Ratko Perić

Ratko Perić (born 2 February 1944) is a Catholic prelate from Bosnia and Herzegovina who served as bishop of Mostar-Duvno and apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1993 to 2020.

His Excellency, The Most Reverend Msgr. Ratko Perić
Bishop emeritus of Mostar-Duvno and Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan
Church	Catholic Church
Diocese	Mostar-Duvno Trebinje-Mrkan
Appointed	24 July 1993
Predecessor	Pavao Žanić
Successor	Petar Palić
Other posts	Rector of the Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome Bishop Coadjutor of Mostar-Duvno
Personal details
Born	(1944-02-02) 2 February 1944 Tuk, Rovišće, Independent State of Croatia
Nationality	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Denomination	Catholic
Residence	Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Alma mater	University of Zagreb Pontifical Urban University
Motto	Kroz nevolje u kraljevstvo Božje (Through tribulation into the kingdom of God)
Coat of arms

Ordination history of Ratko
History Diaconal ordination Date 13 April 1969 Place Rome, Italy Priestly ordination Ordained by Petar Čule Date 29 June 1969 Place Prisoje, Duvno, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia Episcopal consecration Principal consecrator Franjo Kuharić Co-consecrators Josip Uhač Pavao Žanić Date 14 September 1992 Place Križevo, Neum, Herzeg-Bosnia, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Two main issues he succeeded from his predecessors, the Herzegovina Affair and the question of the apparitions in Medjugorje, marked his episcopate. Regarding the first issue, the division of parishes between the Franciscans and the diocesan clergy, Perić insisted on the implementation of Romanis Pontificibus, which decreed that Franciscans are ought to handover several parishes in Herzegovina. The parishes in question remained occupied by the Franciscans, with friars holding them being expelled from the Franciscan Order and banned from doing their priestly duties. Regarding the alleged apparitions in Medjugorje, Perić remained firm in expressing the official position of the Catholic Church and his predecessors, that nothing supernatural occurred in Medjugorje.

Early life

Family and education

Ratko Perić was born in the village of Tuk, in the municipality of Rovišće, near Bjelovar in present-day Croatia, where his parents, Grgo and Anica née Raguž,[1] moved from Rotimlja near Stolac.[2] He was baptised on 5 February 1944 in the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Rovišće.[1] The family moved back to Rotimlja in 1946.[2] There, Perić enrolled at the elementary school in 1951.[3] He received his confirmation in Prenj, Stolac on 23 July 1953 by Andrija Majić, the bishop's delegate.[1] Perić continued his education at the elementary school in Crnići near Čapljina from 1955 until 1959. He graduated from the Zagreb seminary high school. After finishing high school, Perić enrolled at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb, where he studied philosophy from 1963 until 1965. After that, he enrolled at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, Italy, where he studied theology from 1965 until 1969. He received a licentiate in theology at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome with the thesis "The Role of Cardinal Stepinac in Relations Between the Church and the State"[3] in June 1969.[1]

Priesthood

Perić became a deacon in Rome on 13 April 1969.[1] He was ordained a presbyter on 29 June 1969 by Bishop Petar Čule in Prisoje, Duvno.[3] Perić continued his education at the Pontifical Urban University and gained a PhD on 10 December 1971 with the thesis "Meaning of Evangelisation in the Perspective of Anonymous Christianity"[1] under the mentorship of Carlo Molari.[4] He returned to Herzegovina, where he was a parson in Trebinje between 1971 and 1974. Simultaneously, he taught general history and the Greek language at the Humanist Gymnasium "Ruđer Bošković" in Dubrovnik from 1972 until 1974. After that, he lectured in ecumenical theology at the Vrhbosna Theology Seminary in Sarajevo from 1974 until 2004 (with breaks). On 7 December 1979, Perić was named rector of the Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome in Rome.[1] He later lectured on ecumenical theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from 1989 until 1992, and also on eastern theology at the Faculty of Catholic Theology in Zagreb from 1991 until 1992.[1]

Bishop

He was named Bishop Coadjutor of Mostar-Duvno on 29 May 1992.[5] In 1993 he began to lecture on ecclesiology and mariology at the Theological Institute in Mostar.[1] Since the Mostar Cathedral was heavily damaged in the ongoing war, Bishop Perić's consecration took place in Križevo, Neum. He was consecrated by Cardinal Franjo Kuharić, Archbishop of Zagreb, assisted by Archbishop Josip Uhač, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and Pavao Žanić, bishop of Mostar-Duvno.[6] The Vatican appreciated prelates' being knowledgeable about other faiths and ecumenical affairs. For this reason,[7] after Žanić's retirement, Perić succeeded him as Bishop of Mostar-Duvno on 24 July 1993. He is also the permanent apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Trebinje-Mrkan.[8]

Romanis Pontificibus

In June 1975, in order to settle jurisdictional disputes between the Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Diocese, Pope Paul VI issued a decree, Romanis Pontificibus, specifying which parishes the friars could retain and which were to be turned over to be administered by diocesan clergy. By 1980 the friars had still not relinquished ten named parishes. As coadjutor, Perić assisted Bishop Žanić in attempting to implement the decree. The parties were still working on the full implementation as late as December 1998, when a joint statement was issued by the Most Revd. Archbishop Marcello Zago, OMI, Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Franciscan Minister General, Brother Giacomo Bini, and Bishop Perić, which read in part, "The Holy See and the Order intend to keep informed regarding the progress of the transfer. Any friars who disobey should know that they incur the penalties envisaged in the laws of the Church and of the Order."[9]

On 2 April 1995, Bishop Perić, along with his secretary, was abducted by an angry mob and held in a car in front of a Franciscan monastery for eight hours.[10] The abduction was retaliation for Perić's intention to replace the Franciscans with diocesan priests in several parishes[10] as well because of his criticism of the unconfirmed apparitions of Mary, mother of Jesus in Medjugorje.[11] He was released only after the intervention from the Mayor of Mostar and UNPROFOR.[11]

Perić suspended nine friars who refused to sign the Declaration, and acted in disobedience. They were also expelled from Franciscan Order.[12] In 2004 he forbade 24 friars to conduct pastoral duties[13] for their refusal to sign the Declaration.[12]

In 2003, Pope John Paul II asked the members of the General Chapter of the Franciscan Order to carry into effect the decision of his predecessor, Pope Paul VI, going back to 1975.

Post-War reconstruction

According to Helen Walasek, Bishop Perić supported the actions of local authorities to "pursue their policy of cultural and ethnic exclusivism."[14] Permits to rebuild the Čaršija Mosque were denied despite a warning from the OHR Senior High Deputy Representative. In 2001, Perić promoted the notion that the location was the site of an earlier Christian structure which required important archeological investigation.[14]

Gorana Ognjenović identifies Perić as leading a group of Catholic priests who justified the demolition of mosques and called for Catholic churches to be built on the ruins. Personally handed in by Perić on 15 April 2015 to the President of the Republic of Croatia, Ivo Josipović, at a meeting in Mostar Cathedral, the bishop referred to "the right of Serbs to have 'their own' entity when appealing for parts of Bosnia to be defined as [an ethnic Croat] region in which institutions, schools, cultural and public health bodies, and banks, would be governed by Croats. … Josipovic received the memorandum and never expressed any opposition to its political contents."[15]

Medjugorje

Perić has the same stance towards the alleged Marian apparitions of Medjugorje as his predecessor Pavao Žanić. He considers the alleged apparitions to be false and referred to them as "religious show" and "spectaculum mundo".[16] Perić wrote a personal letter declaring his position that nothing supernatural was occurring in Medjugorje (the third designation). In order not to mislead the faithful into believing that his statement was an official Church position, Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, the Secretary to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that was presided over at the time by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, wrote in a letter to the bishop of Saint-Denis-de-La Réunion that "what Bishop Perić said in his letter … is and remains his personal opinion."[17]

On February 27, 2017 Peric issued a statement saying: "Considering everything that this diocesan chancery has so far researched and studied, including the first seven days of alleged apparitions, we can say: there have been no apparitions of Our Lady in Medjugorje."[18]

Works

• Perić, Ratko (1987). Dekret o ekumenizmu unitatis redintegratio (in Croatian). Mostar: Filozofsko-teološki institut u Mostaru.
• Perić, Ratko (1993). Ekumenske nade i tjeskobe (in Croatian). Mostar: Biskupski ordinarijat Mostar.
• Perić, Ratko (1995). Prijestolje mudrosti (in Croatian). Mostar: Biskupski ordinarijat Mostar.
• Perić, Ratko (2003). Kćeri poslušna: u povodu najavljene beatifikacije Marije Propetog Petković (in Croatian). Mostar: Crkva na kamenu.
• Perić, Ratko (2004). Dekalog: deset Božjih sustava (in Croatian). Mostar: Crkva na kamenu.
• Perić, Ratko (2004). Kroz mnoge nam je nevolje: govori, razgovori, osvrti i pisma 1997-2004 (in Croatian). Mostar: Crkva na kamenu.
• Perić, Ratko (2005). Ti si taj čovjek: duhovne vježbe po Davidu (in Croatian). Mostar: Crkva na kamenu.
• Perić, Ratko (2006). Savle, brate, progledaj!: duhovne vježbe po sv. Pavlu (in Croatian). Mostar: Crkva na kamenu.
• Perić, Ratko (2008). Naravni porivi i nadnaravni darovi: Sedam glavnih grijeha i Sedam darova Duha svetoga (in Croatian). Mostar: Crkva na kamenu.
• Perić, Ratko (2008). Znamenita imena iz apostolskih vremena: duhovne vježbe po učenicima i suradnicima apostolskih prvaka Petra i Pavla (in Croatian). Mostar: Crkva na kamenu.
• Perić, Ratko (2009). Abrahame! Abrahame!: duhovne vježbe po Abrahamu (in Croatian). Mostar: Crkva na kamenu.
• Perić, Ratko (2010). Smisao ženidbenog života (in Croatian). Varaždinske Toplice: Tonimir. ISBN 9789537610395.
• Perić, Ratko (2011). Isusovi sugovornici: duhovne vježbe (in Croatian). Mostar: Crkva na kamenu.
• Perić, Ratko (2012). Jobovi bolovi i Božji blagoslovi: duhovne vježbe (in Croatian). Mostar: Crkva na kamenu.
• Perić, Ratko (2013). Isus silan na djelu: duhovne vježbe (in Croatian). Mostar: Crkva na kamenu.
• Perić, Ratko (2016). Svećenici glagoljaši na području BiH (in Croatian). Mostar: Crkva na kamenu.

References

Notes

1. Msgr. Ratko Perić, Biskupije Mostar-Duvno i Trebinje-Mrkan
2. Nikolić 1980, p. 118.
3. Ratko Perić, Večernji list
4. Zovkić 1986, p. 340.
5. Mons. dr. Ratko Perić, biskup mostarsko-duvanjski i apostolski upravitelj trebinjsko-mrkanjski. Katolički tjednik, 2006
6. "Bishop Ratko Perić". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
7. Perica 2002, p. 195.
8. "Msgr. dr. Ratko Perić, bishop of Mostar-Duvno diocese and apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan", Mir Vama, papa.ba; accessed 16 November 2016.
9. "Visit of the Minister General to the Province of the Assumption of the BVM", cafarus.ch; accessed 16 November 2016.
10. Moore 1995. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMoore1995 (help)
11. Kainz 2012. sfn error: no target: CITEREFKainz2012 (help)
12. Crkva na kamenu 2006. sfn error: no target: CITEREFCrkva_na_kamenu2006 (help)
13. Slobodna Dalmacija 2009. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSlobodna_Dalmacija2009 (help)
14. "Obstructions to the Integration of the Heritage into Post-war Reconstruction in Stolac", Bosnia and the Destruction of Cultural Heritage, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2015, p. 276; ISBN 9781409437048
15. Ognjenović, Gorana. Politicization of Religion, The Power of Symbolism, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, pp. 112-13; ISBN 9781137477897
16. Belaj 2012, p. 98.
17. University of Dayton International Marian Research Institute: "Letter from Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Pr. No 154/81-06419 (26 May 1998) To His Excellency Mons. Gilbert Aubry, Bishop of Saint-Denis de la Reunion", udayton.edu, 9 December 2013.
18. Pavlic, Vedran (27 February 2017). "Local Bishop: There Were No Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Medugorje". Total Croatia News. Retrieved 2 March 2017.

Books

• Belaj, Marijana (2012). Milijuni na putu: Antropologija hodočašća i sveto tlo Međugorja (in Croatian). Zagreb: Jasenski i Turk. ISBN 9789532225884.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Perica, Vjekoslav (2002). Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195174298.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Zovkić, Mato (1986). Katolička crkva u Bosni i Hercegovini u XIX i XX stoljeću: povijesno-teološki simpozij prigodom stogodišnjice ponovne uspostave redovite hijerarhije u Bosni i Hercegovini - Sarajevo 1. i 2. srpnja 1982 (in Croatian). Sarajevo: Vrhobosanska visoka teološka škola.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Journals

• Nikolić, Vinko, ed. (1980). "Perić, dr. Ratko - novi rektor Zavoda sv. Jeronima". Hrvatska revija (in Croatian). Buenos Aires: Dorrego. 30: 118–254.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)