The new commission, mentioned here a few months ago, is a go:
The steady influx of pilgrims to Medjugorje is "a phenomenon that must be taken seriously," Msgr. Zovkic said. The faithful who come to Medjugorje to receive the sacraments deserve proper pastoral attention from the local priests and bishops, and the many reports from pilgrims who experienced a spiritual renewal there should be taken into account, he said.
The composition of the new investigating commission has not yet been settled, Msgr. Zovkic reported. He predicted that it might take several months to choose the members of the panel, including experts in liturgy, Mariology, and theology. In all likelihood, he said, the commission would include members from the different regions of the former Yugoslavia as well as others appointed by the Holy See. In July, Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo said that the bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina were waiting for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to recommend theologians for the panel. That Congregation has not offered any public comment on the planned inquiry, although sources there acknowledge that a new study is underway.
The Church is not likely to make any final conclusion on the authenticity of the reported Marian apparitions at Medjugorje, Msgr. Zovkic said, until the "seers" report that those apparitions have ended. To date the seers have continued to say that the Virgin Mary appears to them daily, 25 years after the first such reports.
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