Can we compare Cardinal Schonborn’s actions today to anything else in the modern era of the Catholic Church?
To fully understand Cardinal Schonborn’s incomparable pursuit, first it must be understood that Cardinal Schonborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, is a giant figure in the Catholic Church. Cardinal Schonborn is a former student and close friend of Pope Benedict XVI. He serves as a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Earlier this year he was appointed as the first member of the newly created Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. The young Cardinal is widely recognized as “Palabile” (could one day be Pope) and as Editorial Director of the Catholic Catechism – the official rule book of the Catholic Church – he is greatly respected throughout the world.
Cardinal Schoborn’s gravitas and impeccable catholic credentials speak for themselves, and so within this context, we find it extraordinary that he is proclaiming, from the roof tops, or more accurately, from inside the great St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, that the Blessed Mother is now appearing on earth in an unprecedented fashion to six "Visionaries" and he is urging the Catholic faithful to pay close attention. The Austrian Archbishop, by his actions today, unequivocally lends support to claims that the Blessed Virgin Mary is revealing Herself to the world and that her presence on earth is for the clear purpose of demonstrating that God truly exists. Cardinal Schonborrn also insists that the Blessed Mother is bringing important messages of peace for a world that has little peace. Her messages of peace are accompanied by an urgent and incessant plea for all of humanity to reconcile with God.
In an extraordinary event in Vienna, Austria, Cardinal Schonborn celebrated Mass with a man who claims to see and speak to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His name is Ivan Dragicevic. Ivan is one of six visionaries who say they see the Virgin Mary and these six people are at that center of a mysterious phenomenon known the world over as “Medjugorje” Ivan, is Croation and comes from the town of Medjugorje located in Bosnia and Herzegovinain and he has experienced daily apparitions with the Blessed Mother since June of 1981.
Ivan was in Austria at the invitation of Cardinal Schonborn not only to attend Mass but to have his apparition inside St. Stephen's Cathedral with the Cardinal there to witness the experience as well. Ivan's apparition lasted about eight minutes and afterwords Cardinal Schonborn celebrated Mass mentioning Medjugorje in his homily and expressed regret that he could not attend this year's Youth Festival at Medjugorje.
The entire apparition and Mass were shown locally on TV and broadcast throughout the world over the internet. To see the Editorial Director of the Catholic Catechism and close friend of the Pope on live television sitting patiently and reverentially in the grand setting of St. Stephen's Cathedral as the visionary falls into ecstasy and visits with the Blessed Mother who arrives quite literally from the afterlife is something to behold. Watch it here:
But many are asking why would Cardinal Schonborn provide such a high profile platform to a supernatural phenomenon when the Catholic Church has yet to give its official approval? Why the invitation? Afterall, the Vatican just recently commissioned a special task force to determine the authenticity of Medjugorje.
By his actions today, essentially front-running the Vatican Commission on Medjugorje, does Cardinal Schonborn, a key member of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation, sense a special urgency? What are his motivations? Does he sense time is running out for the troubled Church in Europe?
Few would argue that the Catholic Church is not under siege and in crisis the world over. The Catholic Church in Europe has been devastated by the sex abuse horror. Austria particularly has been hard hit and has seen a troubling exodus of worshipers. Furthermore there is now a growing disobedience movement in Austria led by rebellious priests who are calling for, among a number of contentious issues, that the Eucharist be offered at the Mass by lay people when a priest is not available. The responsibility for all of these problems in Austria, of course, falls on the shoulders of Cardinal Schonborn, and in the midst of this crisis, rather than schedule more meetings, appoint new commissions, or hire consultants, the Archbishop has instead reached out to Ivan Dragicvic of Medjugorje to come to his Cathedral and pray.
This is not a little deal. This is not an aside. This is not a promise kept. This is not a PR stunt. The invitation to a visionary to experience an apparition of the Blessed Mother in a great European Cathedral in the middle of colossal upheaval within the Catholic Church is a big deal. Unprecedented really. By Cardinal Schonborn's bold and decisive action it appears, he is telling the world, under no uncertain terms, that the Church is in trouble and the best way out of the crisis is not through more meetings and task forces but to pray and to turn to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to seek her intercession in a time of great need. It is important not to forget the words of Our Lady at Fatima: “In the end my heart will triumph”. It would seem Cardinal Schonborn has taken these words seriously and to his heart.
It seems clear that Cardinal Schonborn, unlike the bishops in America who continue to look for solutions for what ails the Church in the political arena - urgent meeting with President Obama, issuing position papers and press releases to the New York Times - is taking a different path to repair the damage. Cardinal Schonborn has moved beyond seeking solutions to problems confronting the Catholic Church through worldly means. Schonborn is not looking to lawyers and courts to protect the faith but rather the great Cardinal understands the solution will come only from the heavens. The Catholic Church will only be restored with our prayers, our humility to God and by the intervention of the supernatural revealed to us by the presence of Our Lady here on earth who is among us today to show us the way back to Her son.
Copied here with permission source - Ministry Values
