Teen Medujorge pilgramage mentioned during Mass

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Alphonsus_John

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Okay, not sure where this one goes, but it happened during Mass, so I’m posting it here.

I have the very good fortune of attending a holy and orthodox parish. They have an ad orientem NO Mass, chant, latin hymns, daily confession (twice a day), etc. etc. The Church and its Holiness is preached during the homilies. The priests are very, very reverenant to the Holy Blessed Sacrement, etc. etc. etc.

So I was kind of shocked to hear a teenager get up at the end of Mass to stump for a pilgramage to Medujorge. To the best of my understanding, Med. is not confirmed as a real apparition and there are some real issues concerning it.

Now, to clarify, no priest supported it verbally or has ever supported it verbally or in parish documents. Just a teen girl asking for money for a teen pilgramage.

Is this okay?
 
I found the position of the Vatican on a web site, here is what they have most recently said regarding the matter.
While the Vatican has never said that Catholics may not go to Medjugorje, it has told bishops that their parishes and dioceses may not organise official pilgrimmages to the site of the alleged Marian apparitions, the Vatican spokesman said.
“You cannot say people cannot go there until it has been proven false. This has not been said, so anyone can go if they want,” the spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, told Catholic News Service Aug. 21.
In addition, he said, when Catholic faithful go anywhere, they are entitled to spiritual care, so the church does not forbid priests to accompany lay-organized trips to Medjugorje in Bosnia-Hercegovina, just as it would not forbid them accompanying a group of Catholics visiting South Africa.
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So, I guess as long as it is not organized by the parish, or the diocese it is O.K. If this is organized by lay people, than I guess they are free to go.

In my opinion I don’t think the priests should discourage it, but that is just my opinion.
 
Even if it is proved that the Blessed Mother never appeared there, it would still be a great place for a pilgrimage. It doesn’t have to have the designation “Official Shrine” to offer something wonderful for the person looking for peace and understanding through prayer. Until you go there you will never know why.
 
The OP is asking if it was all right for this announcement to be made considering the Church has not declared one way or the other about Medujorge. Please, everyone, don’t stray from that question into ones about the rightness/wrongness of the apparitions, etc. Thank you.
 
You have to look at the assumptions that can me made here.

1- The teen asked the pastor for specific permission to speak about fund raising for that specific pilgrimage, and the pastor granted it.

In this case common sense says that such pilgrimage was implicitly approved and supported by the parish through the pastor.

2- The pastor was not aware of the details of the speech when he granted permission to address the congregation at the end of Mass.

In this case common sense says that we cannot find implicit approval or support by the parish.

I think that in cases like these the pastor should not encourage or discourage activity of individual piety. A position of neutrality is the most prudent one until the Church approves or disapproves it.
 
No matter the destination isn’t it great to see a TEEN interested?😃
 
Thank you for the responses. I’ve done some digging and come to the opinion that Med. is VERY questionable. I’ll have to pray on how to best approach the pastor. Thanks again.
 
Alphonsus_John said:
Thank you for the responses. I’ve done some digging and come to the opinion that Med. is VERY questionable. I’ll have to pray on how to best approach the pastor. Thanks again.
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This is your own opinion and it should not affect what the pastor does, only the directives from the Vatican do matter. You are talking about HOW approaching the pastor but your are not really talking about WHY you are doing that. May I remind you that the use of prudence is required from both the clergy and the laity.
 
Mostly to ask why the girl was allowed to stump for Med. from the lectern. I intend to ask respectfully as I know the pastor decently well and he is a good, orthodox priest. I just seems that Med. is very flaky and I want to ask about the evidence I’ve read against it. (Michael Davies)
 
I know it is against the rules to post about un-approved apparitions, so can anyone tell me where to read about the Vatican’s analysis of this? I am very interested in knowing what the problems with these apparitions have been.
 
honeysuckle said:
I know it is against the rules to post about un-approved apparitions, so can anyone tell me where to read about the Vatican’s analysis of this? I am very interested in knowing what the problems with these apparitions have been.
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You can conduct a search right here at CAF using words such as “Medjugorje”. Millions have gone there, over 50,000 priests, bishops and cardinals have been there. I think it would be difficult for this site to ignore peoples’ curiosity about the place just as it would be to deny all those people Mass and confession and guidance while they were there. There is a rather recent posting about Medjugorje right here on this site. [Edited by Moderator]
I suggest that while there are strong views presented by both sides that you keep an open mind. [Edited by Moderator]
 
Again, everyone, no discussion about the merits/demerits of Medugjorge are to be posted in this thread. Thank you.
 
Is it permissible to ask to be directed to a place where I may read the official investigation of the events? I am really interested in the work that the Vatican has done… not necessarily in the apparitions themselves.
 
[Edited by Moderator]

Is it also appropriate then for a parish to host a visionary from Medujorje to give a talk? I’ve seen this happen at a few parishes.
 
Since the site is unapproved and pilgrimages are not allowed there according to the local bishop who has the authority from God and the Church, it was totally inappropriate.

Would the pastor allow a teen to ask for money to go to a Protestant retreat? I don’t think it is good if a teen is interested in going somewhere to receive questionable or weak spiritual nourishment.
 
Alphonsus_John said:
Mostly to ask why the girl was allowed to stump for Med. from the lectern. I intend to ask respectfully as I know the pastor decently well and he is a good, orthodox priest. I just seems that Med. is very flaky and I want to ask about the evidence I’ve read against it. (Michael Davies)
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There were many people of good will who thought that each one of the approved apparitions were flaky.

Michael Davies is entitled to his opinion, and you are entitled to your opinon, and when the dust settles, that is just what they are: opinions. You do not have to go to Medjugorgia. The pastor does not have to go there. None of the parishoners have to go there.

I have met numerous people who have gone there, and have come back with a deeper faith, with a deeper expression of their faith, and have grown spiritually (and interestingly, seem to continue to grow; that is, it was not a flash in the pan emotional experience that soon dies). The opinions of what is going on there range all over the place, and the vehemence with which they get expressed, sometimes, is truly amazing.

The short of it is that the Church officially has 1) not recognized it; and 2) not forbidden people to go. But then, there are no apparitions that the Church has ever approved (to the best of my knowledge) while they were occuring, and the last I heard, they supposedly are still occuring.

The pastor did nothing wrong in allowing someone to suggest that they start a trip or encourage other people to go along with them. The Church allows that. If you don’t believe that anything legitimate is occurring there, that is perfectly fine, and acceptible to the Church too. But querying the pastor is not going to get you any satisfaction; you want it stopped (from all appearances) and that is not your job, your responsiblity, nor is it in line with what the Church allows.

If you don’t believe it is occuring, for heavens sake, don’t go. Some people go and come back convinced of the same - that nothing good is happening. Others come back and are convinced something good is happening. Many come back with a deeper faith. You might try staying out of the way of their faith journey, and simply quietly observing.
 
Leeta said:
Since the site is unapproved and pilgrimages are not allowed there according to the local bishop who has the authority from God and the Church, it was totally inappropriate.

Would the pastor allow a teen to ask for money to go to a Protestant retreat? I don’t think it is good if a teen is interested in going somewhere to receive questionable or weak spiritual nourishment.
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Try reading what the Vatican has actually said, rather than what has often been mis-quoted, or quoted out of context, about the bishop.

I cannot find anywhere that the bishop has said that pilgrimages are not allowed there, and in fact they have been going on for a goodly number of years.

There is a difference between a pilgrimage there by the faithful, and a pilgrimage officially sponsered by the Church. Priests can accompany a pilgrimage; they cannot officially sponsor it. The only pilgrimages there I have seen, have been sponsored by a travel agency or laity. The Church doesn’t have any say about travel agencies, and it allows the laity to sponsor one there.
 
Leeta said:
Since the site is unapproved and pilgrimages are not allowed there according to the local bishop who has the authority from God and the Church, it was totally inappropriate.

Would the pastor allow a teen to ask for money to go to a Protestant retreat? I don’t think it is good if a teen is interested in going somewhere to receive questionable or weak spiritual nourishment.
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That is not true-

“and woe to those who keep the little ones from Me”

[Edited by Moderator] -pray unceasingly
 
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