Who is Father Ljudevit Rupcic?
Father Ljudevit Rupcic, a priest, professor of theology, writer and translator, was born in Hardomilje, Ljubuski, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 26 September 1920. He joined the Franciscan Order in 1939 after having completed his studies in the Franciscan High School in Siroki Brijeg and was ordained to the priesthood in 1946. Father Rupcic completed his theological studies at the Theological Faculty in Zagreb and obtained his doctorate in Sacred Scripture in 1958. In the same year, he was appointed as Professor of New Testament at the Franciscan School of Theology in Sarajevo where he taught for 30 years. Father Rupcic was a member of the Theological Commission of the Yugoslav Bishops' Conference from 1969-1980. He was imprisoned in 1948 and again from 1952-1956 for alleged "hostile propaganda" against the Yugoslav communist regime and was charged with an offence under the infamous Article 133 of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ). He died on 25 June 2003 and was buried in the new Catholic cemetery in Humac after he has given the last 22 years of his life to Our Lady and Medjugorje.
Father Rupcic is the author of many books - four on Medjugorje alone - and has published a variety of research papers and articles on New Testament exegesis. Since the apparitions began in 1981, he has been observing the Medjugorje events intensely and written many books and articles about the apparitions. He has also translated the New Testament into Croatian. He was never tired in his continuing quest for the truth. The Truth About Medjugorje is his latest work - it is a candid, realistic and point-by-point response to the pamphlet "Medjugorje" published in the spring of 1990 by Msgr. Pavao Zanic, the Bishop of Mostar. Why did Father Rupcic respond to the pamphlet published by the Bishop? According to him:
There is something more than the love of truth which impels me to respond to the Bishop. I am also moved by love of the Bishop himself. On the occassion of his 1971 episcopal consecration in Mostar, a layman greeted Zanic in the name of the faithful of the diocese of Mostar-Duvno (of whom I am also one) with these words: "We shall enclose you in our hearts and throw the keys into the sea." The bishop responded: "My service will be loved. And please, if I should ever forget and turn to the other side, remind me!"
In what way, you ask, is my response such a reminder? Because the Gospel itself compels me when it says, "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church! (Matthew 18:15-17)
Because of the Bishop's fabrications about Medjugorje, Father Rupcic was left without a choice but to tell the whole thing to the Church.
The Truth about Medjugorje
On 24 June 1981, six boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 17, witnessed the apparitions of Our Lady on Podbrdo Hill (also known as Apparition Hill). Since then, Medjugorje has become one of the most popular apparition sites in the world. The apparitions, messages, and miraculous healings continued, attracting millions of pilgrims from all over the world and many of them have visited Medjugorje again and again. Scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and medical specialists from France, Austria, and Italy have examined the visionaries as well as the events in Medjugorje and came to the conclusion that Medjugorje was indeed a place of extraordinary relligious experiences. However, the Bishop himself has asserted that the Medjugorje events were a case of collective hallucination which was totally in contrast to their findings. According to Professor Emilio Servadio, an Italian physician and psychoanalyst, "A real hallucination is always individual and many people cannot have the same experiences" (p. 14).
On 21 July 1981, the Bishop visited Medjugorje and interviewed the visionaries himself and came to the conclusion that the visionaries were not lying and that none of them were being manipulated by the Franciscans. Despite this statement, he later asserted that the whole thing about Medjugorje was a deception since the very beginning and that the Medjugorje apparitional experiences were in the hands of the Franciscans. On the one hand, he declared that "no one has influenced the children", but on the other hand he stated that they "behaved like trained robots" (p. 21). How do we reconcile these statements?
Diana Basile arrived in Medjugorje on 23 May 1984. She was suffering from multiple sclerosis and had great difficulty walking. She was also completely blind in her right eye and incontinent. Although she was still undergoing treatment at a clinic in Milan, her situation continued to deteriorate. That day, she made it to St. James Church and observed Our Lady's apparition in the sacristy. When the apparition ended, she found that she was healed. The next day, she walked barefoot from her hotel in Ljubuski to Medjugorje (a distance of 12 km) and climbed Podbrdo Hill. The miraculous healing of Diana Basile has been one of the most thoroughly examined and well-documented healings in Medjugorje. But, according to the Bishop, "The majority of naive and devout people have been tricked by the great propaganda and all the stories about apparitions and miracles... They are not aware that no miraculous healings have occurred, according to the investigation of competent professionals." (p. 40). Are the Medjugorje apparitions and miracles real? Please read THE MIRACLES OF MEDJUGORJE and SUPERNATURAL EVENTS IN MEDJUGORJE and decide for yourself.
Father Rene Laurentin, a renowned French theologian and Mariologist, visited Medjugorje more than 20 times and came to the conclusion that the Medjugorje apparitions were supernatural appearances. However, the Bishop accused him of lying and tried to slander him saying that he was "motivated by a desire for quick and easy money" (p. 47).
On 16 December 1982, the Bishop invited Father Radogost Grafenauer, a Slovenian Jesuit priest, to investigate the Medjugorje events. But, the Bishop made a terrible mistake this time - he shouldn't have let Fr. Grafenauer go to Medjugorje. After spending a few days in Medjugorje, Fr. Grafenauer concluded that the apparitions were authentic. When he returned to Mostar and told the Bishop about his findings, the Bishop accused him of being "brainwashed and converted by the lies of Fr. Tomislav Vlasic" (p. 53).
Initially, the Bishop supported Medjugorje and believed in the authenticity of the apparitions but he changed his mind not long after that due to some occurrences outside Medjugorje. What happened to him? The officials of the Yugoslav State Security Service (UDBA) threatened to put the Bishop in prison unless he stopped speaking favorably about the apparitions. The threats worked very well on him and he returned to Mostar a different person. At the same time, Father Jozo Zovko was also threatened with imprisonment by the UDBA but he continued to spread the message of Our Lady of Medjugorje and promote the apparitions knowing very well that he was putting himself at risk of being arrested. How did Father Jozo Zovko end up in prison and what happened after that? Please click here to read the full story.
These are only some of the interesting truths about Medjugorje. Those who wish to find out more about the truths of Medjugorje should get a copy of Father Ljudevit Rupcic's book, The Truth about Medjugorje. This book is really an eye-opener and its readers will learn something new from it. Perhaps those who are not in favor of Medjugorje will see it differently and change their perspectives after reading this book.
Thanks for reading. You may also like to read THE APPARITIONS OF OUR LADY AT MEDJUGORJE and FATHER SLAVKO BARBARIC'S BOOK ON FASTING. To view the content page of this blog, please click here.
References:
1. The Truth about Medjugorje by Father Dr. Ljudevit Rupcic.
2. Yugoslavia: Criminal Code of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Fr. Rupcic has made some critical errors here. When Christ says, "Tell the Church," He means tells the rightful authorities in the Church, not EVERYONE (making a profit while attacking the character of one of Christ's bishops). Christ is instructing us to tell the elders of the trouble, the hierarchy who are next up in the chain of command. This is proven by the very next verse of the chapter Fr. Rupcic was quoting from, Matt. 18:18, which Fr. Rupcic left out of his quote: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Christ is speaking of the authority of the apostles when He says, "Tell the Church." He is telling Christians who have grievances against one another to go to the rightful authorities within the Church.
ReplyDeletePaul adds in 1 Cor. 6:1-7 that it is better to allow oneself to be cheated by one's Christian brother than to allow the Church to be brought into disgrace by putting one's dispute up in front of the secular world and secular courts. Telling everybody of one's problems with the character of one of Christ's bishops is shameful. When St. Padre Pio heard a secular reporter sneering about the well known licentiousness of one of the bishops, he struck the man on the face, saying heatedly, "How dare you speak so of one of Christ's bishops?"
The book above is spreading gossip and scandal, all of which is the antithesis of the spirit of the Gospels. It would almost always be wrong to make character attacks on anyone publicly, even if it wasn't a bishop, but in view of the fact that we are speaking about a bishop, the sin of gossip also becomes one of impiety. Obedience was everything to the saints. When Pope Innocent wrongly had St. Francis of Assisi thrown out of the Vatican for seeking to have his divinely inspired Rule approved, St. Francis submitted humbly and simply prayed in quiet that the Lord's will be done. He did not go and start spreading scandal against the Pope, though the Pope had done wrong. He gave us an example of humility. Then God fought for him and converted the Pope's heart and mind through a supernatural visitation.
The bishops and priests are our true FATHERS. We must treat them with reverence and submit to them with humility, as the Lord commands in His Word. We should not attack one another publicly, even when wronged, but should imitate Christ Who turned the other cheek and was silent when accused. And we should especially not attack the character of a bishop, who through his office stands in the place of Christ for the flock.
If there was a case to make against Bishop Zanic, the author of this book should have sent his case to the rightful canonical authorities in Rome, as Christ tells us to do in Matt. 18:15-18 -- NOT TO THE LOCAL BOOKSTORE.