From Hercegovina.info:
When Silvia Tomasevic reports to the HRT from Rome, he does not question whether what he is saying is true, but rather listens carefully to what the latest information from the Vatican is. Today’s generation of journalists was mostly born in the years when Tomašević was accredited in the Vatican, and it is clear that years of work and experience have carved out a journalist whom viewers and readers trust, and who is appreciated by the Vatican. Speaking about his long career, Tomasevic himself says, “when you are dependent on the truth, then you are independent.” Here are his thoughts and information on Medjugorje and apparitions, the appointment of new bishops in Bosnia-Hercegovina, and more.
We have the Pope's statement, where she says Our Lady is not the mail director to send messages every day, then we have the arrival
of Archbishop Henry Hoser in Medjugorje, and permission to make pilgrimages
to that place. Do you think that Pope Francis' position is still like 2013?
- The position of Pope Francis did not change and it did not refer only to
the Medjugorje phenomenon, but to the announcements of the so-called saw
(there are quite a few in South America as well) talking to Our Lady at
some time. On his return from Portugal in 2017, where he visited Fatima,
Francis spoke again on the plane of Our Lady's apparitions, as well as
the report of a commission founded in 2010 by his predecessor Benedict XVI,
headed by Cardinal Ruini.Francis said he preferred Our Lady to the Head
of the Telegram Office, who sends a message every day. These alleged apparitions
have no value, said Francis, emphasizing his "no" to "whoever thinks Our Lady
says come this and that day because I will give a message to that vision."
Not only that, but Francis will not acknowledge even the first seven apparitions
(from June 24 to July 3, 1981) recommended by the commission for the study of
the Medjugorje phenomenon as possibly true.
In a text published on May 17, 2017, then journalist Andrea Tornielli, now director of the Vatican media,wrote on the
Vatican Inside website, of which he was a co-founder, about the conclusions of
the mixed international commission on Medjugorje. He stated from reliable sources
that 13 members of the commission voted in favor of acknowledging the first seven
alleged apparitions of Our Lady of Medjugorje, with one vote against and one
abstaining. There were many doubts about the other alleged apparitions. Tornielli
also mentions Pope Francis' answer to my question on the plane on his return from
Sarajevo, adding that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by
Cardinal Müller, expressed doubts not only about the apparitions, but also the
reports of an inter-ministerial commission headed by Ruini . The girl of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to which the Medjugorje Commission
was subordinate, gave a negative opinion to the Medjugorje apparitions.
Pilgrimages to Medjugorje are now allowed. Cardinal Vinko Puljic also preached
at the Youth Festival this year. What do you think about the Church's official
position on the apparitions in Medjugorje?
- Pilgrimages to the church in Medjugorje have never been banned. This confusion
came from two letters written in 1996 and 1998 by the then secretary of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Tarcisio Bertone (Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger, who chaired it). In both letters, Bertone refers to the
statement of the Yugoslav Episcopal Conference from the 1991 meeting in Zadar,
which states that "... Based on the research conducted so far, it cannot be said
that these were supernatural apparitions or revelations."
Bertone wrote that "official pilgrimages to Medjugorje, understood as the site of authentic Marian
apparitions, should not be organized at the parish or diocesan ranks, as they
would contradict what the bishops of the former Yugoslavia stated in their
aforementioned Statement." So one must not go to the place of alleged apparitions
and participate in this act, but no one can forbid going to church. Many were
confused by Bertone's letter, so the then head of the Holy See's press office,
Joaquin Navarro-Valls, stated that "people cannot be told that they cannot go
there until the apparitions are proven false. This has not been proven yet, so
anyone can go there if they wish. "
The Vatican's basic position is that “when a Catholic in good faith goes anywhere, he is entitled to spiritual care;
The church does not, therefore, forbid priests from following the journeys organized
by laymen for Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ”Navarro-Valls said, adding that
when one reads“ what Archbishop Bertone wrote, he might think that from now on
everything is forbidden , that Catholics have no opportunity to travel to Medjugorje,
"and in fact," nothing has been changed, nothing new has been said.
Navarro-Valls explained that the problem arises "if you systematically organize
pilgrimages, organize them with the bishop and the church, then you give a canonical
verdict to the events in Medjugorje - which the church is still studying," which
is different from when people go in groups and with themselves lead the priest
to confess. A spokesman for the Pope said at the time that it was unfortunate
"that what Archbishop Bertone said was understood in too narrow a manner."
Did the Church or the Vatican say "no" to Medjugorje ?, you asked yourself a
question from Navarro-Valls and answered "No".
In BiH, all bishops will change in two years. In February of this year, the
request for retirement was sent by Bishop Ratko, the Cardinal will do so, and
in 2021 by Bishop Komarica. Why do you think a new bishop has not already been
appointed in Mostar? Do you have any information what kind of bishop the Vatican
wants in Mostar and when he might be appointed?
-The Croatian media reported that Pope Francis could send the rector of the
institution of the Holy See to Mostar as bishop. Jerome in Rome, God of Rados,
so they were wrong. Božo Radoš was appointed bishop of Varazdin. The popes do
not have to immediately accept the resignations of bishops who have turned 75.
Bishops in that age have to apply for retirement, but it is up to the pope to
decide when to retire him. It is hard to predict who will choose him as bishop
of Mostar instead of Ratko Peric.
It is just as difficult to predict for other places. Croatian media also reported that the Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal
Josip Bozanic, would be withdrawn to the Vatican. I always wrote that Bozanic
would most likely be welcomed into retirement as Archbishop of Zagreb.
Do you also get information that no one wants to accept dioceses in a diocese burdened with the Herzegovina case and the Medjugorje phenomenon?
-It used to be harder to be bishops in Mostar because of the Medjugorje phenomenon. In the Vatican, there was a thought to create a special diocese for Medjugorje, that is, Citluk. He was not found then, though some were offered, a bishop who would take over that eventual new diocese. Now Medjugorje is under Vatican jurisdiction, so the bishopric in Mostar should not be burdened with the phenomenon of Medjugorje.
You recently appeared in a newspaper with the remark "a journalist also appreciated by the
Vatican". You have been a voice from the Vatican for many years, appreciated both by
readers and viewers. How difficult is it to bring the Church closer to the people?
- John Paul II. In January 1988 he visited the Foreign Journalists Association in
Rome.
I was present for this extraordinary event. He gave us a speech in which he
emphasized that journalism is a passion and emphasized that journalists must be
independent. Yes, he said, but there is one addiction that we should all be
comfortable with, and that is true. When you are dependent on truth then you are
independent. Journalists should be independent, that is, dependent only on
the truth, no matter what it is, or whom it used or harmed.
Colleagues from all over the world accredited in the Vatican have repeatedly chosen me, at the time
of John Paul II, and at the time of Benedict XVI, as now in the time of Francis,
to be their ears and eyes in places where only one could go. a journalist and one
TV cameraman, and there have been instances where even the cameraman could not go.
I did the pool myself, so after the event I informed the other journalists what I
had seen and heard. This then became world information, that is, all world agencies
and media. So fellow Vaticanists have confidence in me as a journalist who will
tell them the truth of what he has seen and heard. That's the biggest recognition
for me. Once in Split, in 2011, after the presentation of my book, a man who
attended the presentation approached me and asked me if I was a believer or not
because he could not make out from my texts even though he had been following my
writings since I worked for the Vjesnik. When I told him what he said was a great
compliment for me, he told me I didn't have to answer him. In the Vatican, where
I have been accredited since the mid-1980s, so in the time of the former Yugoslavia,
no one ever asked me whether or not I was a believer. Of course, there are readers
who think I should have written something differently, but I try to be as close to
the truth in the reports.
You have met Pope Francis many times. What impression does it make on you? - Pope Francis is very honest. He looks you in the eye and listens carefully to what you are saying to him. He speaks honestly what he thinks, whether or not he likes his words. Of course, there are those in the Roman Curia who do not love him, but have never all loved a pope. There were opponents of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and now there is also Francis. Some inside the Church think that they have been stripped of their power of “threatening” the court of God when he said that God is always forgiving. As I reported, as soon as he was elected Pope, we could more or less say with Francis, "The Pope accuses or condemns" or "the Vatican accuses or condemns", so far it has happened. Francis later said "who am I to condemn". Here Francis is like that, he does not condemn but calls for thought.