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Praised by Our Lady of Medjugorje and Then Excommunicated: Tomislav Vlašić
by Marco Corvaglia
Praised and Excommunicated
Vlašić (in profile) together with Marija, in the mid 80's
Franciscan Tomislav Vlašić got in touch with the "visionaries" a few days after the first of the “apparitions” and was parochial vicar of Medjugorje for three years (beginning in August of 1981).
A follower of Charismatic Renewal and proponent of a Christianity deeply rooted in the New Age (which, over the years, has come to light even more clearly), on 25 January 2008 he was sanctioned with interdict, and on 10 March 2009 was reduced to lay status after being accused by Vatican authorities of "heresy and schism", “dissemination of questionable doctrines”, “manipulation of consciences", “suspected mysticism”, “disobedience of legitimately imposed orders” and contra sextum charges (i.e., against the sixth commandment), due to his activities in a community he had founded in Italy.
On July 15, 2020, the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith published a decree of excommunication against Tomislav Vlašić (see the 23 October 2020 prot. 34.20 press release of the Diocese of Brescia).
Well, the "seers" have repeatedly highlighted the favour, if not the preference, of the Gospa (Medjugorje Madonna) for Father Vlašić.
On 28 February 1982, Our Lady says to the visionaries:
Thank Tomislav very much, for he is guiding you very well.
[René Laurentin, Messaggio e pedagogia di Maria a Medjugorje. Raccolta cronologica dei messaggi, Queriniana, Brescia 1988, p. 165 (message taken from Vicka's Diary). English edition: Messages and Teachings of Mary at Medjugorje. Chronological Corpus of the Messages, Riehle Foundation, 1988]
Surely Vlašić volunteered for the role of guide but, in fact, actually played this role, particularly with regard to the visionaries who, during his three-year stay in Medjugorje, resided there permanently (Vicka, in addition to Jakov, the little boy) or at least for several days a week (Marija, who, 30 kilometers away in Mostar, was completing her training as a hairstylist).
However, the others also had him as a point of reference when they were in Medjugorje. This is easily proven, and it appears likely that, taking action on the newly emerging phenomenon, Vlašić was decisive in determining certain elements that have become central to the "message" of Medjugorje and were perfectly consistent with his ideas, such as millenarianism and the specific nature of "secrets", which the "visionaries" had ceased emphasizing the apocalyptic nature of beginning in the late 1980s to early 1990s, when the relationship with Father Tomislav essentially dissolved [cfr. M. Corvaglia, La verità su Medjugorje. Il grande inganno, Lindau, Turin 2018, pp. 83-96; 226-231].
That Vlašić guided the "visionaries" was a fact shared by all authors of Medjugorje from the early years (Herzegovinian Franciscans Father Janko Bubalo and Father Svetozar Kraljević, Father René Laurentin, Father Robert Faricy, Father Marijan Ljubić, Father Luigi Bianchi, Gildo Spaziante, Mario Botta and Luigi Frigerio) (documentation in my book La verità su Medjugorje, p. 76 and note 54 p. 149), but that's not enough...
It was a fact that was explicitly admitted even by the other Franciscans of Medjugorje, by the "visionaries" themselves and even by the Gospa (which, of course, for me coincides with the "visionaries").
On May 28, 1983, as we have already seen (on the page When Marija Pavlović Invented a Message) the Franciscan is chosen by Our Lady to found a new prayer group, which will be guided by him and by the"seer of second-generation" Jelena.
And the next 3 June, after Vlašić undertook the foundation of the prayer group, the “main” visionaries asked the Madonna:
- What do you expect of Fr. Tomislav? Has he begun well?
- Yes, it is good. Have him continue.
[Laurentin, Message et pédagogie de Marie a Medjugorje. Corpus chronologique des messages, O.E.I.L., Paris 1988, p. 189]
Also Marija Pavlović will join the prayer group, since its establishment. The seer will remain for all four years in which it will be active.
Marija Pavlović on November 30, 1983 asks precisely Vlašić to write a letter to John Paul II, to draw his attention to the facts of Medjugorje (the letter, written the following 2 December, is published in full in R. Laurentin, La Vergine appare a Medjugorje?, Queriniana, Brescia 1991, pp. 221-224).
In the Chronicle of the Apparitions of the parish of Medjugorje, Franciscan Slavko Barbarić thus expresses himself regarding Tomislav Vlašić on April 2, 1984:
He guided the visionaries, parish and pilgrims.
[Kronika ukazanja [Chronical of the Apparitions], vol. III, 2/4/1984, cit. in Službeni vjesnik (Official Bulletin of the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno), 2/2009, p.183. Original text: «Vodio je vidioce, župu i hodočasnike»]
“Visionary” Ivanka, when interviewed in July of 1984 by columnist Gianfranco Fagiuoli for the Domenica del Corriere (Sunday Courier), says, "Father Vlasic, our spiritual advisor…” [G. Fagiuoli, La Madonna non mi ha mai sgridato, «La Domenica del Corriere», vol. 86, no. 30, July 28, 1984, p. 32].
Vlašić, frequently continued going to Medjugorje for several years, even after his move to nearby Vitina (1984).
In 1987, however, he "retired to a hermitage for an indefinite period” [“Eco di Medjugorje” [Medjugorje Echo], n. 39, April 19, 1987, p. 2] and was absent for several months.
When he finally returned, visionary Marija, evidently very attached to him, was especially happy:
Tomislav's visit was enthusiastically welcomed by many. I was about to collapse from joy, stated Marija.
[Laurentin, Dernières nouvelles de Medjugorje, n. 7, O.E.I.L., Paris, December 1988, p. 97]
The following year, Father Tomislav Vlašić, along with a self-proclaimed German mystic (Agnes Heupel), founded a community called “Regina della Pace, completamente tuoi, attraverso Maria a Gesù” (Queen of Peace, all yours through Mary to Jesus) in Parma, Italy, which Marija also joins.
In 2010 Tomislav Vlašić founded the Church of Jesus Christ of the Universe.
On 11 February 2012 Vlašić and his close collaborator Stefania Caterina spread the following video, in which they claim to be part of a group (called the Central Nucleus) of 49 beings chosen by God throughout the universe.
Here's the video and, later, the transcription of some exemplary passages:
Tomislav Vlašić [03:34]: In recent years I have been in silence for God's will, and now the time has come, and, by God's will, I must speak and inform mankind, along with Stefania, of what the Lord not only intends to do, but is doing. [...] [04:50] In the universe something happened, of which we are going to speak to you.
Stefania Caterina [08:11]: We want to tell you clearly that both Tomislav Vlašić and I belong to the Central Nucleus. We have been called to this task more than ten years ago. Of course we could not reveal it because then the Lord had to fix so many pieces in a very large mosaic, concerning not only Earth but the entire universe. [...]
[16:10] Jesus said clearly that it is a small number of people. We do not go over 50 in number. Indeed, we are 49 to be exact. And why? Because the Central Nucleus is divided into seven nuclei. Seven nuclei, at the head of which is one of the seven great archangels. [...] [17:24] People who are part of it come from different mankinds, not only from Earth. Moreover, those of us who come from Earth are very few [she smiles]. And they come from other mankinds of the universe. Some of them are dead…
Tomislav Vlašić [21:33]: We can talk about some mankinds in the universe, who have remained faithful to God: they form a nucleus, all the people are a nucleus. But in this large nucleus there are many small nuclei, which move similarly to the Central Nucleus. They move, and at the same time the people provide the best nuclei for the mission in the whole universe, and these hook to the Central Nucleus. Thus, since early this year, these three instruments are working: the pure spirits, the Central Nucleus, and brothers and sisters faithful to God, who have been faithful to God from the beginning of creation.
Stefania Caterina [22:59]: On some planets, as you know, even Jesus Christ was unknown until recently, because the announcement of salvation on some planets had not yet arrived. For most of this time, the task of the Central Nucleus has been to bring this announcement. [...] [23:27] But the Central Nucleus in spirit, for example, also acts in Purgatory...
What do the Medjugorje visionaries have to say about all this and about the support they have repeatedly given to Vlašić with the messages they have attributed to Our Lady?
Nothing.
They look the other way and, if it happens, they continue to express themselves in deferential terms towards him, as Vicka does in her 2015 book A Medjugorje con Maria. I segreti che la Madonna mi ha affidato. In it, she makes a quick overview of the priests who were closest to the visionaries. She mentions the Fathers Jozo Zovko and Slavko Barbarić, and adds:
I can not help but talk about Father Tomislav Vlasic who replaced the parish priest Father Jozo for a few months in 1981 after he was arrested by the police.
He was coadjutor of the parish from 1982 to 1985 and led a youngsters’ group of prayer, in which the seer Marija took part.
[Vicka Ivankovic-Mijatovic (with Father Michele Barone), A Medjugorje con Maria. I segreti che la Madonna mi ha affidato, Piemme, Milan 2015, p. 180].
One final thought.
At the beginning of the 1980s, when the Gospa, as we’ve seen, invited the visionaries to praise Father Tomislav, Bishop Žanić called him a “con artist and charismatic wizard” [Pavao Žanić, The present unofficial position of the Diocesan Chancery of Mostar regarding the events of Medjugorje, October 30, 1984].
In the end, whose facts were correct?
See also Medjugorje: The unbearable sadness of duping the faithful – Fr. Laurentin’s fabrication concerning the father of a nun’s child (2012), Part 2, by Louis Bélanger.
Marco Corvaglia
Published on 4 May 2008 and legally deposited
at Copyright.eu. Last update: 23 October 2020.
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