The Scientists claim that the visionaries are telling the truth!

The researches in themselves cannot prove that Our Lady appears to human beings in Međugorje, but they can tell us that the eyewitnesses, the visionaries, are sound in body and spirit and are not fooling the masses that go there

The French doctor, surgeon, cancer specialist and professor at the College of Medicine at Montpellier , Henri Joyeux, was very suspicious regarding the apparitions of Our Lady. What's more, he was known as a scientist with an aversion to alleged extraordinary phenomenon and his attitude on the matter was negative. At the same time he was a scientist with an inquisitive mind, passionately interested in everything human and particularly eager to understand anything under a veil of secrecy. That's why he accepted the proposal of the respected French Mariologist, René Laurentin, to test the six children from Međugorje who claim to see visions of the Blessed Mother. He left France for Međugorje with his team, convinced that he was about to reveal a fraud. On the contrary, something completely different happened: This was back in 1984.

The rigorous testings

The research team of Prof. dr. Henri Joyeux included recognized specialists: a professor of neurology – a specialist for monitoring the electric rhythms of the brain, a sight specialist, a hearing specialist and two general practitioners, one of which was a scientific researcher. They wanted to study what happens to the young visionaries in a most serious and rigorous manner.

Prof. Joyeux today explains, “We recorded a large number of extraordinary phenomenon that we named apparition ecstasies. Several members of the team analysed all the phenomenon to the last possible detail and were able to establish with certainty that there was a simultaneity with the visionaries during the ecstasy. We were trying to expose a fraud through recording these phenomenon hundreds of times with cameras and other utensils. Our team, and an Austrian and an Italian team after us, performed rigorous psychological tests. The unanimous conclusion was, that all these young visionaries, who in the meantime have grown up, are healthy both physically and psychologically in their personal, family and social lives. It can even be stated that their health condition is above the general average in France ” Joyeux added.

The French experts have published the details of their scientific research in the book entitled “Études médicales et scientifiques sur les apparitions de Međugorje” (Medical and scientific studies on apparitions in Međugorje), which has since been translated into several languages. Basically, science confirmed that the experiences of the Međugorje visionaries are authentic. Their ecstasy is not an illusion, nor is it the result of epilepsy, hallucination, hysteria etc. There is nothing sick about it. It was the first extensive research was carried out, although it must be said that the French were preceded by numerous other experts.

The seers are sincere and normal

One such expert was the Croatian psychiatrist Dr. Nikola Bartulica who graduated at the College of Medicine in Zagreb and specialized in Psychiatry in the USA . Bartulic, originally from Split , but who had been living and working in St. Joseph , Missouri , for 47 years, was among the first to examine the Međugorje seers. This took place in October 1981, only four months after the beginning of the apparitions. He interviewed Vicka Ivanković, one of the visionaries, for over an hour and a half.

The visionary Marija Pavlović—Lunetti How much more evidence do the people need?

Visionary Marija Pavlović-Lunetti, together with the visionary Ivan Dragićević, was subjected to the latest scientific testing in Međugorje 2005. This is what she said on that occasion: “Our Lady did not mind the tests at all. She neither forbids them nor advises participation in them. We have a total freedom in everything, so too in this matter. It is up to us to decide shall we participate in the tests or not. I just hope that, through them, we shall bring more hearts closer to Our Lady. That’s why I agreed to do it. But I have to say that I am a bit tired of all these researches, I just wonder what else do people need in order to accept the truth.

Vicka didn't know that she was speaking to a psychiatrist because he had formerly made an agreement with her mother not to reveal that fact to her.

“When a psychiatrist hears that a person has visions, he first wonders if that person is mentally healthy. So I asked Vicka what did she see, hear, how did she react. She answered spontaneously, without fear or hesitation, and you could see that this was a determined, completely normal person” Dr. Bartulica recalls. “In psychiatry,” says Bartulic, “you can quickly determine if a person is sincere”. In his practice he had met many people who were pretending, but in Vicka's case, there was no doubt in his mind that she had had this experience.

In 1989, Dr. Bartulica carried out new psychiatric tests on the visionaries. In Međugorje he spoke to Marija, Ivan, Vicka, Mirjana and Ivanka. Only Jakov Čolo was absent.

“I examined each of them for half an hour and a pilgrim from California recorded it with a video camera so there is evidence of the event. It does not take an expert though to tell that the children were normal, sincere, and that their experience was not invented” the psychiatrist says.

Dr. Bartulica knows the Međugorje phenomenon very well because he has been studying it for so long and in such a systematic manner that we can really call him an encyclopedia of Međugorje! He has visited this place in Hercegovina about twenty times. He often attended the apparitions and has watched Vicka, Ivan and Mirjana closely. The first time in 1985, it was with the permission of Bishop Žanić himself. He remembers that on that occasion, he was watching Vicka in the ecstasy from a distance of only half a meter away.

The full article can be found on pages 14-19 of January 2007 issue.