Pope Francis names apostolic visitor to Medjugorje

From CNS: 

Pope Francis has named as apostolic visitor to Medjugorje the Polish archbishop he had initially sent to the town as his personal envoy to study the pastoral needs of the townspeople and of the thousands of pilgrims who flock to the site of the alleged Marian apparitions.

The Pope appointed Archbishop Henryk Hoser, the retired archbishop of Warsaw-Praga, Poland, to be apostolic visitor to Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, for an indefinite period, the Vatican announced May 31.

“The mission of the apostolic visitor has the aim of assuring a stable and continuous accompaniment of the parish community of Medjugorje and of the faithful who go there in pilgrimage, whose needs require special attention,” the Vatican announcement said.

Greg Burke, director of the Vatican press office, told journalists that Archbishop Hoser “will reside in Medjugorje” and that his mission does not involve investigating the authenticity of the alleged apparitions.

Archbishop Hoser’s mission “is strictly pastoral and not doctrinal,” Burke said.

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