- Pope Francis'
decision to appoint Bishops as head of the Marian shrines at Lourdes, Fatima,
Medjogueri has caused a stir and appeared to contradict the governance of the local
dioceses. Upset by the excessive importance placed on finance and profit in the
management of the shrine, local people (pilgrims and businessmen) are now
hopeful of a new approach.[1] Andrea Tornielli, editorial
director for the Dicastery for Communication, says: "Pope Francis wants
the spiritual primacy to be put forward in relation to the temptation to
overemphasize aspects related to management or finance." Often for shrines,
money seemed to have become 'an obsession'.
In order to meet
the expense of the shrines’ maintenance and its expansion, often professional,
rigorous, and shrewd management skills and policies are used. The increase in
the pilgrims' tax by way of inflating the price-cost of visiting, lodging and
buying of souvenirs have been at the forefront of the grievances of people.[2] Proper actions are needed to clean up the
shrine's finances.[3]
Similarly, the Bishop-envoy to Medjugorje “has the
aim of acquiring a deeper knowledge of the pastoral situation there and above
all, of the needs of the faithful who go there in pilgrimage, and on the basis
of this, to suggest possible pastoral initiatives for the future.” According to Francis, “The real Madonna is
the one who generates Jesus in our hearts, a Mother [...] The superstar Virgin
Mary, who seeks the limelight, ‘is not Catholic.’”[4] In April 2016, shortly before
the publication of the Pope’s apostolic exhortation on the synods, Amoris
Laetitia, he warned of a “pseudo-merciful” attitude in the Church today, deriving from a
mentality of “political correctness” which avoids uncomfortable truths.
In the word of Gabriele
Amorth, an exorcist, shrines are meant to “bring the world back to God,” from a
“cultural world without God.” And as Hans Urs von Balthasar says, there can be
danger of ignoring the effect of shrines: “that people will pass it by!”[5] The fruits of pilgrimage to the Shrines are tangible,
evident. One observes “graces of conversion, graces of a life of supernatural
faith, of vocations, of healings, of a rediscovering of the sacraments, of
confession.” They do not mislead. (Medjugorje Gebetsakion, 50; Stella
Maris, 343, pp. 19, 20).
In April 1991, the bishops of the former Yugoslavia
determined that “on the basis of the research that has been done, it is not
possible to state that there were apparitions or supernatural revelations.” On
the basis of those findings the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
directed in October 2013 that clerics and the faithful “are not permitted to
participate in meetings, conferences or public celebrations during which the
credibility of such 'apparitions' would be taken for granted.” expected to
complete his role at Medjugorje by the summer.[6]
Marian devotion has flourished in Marian Shrines as in Bandel. Multitudes arrive there. It is therefore, a place where veneration will continue, since Our Lady can be venerated everywhere, especially in those locations where this veneration is so fruitful, as we hear it has been from so many testimonies. For example, every year the shrine is visited by nearly 2 million pilgrims from India and abroad. It has become a charismatic place. The fact that the Marian shrine at Bandel is visited by so many faithful, who are no doubt spiritually enriched here, is something to be borne in mind. We need to guarantee a stable and continuous accompaniment of the parish community, the faithful and others who arrive in pilgrimage, whose demands require special attention.
Marian devotion has flourished in Marian Shrines as in Bandel. Multitudes arrive there. It is therefore, a place where veneration will continue, since Our Lady can be venerated everywhere, especially in those locations where this veneration is so fruitful, as we hear it has been from so many testimonies. For example, every year the shrine is visited by nearly 2 million pilgrims from India and abroad. It has become a charismatic place. The fact that the Marian shrine at Bandel is visited by so many faithful, who are no doubt spiritually enriched here, is something to be borne in mind. We need to guarantee a stable and continuous accompaniment of the parish community, the faithful and others who arrive in pilgrimage, whose demands require special attention.
Here are few ways for growing in faith through
pilgrimages to the shrines:
Through the practice of the sacraments, conversions, change of life, Eucharistic celebration, Rosary, Eucharistic adoration, fasting and penance the shrines can encourage the development of faith of the faithful. Besides, regular and pastoral reception of the thousands of pilgrims coming to along with organizing pastoral care, in agreement and harmony with the ecclesiastical hierarchy on the ground, and a call to improve the reception can bring about spiritual growth in them. By supplementing the structure of the hierarchy on the ground, initiatives can be better coordinated and thus make it more effective.
Through the practice of the sacraments, conversions, change of life, Eucharistic celebration, Rosary, Eucharistic adoration, fasting and penance the shrines can encourage the development of faith of the faithful. Besides, regular and pastoral reception of the thousands of pilgrims coming to along with organizing pastoral care, in agreement and harmony with the ecclesiastical hierarchy on the ground, and a call to improve the reception can bring about spiritual growth in them. By supplementing the structure of the hierarchy on the ground, initiatives can be better coordinated and thus make it more effective.
The
biggest sacramental contribution can be the Confession, through which thousands
of pilgrims can be ‘converted’. There is no magic wand for this; this spiritual-sacramental
benefit cannot be denied. The Marian pilgrimage centre, Bandel Church, with
millions arriving each year to climb the stairs that ascend to the balcony,
where the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Happy Voyage is located, continues
to draw people to their faith and grow in it. The charism of each shrine is prayer. Here, the mission
is a matter of “people’s needs,” emphasizing on the pastoral life, liturgy,
catechesis, sacraments and the experience of devotion. Our mission is the truth
- Jesus. Each shrine, therefore, is committed to finding and proclaiming
the truth. And we know that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the
life.
[1] Pope Francis' decision on June
6 to appoint the Auxiliary Bishop of Lille as apostolic delegate for the shrine
surprised everyone in Lourdes, including those who contested the change of
direction taken by the shrine under Bishop Nicolas Brouwet of Tarbes et
Lourdes. Cf. Gauthier Vaillant, Pope's intervention over Lourdes Marian shrine
cheers locals, Bishop appointed to oversee pastoral care amid discontent
over austere management of finances, https://international.la-croix.com/news/popes-intervention-over-lourdes-marian-shrine-cheers-locals/10774?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_content=06-09-2019&utm_campaign=newsletter_crx_lci&PMID=e0bf16242f5244d5ecc2158ed0e57693, 7.9.2019
[2] A year ago, the shrine of
Lourdes took over the candles - only those purchased locally are compatible
with the burners installed in front of the pools. It had installed
credit card payment terminals for candles.
[3] The investigation of the
certain doctrinal and disciplinary aspects of the alleged Marian
apparitions at Medjugorje that continue regularly, according to the shrine’s
six “seers”, is still “under study”. In fact, the local hierarchy has sought to
discourage the “Medjugorje phenomenon” which prompted the Vatican to carry out
its own investigation.
[4] Edward Pentin, Pope Francis Appoints Polish Archbishop to Be
Special Envoy to Medjugorje, http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/pope-francis-appoints-polish-archbishop-to-be-special-envoy-to-medjugorje, 26.9.2019.
[5] Pope Francis Appoints Special Envoy to Medjugorje, Archbishop
Henryk Hoser, http://medjugorjeca.org/interview-of-cardinal-schonborn-of-vienna/ 26.9.2019
[6] Vatican appoints pastoral envoy to Medjugorje,
February 11, 2017, http://www.catholicworldreport.com/...-appoints-pastoral-envoy-to-medjugorje-99955/, 27.9.2019
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