One last thing before I head out the door. I notice a translation error in the French Bishops Statement that reads as follows under the section on Criterion of Fruits. I have underlined the error. The word should read “Gospa”.
We would like to say nothing about the doubtful or even bad fruits. But the truth obliges us to say that they exist. Let us quote, as examples, the calling into question, even to the point of defamation, of the Local Ordinary as well as the disobedience with regard to his legitimate authority; the exacerbation of the Herzegovina ‘question’ following the words attributed to “the Gospel”, words in favour of the Franciscans and against the Bishop.10
In (10) within the footnotes at the bottom of the statement we are led to
10. Bishop Zanic,
Posizione, pp. 3, 4, 9, 10 etc.
Bishop Zanic talks about the Herzegovina Question and how the “seers” claim the BVM supports the Franciscans. The Herzegovina Question, is the basis of the so called “fued” between Franciscans and the local Ordinary. I’ll bet 99.9% of Medjugorje supporters have no idea what the Herzegovina Question is with respect to fact.
Items 3, 4, 9, and 10 can be found here:
newjerusalem.com/bishop-truth.htm
For the Herzegovina Question, Bishop Zanic provided the history, along with document numbers from the Holy See in point 23 in this statement made early on:
unitypublishing.com/newswire/truth.html
Michael Davies cites a document in parenthesis in his book in the above statement from Zanic. The book does not allow me to link to a specific page, which is why I am referencing a web link instead. But in statement 23 we read in read the name and date of the decree Bishop Zanic speaks of in his actual letter:
In 1968, the Holy See ordered the Franciscans to hand over five parishes to the diocesan clergy. They barely gave two parishes. In 1975 after many years of talks and consultations a Decree of the Holy See was issued regarding the division of parishes in Herzegovina (
Romanis pontificibus of 6 June 1975). The Franciscans publicly and collectively denounced this decree even though they administer to over 80% of the faithful in the diocese of Mostar. In 1976, due to disobedience, the hierarchy of the Franciscan province, along with the provincial Sialic, lost their authority and since then, the province has been without its independence, and the General of the Order rules directly over the province
ad instar. Another penalty was that in 1979, the Franciscans from Herzegovina were not allowed to participate in the election of the general.
So you see, as late as 1979, just about 2 years from the flashpoint of Medjugorje, the local Franciscans had received yet another penalty from the Vatican itself.
Later, the visionaries would elude to this rift in claims the BVM supported the Franciscans (cited by Bishop Zanic). To think the BVM would speak against the Holy See is unfathomable. It is the rift I spoke of in my initial post in this thread. I was told there was a long standing fued, but was never given the details. Now we couple that with such blatant disobedience on the part of the Franciscan community responsible for Medjugorje - disobedience to the Holy See itself on the issue of the Herzegovina Question.
Supporters would have us believe it has nothing to do with the Herzegovina Question and it is not linked to Medjugorje. However, the visionaries have made that link by claiming the BVM supports the Franciscans with further defamation aimed at the local Ordinary.
I understand all of this is painful, long reading detail. However, it is just that which is required to get at Truth. However, this method is all to often dismissed by Medjugorje supporters who do not want to look more deeply into these kinds of things.
