Vatican journalist names members of Medjugorje commission
March 18, 2010
Following the Vatican's official confirmation that a commission has been established to investigate the reported Marian apparitions at Medjugorje, journalist Andrea Tornielli of the Italian daily Il Giornale has named several members of that commission.
The formal Vatican announcement indicated only that the investigatory commission would be chaired by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the former vicar of the Rome diocese; no other names were given. But Tornielli-- whose reports on internal Vatican affairs have been consistently accurate-- says that the other members include Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo; Archbishop Josip Boznic of Zagreb; Cardinal Julian Herranz, the former president of the Pontifical Commission for Legislative Texts; and Father Tony Anatrella, a French psychologist and Marian expert. The commission will also include lay members, the Giornale reporter says.
Conspicuously absent from the list of commission members, Tornielli points out, is Bishop Ratko Peric of the Mostar diocese where Medjugorje is located. Bishop Peric's stand on Medjugorje is already well known; he has indicated that he does not consider the reported apparitions authentic.
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Further information:
- Il Vaticano indaga su Medjugorje. E si affida a Ruini (Il Giornale)
- Vatican confirms commission to study Medjugorje (CWN, 3/17)
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Posted by: Te_Deum -
Mar. 19, 2010 6:15 PM ET USA
Tornielli's report also names Archbishop Angelo Amato, SDB, Prefect of the Congregatio for the Causes of the Saints. I'd also like to point out that it is not so unusual that Bp Peric would not be on this commission. Take note that Cdl Puljic and Cdl Bozanic are both the heads of their respective bishop's conferences. It makes sense to have the Croatian archbishop there, given the ethnicity - Croatian - of Catholics in BiH. If only one could represent each, it should be the archbishops.
