This book has seemingly been published as part of a recent on-going
Medjugorje propaganda barrage even while the International Commission on
the subject, under Cardinal Ruini, is still carrying on its work. That work is not complete. Yet here, almost in prejudgement, is a 235-page book by Wayne Weible, a convert from Protestantism, one of the foremost publicists for Medjugorje - with eight books on the subject.
When Pope Francis was elected, some Medjugorje publicists were quick to capitalise on the event. Almost immediately we were informed that as Archbishop of Buenos Aires he had been a supporter of Medjugorje, and allowed Medjugorje activities in his diocese.
But to put that in context, we have also recently heard that the Pope wishes to consecrate his pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima. That undoubtedly gives a better idea of his overall approach to Marian spirituality, and where his priorities lie.
Even the title of this book is something of a problem. The idea that the alleged Medjugorje visions are the “last apparition” is a notion that gained prominence from a letter to Pope John Paul II in December 1983, written by one of the original Franciscans associated with the visionaries, the now-disgraced and laicised Tomislav Vlasic.
Obviously no-one has told this to the multitude of almost certainly false visionaries whose careers either began after a visit to Medjugorje, or who have arisen independently since then.
That is the problem with books like this—the exaggerated or unverifiable claims mean that that it is difficult to take them seriously. Weible’s aim in writing the book is to bring “non-Catholics and non-believers” into an awareness of Medjugorje “before it is too late”.
He rightly focuses on abortion as the greatest indicator of our present day moral decline. Yet a search of a concordance of Medjugorje messages from 1984 to 2009 reveals that the term ‘abortion’ is missing.
And the same is true of the words ‘contraception’, ‘pornography’ and ‘homosexuality’, as well as a number of other relevant terms. So although there have been a huge number of alleged messages, the Medjugorje Gospa has managed to avoid speaking about some of the most pressing moral concerns of our times, which is itself suspicious.
The book unfolds predictably giving an uncritical account of Medjugorje. But like a number of other Medjugorje publications, it is highly critical of Bishop Ratko Peric, the present Bishop of Mostar, who is responsible for the parish of Medjugorje. He has consistently said that the alleged visions are not genuine. Weible describes him as having a “rigid negative stance” on the apparitions. Such ‘bishop-bashing’ is not a good sign.
Numerous alleged messages from the Gospa are given in the book, but just to focus on one, that of August 31, 1982, this calls into question Our Lady’s mediatory role. It begins with the Gospa saying, “I do not dispose all graces.”
This sentence is clearly contrary to Church teaching regarding Our Lady, that she is indeed the Mediatrix of all graces, as taught by St Louis de Montfort. So this ‘message’, of itself, disqualifies Medjugorje from being seriously regarded as a supernatural event.
There are so many questionable points in Medjugorje: The Last Apparition - How It Will Change the World, that it would take a further book to refute them. But, in short, this work has nothing really new to say about Medjugorje, and since it does not take into account any of the books critical of the alleged visions, it cannot be recommended.
(Donal Anthony Foley is the author of a number of books on Marian Apparitions, including Medjugorje Revisited: 30 Years of Visions or Religious Fraud? He maintains a related web site at www.theotokos.org.uk)