Catholic Fire

I am pleased to participate in Andy LaVallee’s book-launch blog tour, hosted by Ellen Gable Hrkach of Full Quiver Publishing.   Entrepreneur Andrew LaValee was living in the fast lane and had no strong desire to return to his Catholic faith. After all, why should someone who is worldly successful and who has achieved nearly all his goals in life, go searching for something he is not particularly interested in finding? In From the Hub to the Heart , Andy LaValee and Leticia Velasquez share his captivating conversion story. He grew up in a tough neighborhood in Boston and spent most of his adult life drinking, gambling, and swearing. Then, one day, he met Jim Cavaziel (the actor who portrayed Jesus in The Passion of the Christ), who dared Andy to visit Medjugorje, a poor, obscure village in Croatia, where it has been alleged that the Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing for the past thirty years. His initial reaction to this challenge was, “No way am I going to fly fifteen ...

Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo Pope Francis’ ruling on Medjugorje can be expected this year, says Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo, a member of the investigative Commission. The Commission has shared its opinion on whether to give Medjugorje shrine status or not, and people are still free to visit. Granting Medjugorje shrine status or not is a part of the recommendations that the Vatican Commmission on Medjugorje handed over to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on January 17, Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo tells the Croatian news portal Dnevnik. Cardinal Puljic, a member of the international investigative Commission since it was formed in 2010, further tells that a verdict from Pope Francis on the case of Medjugorje can be expected later this year. “The Commission has submitted the results of our work to CDF, what we worked on for four years as an international Commission. These results the Congregation will consider and make a proposal to the Pope...

A special Vatican investigative commission has concluded its study of the reported Marian apparitions at Medjugorje, and supported its findings to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Vatican confirmed on January 18 that the commission, chaired by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, had held its final meeting the previous day. The commission, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in March 2010, had been asked to weigh the authenticity of the reports that the Virgin Mary has been appearing regularly to several “seers” since 1981. The commission’s report, which had been eagerly awaited for months, will now be studied by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), which in turn is expected to make recommendations to Pope Francis. The “Medjugorje phenomenon” has posed a difficult problem for Church leaders. While thousands of people visited the little town in Herzegovina and reported extraordinary supernatural experiences, local bishops have discouraged belief in the report...