Archbishop of Belgrade, Monsignor Franc Perko, clarifies the statement of the Yugoslav Bishops Commission “non constat de supernaturalitate†in the Feb 2, 1991, issue of the Catholic publication, 30 Days. He wrote:
“It is not true that from the document summarized by the bishops at the end of November it expressly follows nothing supernatural is happening in Medugorje. The bishops wrote: ‘non constat de supernaturalitate’ (supernaturality is not established) and not: ‘constat de n on supernaturalitate’ (it is established that there is nothing supernatural). This is an enormous difference. The first formulation does not permit itself to be interpreted in a definitive way; it is open to further developments.â€
Other publications also were critical of the biased negative press concerning Medjugorje. In the February issue of Volume #80 of the ECHO, it stated concerning the January report from Catholic News Service:
“The report clearly says nothing definite about the supernatural events of Medjugorje; while it shows the Bishops’ concern and consideration for the ever growing presence of pilgrims. Why then, did the Press present such a negative version—a version that caused apprehension and dismay, giving a first impression that Medjugorje had undergone a fatal blow? You see, the publication of this confidential report was done in a way that would deliberately interpret the declaration in a negative sense. In fact, it was not the text of the Bishops’ document, but the words in the comment by ASCA (an Italian news agency) that caused all those sensational headings against the supernaturalness of the apparitions-a comment that was published before the document itself.â€
