Un schisme existe déja a Medjugorje

Taken from a letter to Mark Waterinckx by Bishop Peric as follows:





Dear Mark,



I send you an excerptum, in English, from my interview to the Diocesan bulletin, Crkva na kamenu – The Church on the Rock, 4/2006., pp. 22-24, after my visit Ad Limina last February.



With best Easter wishes and divine blessing of our Father in Heaven and his Son, martyred, dead and risen.



Mostar, 9 April 2006.

Ratko Peric, bishop.



From the interview of Bishop Ratko Perić, Bishop of Mostar-Duvno, released to the “Crkva na kamenu” The Church on the Rock (monthly pastoral bulletin of the Dioceses of Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan, nr. 4/2006, pp. 22-24), after his “visitatio Ad Limina” February 23-28-2006.



Crkva Bulletin’s questions, and Bishop Ratko Peric’s answers regarding his visit with Pope Benedict.



Cnak bulletin:



What were your impressions after your first meeting with the Pope?



Bishop Peric:



It was my first encounter with him as Pope but not the first with Joseph Ratzinger who previously was the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. There were many previous such encounters, especially alongside Bishop Žanić regarding the problems which are still burdening this diocese. One of the Prelates of the Pontifical Anti-Chamber or Assistants for the Pope’s private audiences is our priest Msgr. Petar Rajič, whose parents are originally from Doljani, the parish of Dračevo, in the diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan. He guides visitors through the entire protocol: entry, greeting, photographs, conclusion and departure. Each bishop is given about 15 minutes for his personal encounter. I personally handed over to the Holy Father a written “pro memoria” on a single page which contained 3 joyful and 3 less joyful to sad events and occurrences. He read the original text and referred to certain points by asking questions and making comments as well.



Cnak bulletin:



What did you mention amongst the joyful events?



Bishop Peric:



The joyful events are firstly the pastoral and liturgical life in the dioceses of Herzegovina, especially the participation in Holy Mass, sacramental Confession and Holy Communion, particularly amongst young people. Though we are sinners we certainly do repent!



Secondly, the number of those who participate in catechism classes in schools and parishes. Catechism is taught in schools by 45 Diocesan priests, 53 Franciscan priests, 53 religious sisters and 58 lay people, which results in an impressive number of over 200 catechism teachers for about 30,000 pupils.



Thirdly, diocesan and both male and female religious vocations. There are 105 Diocesan priests in our dioceses, of which 30 are in service outside Herzegovina. There are also about 115 religious priests and 160 religious sisters within the territory of the dioceses. For the time being we are not experiencing a lack of personnel for our ecclesiastical assignments, offices or parish duties. We also have some candidates (15 Diocesan and 20 Franciscan) in preparation (certainly not the numbers we had in the past) but for the time being and the near future we need not worry.



Fourthly, restructuring and construction of new church buildings. Assistance received from our benefactors both locally and abroad creates true joy and gratitude. One could also see joy on the Pope’s face for this flourishing Church.



Cnak bulletin:



And what did you mention amongst the less joyful events?



Bishop Peric:



Here too, there were a few points to mention. Since we are going through many tribulations, our crosses are flourishing as well.



First of all we still have the painful Herzegovinian affair, though diminished compared to the past situation. I mentioned to the Holy Father, the Secretariat of State and the Congregations (for Bishops, for the Clergy, for the Evangelization of Peoples, for Catholic Education…) that we have three categories of “Fratres minores”: the first are those valid, legal, regular and cooperative religious who have the full consent and canonical faculties in order to serve pastorally in the territory of the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno. Thank God, over 90 fall into this category.



The second category is that group which refused to sign the “Declaration of obedience” which was written up by the General Curia of the Franciscan OFM (Ordo Fratrum Minorum) in Rome and the Diocesan Chancery of Mostar, and approved of by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. There are 25 within the territory of Herzegovina who fall into this category and they do not have the faculties to confess nor teach, due to their own fault and responsibility. We hope that they will follow the example of the majority of their religious brothers and sign the Declaration.



The third category corresponds to 9 members who are not only disobedient, but who have also been expelled from the Franciscan Order and suspended from all liturgical activities, through their own fault and responsibility. They behave though, as if nothing has happened and have usurped five parishes and continue to create havoc and ecclesiastical chaos in some other parishes as well. Along with the adherents they have gathered for themselves, they have created a schism, a division, which is not so much a schism of intellectual as it is of an affective nature. These faithful for instance, do not accept “Don (father) Luke” but only “Fra Luke”, no matter how much the General of the Franciscan Order declares that this Fra Luke is no longer a Catholic Franciscan and despite the fact that he has been expelled from the Order due to his obstinate disobedience and schismatic attitude towards the Pope, the General Curia of the Order and the local Church. Whatever these 9 do is done illegally or against the Church, and therefore the sacraments of confession, confirmation and marriage they administer are invalid. All the Church documents they issue are illegal and invalid, since they are not authorized to do so. They have even established their own association, through which they aim to pressure those responsible in the Church to act according to their disobedience and schism.



Cnak bulletin:



How did they respond in the Vatican? How can one solve this crisis? There is talk of an Accord between the Holy See and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Will such an Accord help towards resolving these anomalies?



Bishop Peric:



We believe that this anomaly will not last forever. A very big step towards resolving this has been the decisiveness of both the General and Provincial OFM Curias to publicly and declaratively “separate” themselves from these priests, who have been expelled from the Order, who they do not consider their members any more, nor belonging to the Order in any way, despite the fact that they wear a Franciscan habit and proclaim their adherence to the Franciscan movement, while taking advantage of usurped parish churches and church registers. The Law on liberty of religion and the juridical status of the Church and religious communities, as well as the future Accord with the Holy See, will certainly help in this matter, since nobody wants the living organism of the Church to be eaten away by a virus that should be healed and eliminated.



Cnak bulletin:



Some newspapers have written that this Pope visited Medjugorje incognito while he was a Cardinal and that he is preparing to recognize Medjugorje as a shrine, etc. Did you touch upon this topic?



Bishop Peric:



We did and I wrote to and spoke with the Holy Father on it. He only laughed surprisingly. Regarding the events of Medjugorje our position is well known: not a single proof exists that these events concern supernatural apparitions and revelations. Therefore from the Church’s perspective no pilgrimages are allowed which would attribute any authenticity to these alleged apparitions.



The Holy Father told me:



We at the Congregation always asked ourselves how can any believer accept as authentic, apparitions that occur every day and for so many years? Are they still occurring every day?



I responded:



Every day, Holy Father, to one of them in Boston, to another near Milano and still another in Krehin Gradac (Herzegovina), and everything is done under the protocol of “apparitions of Medjugorje”. Up till now there have been about 35,000 “apparitions” and there is no end in sight!



The Pope then continued:



The previous Bishops’ Conference of the former Yugoslavia issued a statement of “non constat de supernaturalitate” (though the BCY did not use this specific formula, still the phrase “According to investigations made thus far, it cannot be affirmed that these events concern supernatural apparitions or revelations”, corresponds to the traditional formula in these matters). Has the current Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia-Herzegovina or the Croatian Bishops’ Conference reconfirmed the previous declaration?”



I replied:



There has been no joint reconfirmation, but each individual bishop when speaking on this issue refers to the Declaration.” I added that I was sent to Mostar in 1992 and that I have been following the events from the beginning and that from the last declaration of the Bishops in 1991 up till now, nothing significant has changed, nothing new has happened, nor have any new elements occurred which would change the meaning of the events. In my opinion, from the numerous local facts, it is evident that these events can be defined not only by “non constat de supernaturalitate” ie: it is not certain that these events concern supernatural apparitions, but also by “constat de non supernaturalitate” ie: it is certain that these events do not concern supernatural apparitions. The numerous absurd messages, insincerities, falsehoods and disobedience associated with the events and “apparitions” of Medjugorje from the very outset, all disprove any claims of authenticity. Much pressure through appeals has been made to force the recognition of the authenticity of private revelations, yet not through convincing arguments based upon the truth, but through the self-praise of personal conversions and by statements such as one “feels good”. How can this ever be taken as proof of the authenticity of apparitions?



Finally the Holy Father said:



We at the Congregation felt that priests should be of service to those faithful who seek Confession and Holy Communion, “leaving out the question of the authenticity of the apparitions”.



At the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, they are particularly concerned about the schism in our local Church. A local group of ex-Franciscans are presenting themselves as true Franciscans, misleading the faithful, instructing them in an un-ecclesiastical spirit, invalidly offering them the sacraments, and destroying the unity of teaching, sacraments and governance. And all of this serves towards a struggle for their own rights against the generally acclaimed rights of the Church. It was suggested at the Congregation that the local bishop follow the events in Medjugorje and send in reports on occasion as has been done thus far. From my encounter, I had the impression that these “private apparitions” are considered a truly private matter and private business to merit greater consideration on the part of the Holy See, as desired by the persistent petitioners and sensational journalists.”

The second category is that group which refused to sign the “Declaration of obedience” which was written up by the General Curia of the Franciscan OFM (Ordo Fratrum Minorum) in Rome and the Diocesan Chancery of Mostar, and approved of by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. There are 25 within the territory of Herzegovina who fall into this category and they do not have the faculties to confess nor teach, due to their own fault and responsibility. We hope that they will follow the example of the majority of their religious brothers and sign the Declaration.



The third category corresponds to 9 members who are not only disobedient, but who have also been expelled from the Franciscan Order and suspended from all liturgical activities, through their own fault and responsibility. They behave though, as if nothing has happened and have usurped five parishes and continue to create havoc and ecclesiastical chaos in some other parishes as well. Along with the adherents they have gathered for themselves, they have created a schism, a division, which is not so much a schism of intellectual as it is of an affective nature. These faithful for instance, do not accept “Don (father) Luke” but only “Fra Luke”, no matter how much the General of the Franciscan Order declares that this Fra Luke is no longer a Catholic Franciscan and despite the fact that he has been expelled from the Order due to his obstinate disobedience and schismatic attitude towards the Pope, the General Curia of the Order and the local Church. Whatever these 9 do is done illegally or against the Church, and therefore the sacraments of confession, confirmation and marriage they administer are invalid. All the Church documents they issue are illegal and invalid, since they are not authorized to do so. They have even established their own association, through which they aim to pressure those responsible in the Church to act according to their disobedience and schism.

Une condamnation consommerait définitivement le schisme.... ça pourrait même aller au-delà de la congrégation franciscaine car non seulement seraient concernés les Franciscains, mais tous les pélerins qui n'accepteront jamais un tel jugement tant ils ont été baignés dans le mensonge, les mises en scène, etc etc.

Quant aux Franciscains, St François d'Assise lui-même, dans sa prophétie, annonce de grandes "tribulation" pour son ordre à la fin des temps...

Medjugorje aura fait beaucoup de mal à l'Eglise....

PREDICTION DE ST. FRANÇOIS D’ASSISE.

Un grand schisme dans l’Eglise et une future tribulation.

Ayant convoqué ses frères peu de temps avant de mourir (1226) il les a avertis des tribulations futures, disant: « Mes frères agissez avec force, ayez de la fermeté et soyez dans l’attente du Seigneur. Une grande époque de tribulations et d’affliction dans laquelle de grands périls et des embarras1 temporels et spirituels pleuvront, la charité d’un grand nombre se refroidira et l’iniquité des méchants surabondera. Le pouvoir des démons sera plus grand que d’ordinaire, la pureté immaculée de notre congrégation religieuse et des autres sera flétrie, au point que très peu parmi les chrétiens voudront obéir au vrai Souverain Pontife et à l’Eglise Romaine avec un cœur sincère et une charité parfaite. Au moment décisif de cette crise, un personnage non canoniquement élu, élevé à la Papauté, s’efforcera avec adresse de communiquer à beaucoup le poison mortel de son erreur. Alors les scandales se multiplieront, notre congrégation religieuse sera divisée, plusieurs parmi les autres seront complètement détruites, parce que leurs membres ne s’opposeront pas mais consentiront à l’erreur. Il y aura tant et de telles opinions et divisions dans le peuple, et chez les religieux et chez les clercs que si ces jours mauvais n’étaient abrégés, comme l’annonce l’Evangile, même les élus tomberaient dans l’erreur (si cela se pouvait), si dans un tel ouragan ils n’étaient pas protégés par l’immense miséricorde de Dieu. Alors notre Règle et notre manière de vivre seront attaquées très violemment par certains. D’effroyables tentations surviendront. Ceux qui auront été très éprouvés en bien recevront la couronne de vie. Malheur éternel à ceux qui s’attiédiront en mettant leur seule espérance dans leur vie de religion, qui ne résisteront pas fermement aux tentations permises pour l’épreuve des élus. Ceux qui dans la ferveur de l’esprit s’attacheront à la piété avec charité et le zèle de la vérité, recevront des persécutions et des injures comme désobéissants et schismatiques. Car leurs persécuteurs, aiguillonnés par les esprits mauvais diront que c’est faire un grand hommage à Dieu de tuer et de faire disparaître de la terre des hommes si mauvais. Alors le Seigneur sera le refuge des affligés et il les sauvera parce qu’ils auront espéré en lui. Et alors pour se conformer à leur Chef, ils agiront selon la Foi et ils choisiront d’obéir à Dieu plutôt qu’aux hommes, gagnant par la mort la vie éternelle. Ne voulant pas consentir à l’erreur et à la perfidie, ils ne craindront absolument pas la mort. Alors la vérité sera tenue dans le silence par certains prédicateurs alors que d’autres la foulant aux pieds la nieront. La sainteté de vie sera tenue en dérision par ceux qui la professent extérieurement, c’est pourquoi Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ leur enverra non pas un digne pasteur, mais un exterminateur3 ».


On nous a objecté que cette prophétie pouvait s’appliquer à la période du grand schisme d’Occident. Pour toute personne connaissant bien cette époque et la nôtre, il est évident que cette prophétie est bien pour notre temps. Lors du schisme d’Occident, plusieurs des critères exposés, comme l’annonce d’un exterminateur ou la perte de la Foi, ne se sont pas réalisés.



Latin :


B. P. FRANCISCI PRÆDICTIO.

Magnum in Ecclesia schisma et tribulationem futuram.

Paulo ante mortem convocatis fratribus, de tribulationibus futuris eos admonuit, dicens : « Viriliter agite, fratres, confortemini, et sustinete Dominum. Magna tribulationis et afflictionis adesse festinant tempora, in quibus temporaliter et spiritualiter perplexitates et discrimina inundabunt, caritas multorum refrigescet, et superabundabit malorum iniquitas. Dæmonum potestas plus solito solvetur, nostræ Religionis et aliarum puritas immaculata deformabitur, in tantum quod vero Summo Pontifici et Ecclesiæ Romanæ paucissimi ex Christianis vero corde et caritate perfecta obedient : Aliquis non cononice electus, in articulo tribulationis illius ad Papatum assumptus, multis mortem sui erroris sagacitate propinare molietur. Tunc multiplicabuntur scandala, nostra dividetur Religio, plures ex aliis omnino frangetur, eo quod non contradicent, sed consentient errori. Erunt opiniones et schismata tot et tanta in populo, et in religiosis, et in clerico, quod nisi abbreviarentur dies illi juxta verbum Evangelicum ( si fieri posset ) in errorem inducerentur etiam electi, nisi in tanto turbine ex immensa misericordia Dei regerentur. Regula et vita nostra tunc a quibusdam acerrime impugnabitur. Supervenient tentationes immensæ. Qui tunc fuerint probati, accipient coronam vitæ. Væ autem illis, qui de sola spe religionis confisi tepescent, non resistent constanter tentationibus, ad probationem electorum permissis. Qui vero spiritu ferventes ex caritate et zelo veritatis adhæredunt pietati, tanquam inobedientes et schismatici persecutiones et injurias sustinebunt. Nam persequentes eos a malignis spiritibus agitati, magnum esse obsequium Dei dicent, tam pestilentes homines interficere et delere de terra. Erit autem tunc refugium afflictis Dominus, et salvabit eos, quia speraverunt in eo. Et ut suo capiti conformentur, fiducialiter agent, et per mortem, vitam mercantes æternam, obedire Deo magis quam hominibus eligent ; et mortem, nolentes consentire falsitati et perfidiæ, nullatenus formidabunt. Veritas tunc a quibusdam prædicatoribus operietur silentio, ab aliis conculcata negabitur. Vitæ sanctitas a suis professoribus habebitur in derisum, quare dignum non pastorem, sed exterminatorem mittet illis Dominus Jesus Christus ».

Opera Omnia S. FRANCISCI ASSISIATIS, col.430 Paris Imp. Bibliothèque écclésiastique 1880

1. Embarras : état de perplexité où l’on se trouve lorsqu’on ne sait quel parti prendre, ni par quelle voie se tirer d’une position difficile. Gêne, malaise où l’on se trouve, quand on ne sait que dire ni que faire.

2. Donc : beaucoup, parmi les chrétiens, voudront obéir à un faux souverain pontife.

3. Exterminer : anéantir.

Mes frères agissez avec force, ayez de la fermeté et soyez dans l’attente du Seigneur. Une grande époque de tribulations et d’affliction dans laquelle de grands périls et des embarras1 temporels et spirituels pleuvront, la charité d’un grand nombre se refroidira et l’iniquité des méchants surabondera. Le pouvoir des démons sera plus grand que d’ordinaire, la pureté immaculée de notre congrégation religieuse et des autres sera flétrie, au point que très peu parmi les chrétiens voudront obéir au vrai Souverain Pontife et à l’Eglise Romaine avec un cœur sincère et une charité parfaite.

Au moment décisif de cette crise, un personnage non canoniquement élu, élevé à la Papauté, s’efforcera avec adresse de communiquer à beaucoup le poison mortel de son erreur. Alors les scandales se multiplieront, notre congrégation religieuse sera divisée, plusieurs parmi les autres seront complètement détruites, parce que leurs membres ne s’opposeront pas mais consentiront à l’erreur. Il y aura tant et de telles opinions et divisions dans le peuple, et chez les religieux et chez les clercs que si ces jours mauvais n’étaient abrégés, comme l’annonce l’Evangile, même les élus tomberaient dans l’erreur (si cela se pouvait), si dans un tel ouragan ils n’étaient pas protégés par l’immense miséricorde de Dieu.

Alors notre Règle et notre manière de vivre seront attaquées très violemment par certains. D’effroyables tentations surviendront. Ceux qui auront été très éprouvés en bien recevront la couronne de vie. Malheur éternel à ceux qui s’attiédiront en mettant leur seule espérance dans leur vie de religion, qui ne résisteront pas fermement aux tentations permises pour l’épreuve des élus. Ceux qui dans la ferveur de l’esprit s’attacheront à la piété avec charité et le zèle de la vérité, recevront des persécutions et des injures comme désobéissants et schismatiques.

Alors la vérité sera tenue dans le silence par certains prédicateurs alors que d’autres la foulant aux pieds la nieront. La sainteté de vie sera tenue en dérision par ceux qui la professent extérieurement, c’est pourquoi Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ leur enverra non pas un digne pasteur, mais un exterminateur3 ».