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	Catholic Leaders Row over Medjugorje Shrine Visit By Simon Caldwell Telegraph January 5, 2010 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6937002/Catholic-leaders-row-over-Medjugorje-shrine-visit.html Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, was subjected to unprecedented public criticism by Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar for spending Christmas in the town in his Bosnian diocese where the Virgin is said to have appeared more than 40,000 times since 1981. Bishop Peric is insistent that the claims are false and is furious that the cardinal has appeared to lend credibility to them. Related Articles Pope Benedict XVI unfrocks Medjugorje priest Pope seeks to heal Nicolas Sarkozy rift at Lourdes mass Nude Virgin Mary cover prompts Playboy apology Why is Rowan Williams going to Lourdes? Dr Rowan Williams becomes first Archbishop of Canterbury to visit Lourdes In a three-page statement, the bishop said he regretted the visit of Cardinal Schonborn, the leader of the Catholic Church in Austria, claiming it had "contributed to the suffering of the local church and even added to it". He accused the cardinal of working against "peace and unity" and said that the visit "does not imply any recognition of the 'apparitions'." Pope Benedict XVI defrocked Father Tomislav Vlasic, the priest said to be the "creator" of Medjugorje, last summer. Cardinal Schonborn insisted that his visit to the shrine, announced shortly after Mr Vlasic was disciplined, was "private" but he did not seek the permission of Bishop Peric. While in Medjugorje he climbed "Apparitions Hill" with one of the six visionaries claiming to have seen the Virgin Mary, and spoke about the phenomenon in a Mass he celebrated in the local church. Contradicting Yugoslavian bishops, who in 1991 declared that nothing supernatural had occurred at Medjugorje, the cardinal reportedly said: "Who could put these things in motion? Who could invent them? A man? No, this is not the work of a human being." Bishop Peric said he was "very surprised" by the actions of the cardinal. However Cardinal Schönborn said he intended only to "de-dramatise" the tensions surrounding the disputed shrine.
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