Tomislav Vlašić

Tomislav Vlašić (born 16 January 1942) is a leader of the New Age/UFO religious community "Queen of Peace – Totally Yours – to Jesus through Mary" active in Italy, best known for being a spiritual director of the alleged seers of the Marian apparitions in Medjugorje.

Tomislav Vlašić
Personal
Born (1942-01-16) 16 January 1942
Sovići, Grude, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
NationalityCroat
PartnerManda Kožul (Sister Rufina) (until 1977)
Agnes Heupel (1987–2014)
Children1
SectThe Queen of Peace community
Known forFormer spiritual director of the alleged seers of the Marian apparitions in Medjugorje
PhilosophyNew Age/UFO religion
Senior posting
Present postLeader of Queen of Peace – Totally Yours – to Jesus through Mary
Websitekraljicemira.org/hr/

He is a former Franciscan friar and Catholic priest, an adherer of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Since the alleged Marian apparitions in Medjugorje occurred in 1981, he was a spiritual director of the alleged seers. Vlašić is the author of the Chronicles of apparitions, a chronology that follows the alleged apparitions. He remained actively involved in the Medjugorje phenomenon at least until 1991. He was one of the founders of the Medjugorje International Youth Festival (Mladifest), an annual gathering of the Catholic youth, established to mark Our Lady's birthday as claimed by the seers.

In 1987 he moved to Italy and founded the New Age community "Queen of Peace – Totally Yours – to Jesus through Mary" with the apparent approval from Madonna, as proclaimed by Marija Pavlović, one of the alleged seers. Pavlović subsequently disavowed the organization.[1] In 2009 Vlašić was laicized after accusations of sexual misconduct, and was excommunicated in 2020.

Catholic priest

Tomislav Vlašić was born in the village of Sovići in the municipality of Grude, Herzegovina on 16 January 1942. He became a Franciscan and was ordained a priest on 26 July 1969 in Frohnleiten, Austria.[2][3] After his ordination, Vlašić served as a spiritual assistant in Humac, Ljubuški and later was appointed president of the Herzegovinian Franciscan residence in Jablanovac in Zagreb, Croatia.[3] While in Zagreb, Vlašić had an affair with Sister Rufina (born Manda Kožul), a nun, who became pregnant. In fear of being discovered as a father of the child, Vlašić persuaded Rufina to move to Germany, promising her he will leave the ministry and marry her. After repetitious letters he received from her, Vlašić told her to "be like Mary" (Mary, mother of Jesus). The letters were discovered later by Rufina's landlord, who sent them to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who ascertained Vlašić's bishop Pavao Žanić about the affair, which would be the main reason why Vlašić would leave for Italy in 1987.[1]

In 1977, Vlašić was named a spiritual assistant in Čapljina.[3] In May 1981 Vlašić went to Rome to participate in an international meeting of the Charismatic movement. There he met Sr. Briege McKenna, who told Vlasic that she had a mental image of him seated and surrounded by a great crowd, and from the place where he was seated streams of water flowed. At the same event, Fr. Emiliano Tardif spoke a message to Vlasic as a prophecy: "Do not fear; I am sending you my Mother."[4][5]

Medjugorje phenomenon

On 24 June 1981, the alleged Marian apparitions occurred in Medjugorje. Vlašić entered into contact with the seers on 29 June 1981 and became their spiritual director.[6] Vlašić stayed in Čapljina until 17 August 1981, when he moved to Medjugorje on his own initiative, without the bishop's approval.[3] René Laurentin writes that the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina approved his transfer to Medjugorje, bypassing the bishop's decision. According to Laurentin, Vlašić went to Medjugorje immediately after Medjugorje's parson friar Jozo Zovko was imprisoned by the communist authorities and Vlašić was named Zovko's successor by Provincial Jozo Pejić.[6]

Vlašić was officially proposed to become a spiritual assistant in Medjugorje only on 19 July 1982, and Bishop Žanić, still unaware of his affair in Zagreb, approved his appointment on 27 July 1982.[7] Vlašić cooperated with friar Slavko Barbarić in directing the seers, instructing them how to behave. Both of them forbade the seers to give any statements without their prior knowledge. In one alleged apparition, from 28 February 1982, the Madonna told the seers that they should be grateful to Vlašić for his good leadership.[8] The seers had full trust in him and exchanged their diaries with him.[2]

Fr. Tomislav conducted the Chronicle of Apparitions (Kronika ukazanja).[9] The Chronicle covers the period from 11 August 1981 to 15 October 1983. The chronicle is written to give the impression of immediacy, using terms such as “same scene as yesterday” or “tonight” and “tonight”. However, Nikola Bulat, a member of the commission that examined the apparitions, concluded that the Chronicle wasn't written daily as it seems.[10] Under the number dates, events that occurred later were recorded.[11] The intro of the Chronicle was written only on 25 February 1982, so Bulat concludes that it is possible that Vlašić started writing the Chronicle only then, eight months after the apparitions or during October 1981 at its best.[12]

On 13 April 1984, Vlašić wrote to Pope John Paul II, referring to himself as "the one who, by God's mercy, leads the seers" and asked him to meet him. His letter remained unanswered.[13]

On 16 August 1984, the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina proposed to Bishop Žanić that Barbarić should be named as a spiritual assistant in Medjugorje. Žanić approved the request the same day, however, he requested his transfer on 3 January 1985 due to his involvement with the alleged apparitions. However, the seers had another apparition in which the Madonna told them that she would like Barbarić to remain in Medjugorje and to conduct a chronicle about her apparitions, so that "after the end of her coming, there can be one overview" of the event.[13]

On 2 September 1984 Vlašić was transferred to Vitina.[13] He wrote to a friend in the Vatican the following year, complaining about the bishop of Mostar, “It would be necessary to get all the others involved (intellectuals, theologians, bishops, cardinals...). We have to admit that Satan can also work through the structures of the Church.”[14]

New age leader

In 1987, Fr. Tomislav left Herzegovina for Parma, Italy, where he established a New age community "Queen of Peace – Totally Yours – to Jesus through Mary", together with his partner Agnes Heupel, a German, who claimed to be healed by Our Lady of Medjugorje. Fr. Tomislav claimed the community was established with the approval from Our Lady, for which he got the confirmation from Marija Pavlović, one of the alleged seers. Pavlović was a member of Fr. Tomislav's community since February 1988, but retracted the approval from Our Lady in July 1988, claiming she never received such a message from the Madonna. Tomislav Vlašić stopped being a member of the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina since he established his own community in 1987.[15]

That same year, the bishop of Parma ordered the association to close. However, Vlašić founded houses of the association in four other dioceses, including at Medjugorje, with the help of laywoman Stefania Caterina. Caterina became the deputy head of the association.[16]

In 2008, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) informed Vlašić that he was under investigation "for the diffusion of dubious doctrine, manipulation of consciences, suspect mysticism, disobedience towards legitimately issued orders" and charges of sexual misconduct ("contra sextum") and ordered him to stay at a Franciscan monastery in Lombardy, take a course of theological and spiritual formation, not have contact with the "Queen of Peace..." association, not get involved in juridical contracts or acts of administration, and not engage in preaching, spiritual direction, public statements, or performing the sacrament of confession, under pain of incurring the penalty of automatic interdict.[17] In May 2008, CDF informed Bishop Ratko Perić of Mostar that Vlašić had incurred the penalty of automatic interdict.[18] Father Tomislav Vlasic was subsequently laicised by Pope Benedict XVI.[19]

On February 11, 2012, Caterina and Vlašić made a video about Central Nucleus,[20] a New Age movement that combines private revelation and Catholic theology with pseudoscience and astrology.[21] Caterina stated that she and Vlašić joined the movement in 2002.[16] New Age and astrology are forbidden by the Catholic Church.[22][23]

Vlašić was excommunicated on July 15, 2020, by decree of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for continuing to hold himself out as a priest and simulating sacraments.[24]

Notes
  1. Caldwell, Simon. "Sex, lies and apparitions". The Spectator. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  2. Kutleša 2001, p. 55.
  3. Perić 2009, p. 181.
  4. Lucy Rooney and Robert Faricy (1984). Mary Queen of Peace. Leominster (England): Fowler Wright. p. 28-29.
  5. Ivo Sivric (1989). The Hidden Side of Medjugorje. 1. St.-Francois-du-Lac (Quebec): Psilog. p. 105-106.
  6. Laurentin 1987, p. 90.
  7. Perić 2009, pp. 181-182.
  8. Perić 2009, p. 182.
  9. Bulat 2006, p. 20.
  10. Bulat 2006, p. 23.
  11. Bulat 2006, pp. 24–25: "A similar record was made on January 20: 'Five children had a vision of the Mother of God this evening as well.' The visionaries also asked the question: 'What will Fr. Ivica Vego and Fr. Ivan Prusina do now that they have been expelled?' These are two disobedient chaplains who were suspended, ie they were forbidden to perform priestly duties and were dismissed from the Order of the OFM. Our Lady replied: 'They are not guilty. The bishop was hasty in his decision. Let them stay.' This fact interests us here only because the two mentioned chaplains were dismissed from the Order only on 29 January 1982. The act of dismissal from the OFM Order of the two mentioned chaplains was recorded in the Chronicle 9 days before they were dismissed. This clearly tells us that the wording: 'Five children and this evening ...', ie 20 January is not correct, because it did not happen that evening nor could it have been written that evening when the chaplains were fired 9 days later."
  12. Bulat 2006, p. 26.
  13. Perić 2009, p. 183.
  14. Ante Luburić (31 August 2008). "Fra Tomislav Vlašić "within the context of the Medjugorje phenomenon"". Diocese of Mostar.
  15. Kutleša 2001, pp. 29-30.
  16. Marco Corvaglia. "Medjugorje: A Revised and Corrected Millenarianism?".
  17. Simon Caldwell (5 Sep 2008). "Vatican disciplines ex-spiritual director to Medjugorje visionaries". Catholic News Service. Archived from the original on 9 September 2008.
  18. Ratko Perić (31 August 2008). "Canonical Status of Rev. Father Tomislav Vlašić, OFM". Diocese of Mostar.
  19. Caldwell, Simon. "Pope Benedict XVI unfrocks Medjugorje priest", The Telegraph, 27 July 2009
  20. Stefania Caterina (11 Feb 2012). Il Nucleo Centrale.
  21. "Towards the New Creation". Luci dell'Esodo.
  22. Jacobi, Maximilian. "Astrology." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 16 November 2015
  23. A Christian Reflection on the New Age An adequate Christian discernment of New Age thought and practice cannot fail to recognize that, like second and third century gnosticism, it represents something of a compendium of positions that the Church has identified as heterodox.
  24. "Former spiritual director of 'Medjugorje visionaries' excommunicated". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2020-10-24.

References

Books
  • Bulat, Nikola (2006). Istina će nas osloboditi [The Truth will set us free] (in Croatian). Mostar: Biskupski ordinarijat Mostar.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Kutleša, Dražen (2001). Ogledalo pravde [Mirror of Justice] (in Croatian). Mostar: Biskupski ordinarijat Mostar.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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