February 11, 2017

Vatican City - Pope Francis is sending a bishop to Medjugorje to gain "deeper knowledge" of the pastoral needs of millions of Catholics drawn there by reports of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary. The apparitions began in June of 1981 and continue to this day.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said Saturday Polish Bishop Henryk Hoser's mission doesn't involve deciding the merits of the reported apparitions to six children who are now grown with families and still see the Virgin Mary. Bishop Hoser will study "the needs of the faithful who go there on pilgrimage," and his mission, is to wrap up by summer's end, has "exclusively pastoral character."

Related information below by Michael K. Jones

In March 2010, a forth Medjugorje Commission was appointed, making these apparitions more investigated than any other apparition, in the history of the church. On January 17, 2014, the Commission announced its inquiries are completed. The findings of this 45 month examination are now submitted to the CDF (Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith.) The CDF and Pope Francis will now determine if any, all or nothing will be publicly released about the extensive study. 

While flying back to Rome from his visit to Sarajevo on June 6, 2015, Pope Francis was asked about the status of the Vatican’s investigation into the alleged Medjugorje apparitions. Francis replied, "We are about to make decisions and then they will be communicated," he added that he recently received a long study by a Vatican Commission and that the case was now before the Holy See's doctrinal department, aka “The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.”

The prime duty of the Church is to protect the faithful. If the Church agrees a certain apparition is supernatural and later it is discovered that a certain apparition is not supernatural, the faithful would loose hope and trust in the leadership foundation of the Church. To prevent this, the Church often waits, offering only that there is not enough evidence to claim a said apparition is supernatural. This approach allows for the passage of time without Church commitment, leaving things in the neutral state of a wait and see policy.

Although the evidence of the 4th Commission has been completed and is in the hands of "Congregations of the Doctrine of Faith" since March of 2010, and despite Pope Francis's suggesting in June of 2015 that a decision about the events taking place in Medjugorje will come soon, as of the date of this article, the church remains silent about their investigation of the 4th Medjugorje Commission.

Update: Church no longer silent about 4th Medjugorje Commission findings.
Read related article update... http://www.medjugorjeusa.org/vaticantoapprovemedjugorje.htm

UPDATED: April 05, 2017

Pope Francis concluded, the pastoral needs of pilgrims require greater consideration for the future growth of Medjugorje. Pope Francis concluded a special envoy should be sent to determine these needs.  Based on the media interview April 5 by Special Envoy to Medjugorje, Archbishop Henryk Hoser, there are some liberties we can now consider related to possible findings of the 4th Medjugorje Commission (2010 - 2014.)

The findings of the 4th Commission as of April 5, 2017 remain hidden from public knowledge but some reasonable conclusions may now exist. The fact Pope Francis decided to send Archbishop Hoser to Medjugorje for greater pilgrims needs for the "future growth of Medjugorje" is a statement that offers convincing speculation as to what part of the Commission's finding may detail.

If the findings of the Commission were all negative, Pope Francis would not be sending a special envoy to Medjugorje for its future growth. From this known published detail and related positive information from the interview with Bishop Hoser on April 5th, we can now make a reasonable assumption that the 4th Medjugorje Commission findings notes good things are coming from Medjugorje that can not be denied.

In the Bishop's media interview, he mentions the many good works taking place in Medjugorje, such as "Mother's Village." Bishop Hoser say's, "these places are worth visiting." "Worth Visiting" tells us, there are many good Catholic works taking place in Medjugorje. Bishop Hoser goes on to talk about 47 thousand priests who have gone on retreat to Medjugorje for silence and prayer who are profoundly moved by event taking place there. The Bishop adds, many different seminars in Medjugorje, “show the intensity of life that could be applied to other places.”  He also adds, "Medjugorje is fertile ground" where pilgrims discover extraordinary things. "They discover peace of heart, spirituality and encounter sacred space and time, reserved for something divine. They rediscover prayer, something sacred and holy."

Archbishop Hoser claims he has not read the report of the the 4th Medjugorje Commission. Even so, what Bishop Hoser say's in the interview clearly are points that a 45 month inquiry and investigation by the appointed Medjugorje Commission of experts in their fields, would have also concluded as points of positive considerations. These points of positive consideration would most certainly present themselves in the completed 4th Medjugorje Commissions findings. It would therefore seem probable an examination of 4th Commission findings given to the "The Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith" in 2014 has now been fully examined. Considering all Bishop Hoser offered in his interview on April 5th, the public can certainly offer reasonable conclusion from speculation that there is a great deal of positive considerations in the 4th Medjugorje Commission's findings.

Read related articles...
Pope sends Archbishop to Medjugorje http://www.medjugorjeusa.org/popesendsbishop.htm
Archbishop Hoser press conference transcripts  http://www.medjugorjeusa.org/hoserpressconference.htm
Reasonable conclusions for 4th Medjugorje Commission  http://www.medjugorjeusa.org/reasonablecommissionconclusions.htm

UPDATED: August 20, 2017

On August 19, Archbishop Henryk Hoser told the catholic news agency KAI, he expected the Holy See to approve the Medjugorje apparitions, maybe even before the end of this year. Archbishop Hoser stated, "There is every indication" that the Vatican will recognize the authenticity of at least the first reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary, dating back to 1981. Hoswer added, 'It is difficult to reach any other verdict."

Read August 20, 2017 article... http://www.medjugorjeusa.org/vaticantoapprovemedjugorje.htm