a steady source of revenue.

The 1992-95 Bosnian war disrupted the flow of pilgrims, but with three now middle-aged locals still reporting visions, thousands still flock to the town every year.

(Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)

Trending Stories

    Editor's Pick

    LIVE: Election 2016

    Sponsored Topics

    Next In Lifestyle

    French court suspends burkini ban, controversy goes on

    PARIS A French court on Friday suspended a ban on women wearing full-body "burkini" swimsuits on a Mediterranean town's beach but the prime minister said the debate was not over, calling the outfit a symbol of a "backwards, deadly Islamism".

    Eating while petting a bunny in Hong Kong

    Hong Kong's first rabbit cafe opened in a small upstairs space over the busy commercial district of Causeway Bay.

    Australian teen completes record round world solo flight

    SYDNEY An Australian teenager made history on Saturday by becoming the youngest person to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world in a single engine aircraft.

    MORE FROM REUTERS

    From Around the Web By Taboola

    Sponsored Content By Dianomi

    X
    Follow Reuters:
    • Follow Us On Twitter
    • Follow Us On Facebook
    • Follow Us On RSS
    • Follow Us On Instagram
    • Follow Us On YouTube
    • Follow Us On LinkedIn
    Subscribe: Feeds | Newsletters | Podcasts | Apps
    Reuters News Agency | Brand Attribution Guidelines | Delivery Options

    Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:

    Eikon
    Information, analytics and exclusive news on financial markets - delivered in an intuitive desktop and mobile interface
    Elektron
    Everything you need to empower your workflow and enhance your enterprise data management
    World-Check
    Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks
    Westlaw
    Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology
    ONESOURCE
    The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs
    CHECKPOINT
    The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals

    All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.

    • Site Feedback
    • Corrections
    • Advertise With Us
    • Advertising Guidelines
    • AdChoices
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy