Pavao Žanić

Pavao Žanić (20 May 1918 – 11 January 2000) was a Bosnia-Herzegovina prelate, bishop of Mostar-Duvno and Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1980 until 1993. He was a leading critic of the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje. Previously, Žanić served as bishop coadjutor of Mostar-Duvno and titular bishop of Edistania from 1970 until 1980. He also served as apostolic administrator of Dubrovnik from 1988 until 1990.

His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Pavao Žanić
Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan
ChurchCatholic Church
DioceseMostar-Duvno
Trebinje-Mrkan
Appointed14 September 1980
PredecessorPetar Čule
SuccessorRatko Perić
Other postsBishop Coadjutor of Mostar-Duvno
Titular Bishop of Edistania
Apostolic Administrator of Dubrovnik
Orders
Ordination1 June 1941
Consecration2 May 1971
by Petar Čule
Personal details
Born(1918-05-20)20 May 1918
Kaštel Novi, Kaštela, Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary
Died11 January 2000(2000-01-11) (aged 81)
Split, Croatia
BuriedCathedral of Mary, Mother of the Church, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
DenominationCatholic
Alma materUniversity of Split
MottoIn fide, spe et caritate (In faith, hope and love)

Biography

Born in 1918 in Kaštel Novi (present-day Croatia), he was ordained a priest on 1 June 1941. In 1970, he was appointed coadjutor of Mostar-Duvno and titular bishop of Edistiana In 1980, he became the bishop of Mostar-Duvno.[1]

Diocesan dispute

For centuries parishes in Bosnia-Herzegovina were administered by the Franciscan order under an understanding reached with the Ottoman sultan.[2]

After Herzegovina became part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Pope Leo XIII took steps to establish dioceses and appoint local bishops. As part of re-establishing normal church structures, the bishops worked to transfer parishes from the Franciscans to the diocesan clergy, but the friars resisted. In the 1940s, the two Franciscan provinces still held 63 of 79 parishes in the dioceses of Vrhbosna and Mostar.[3]

In June 1975 Pope Paul VI issued Romanis Pontificibus, a papal decree indicating which parishes the Franciscans were allowed to retain and which to turn over to diocesan administration. Beginning in 1976 Bishop Žanić started to implement the decree. Full implementation was still being worked on as late as December 1998.[4]

Medjugorje

In early 1981, Franciscans Ivica Vego and Ivan Prusina refused to relinquish their posts, causing some controversy. Žanić declared them suspended and sought to have them expelled from the order. By June six young people whom the two friars had been counseling claimed to have experienced apparitions of the Blessed Virgin. The reports attracted a number of pilgrims to the village of Medjugorje. On 11 January 1982, Žanić established a commission to look into the alleged apparition. Three days later, three of the seers reported that the Madonna had said that the bishop had been too harsh with the Franciscans.[2]

In April 1986, Žanić submitted a negative report of the apparitions to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, at the time Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican.[5][6]

As the Medjugorje events had exceeded the scope of a local event, in January 1987, upon the suggestion of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Kuharić and Bishop Žanić made a joint communiqué in which they announced the formation of a third Commission under the direction of the Bishops Conference.[7] In July, Žanić forbade any priests who organized pilgrimages or came there ascribing a supernatural character to the events, to celebrate Mass in his diocese, and this until the Commission of the Bishops’ Conference completed its inquiry.[8]

On 10 April 1991, the Yugoslav Episcopal Conference concurred with Žanić's earlier finding of Non constat de supernaturalitate stating that: "On the basis of the investigations so far it can not be affirmed that one is dealing with supernatural apparitions and revelations."[7]

Bishop Žanić retired in 1993 at age 75 and was succeeded by Bishop Ratko Perić.[1] Žanić died at the Clinical Hospital Centre Firule in Split, Croatia aged 81 on 11 January 2000. He was buried two day later at a family cemetery in Kaštel Novi, in accordance with his will.[9]

See also

References
Notes
  1. "Bishop Pavao Žanić". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  2. Ramet, Sabrina P.Catholicism and Politics in Communist Societies, Duke University Press, 1990, p. 199; ISBN 9780822310105.
  3. Vjekoslav Perica. Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States. Oxford University Press. pp. 117–18 (2004).
  4. "Visit of the Minister General to the Province of the Assumption of the BVM", cafarus.ch; accessed 12 September 2016.
  5. Michaela Schauble, Narrating Victimhood: Gender, Religion and the Making of Place in Post-War Croatia (Bergahn, 2014), p. 119.
  6. Pavao Žanić, The Truth About Medjugorje (English translation), booklet published in 1990.
  7. Donovan, Colin."Medjugorje", ewtn.com, 6 November 2013.
  8. "ORDERS ON: THE NEWEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE EVENTS IN MEDJUGORJE", ewtn.com, 18 September 2016.
  9. Biskupija.
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