“I want to thank my predecessor bishops, Mgr Pavlo Zenic and Mgr Ratko Peric, who had the right and duty, as pastors, to express their opinions and thus contribute to preserving a healthy spirituality and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, thereby preserving the parish of Medjugorje itself from various negative influences and phenomena”. These are the concluding words spoken by Mgr Petar Palic, Bishop of Mostar-Duvno, at the press conference held today. To the question of what Medjugorje personally represents for him, Mgr Palic replied that, for his personal faith, it is a “personal phenomenon that doesn’t mean much”. The prelate noted that “it is nice to pray in community, to see places where so many people gather; sometimes people get carried away by the atmosphere”. In his opinion, however, “faith must be built on sound foundations: on the one hand, Sacred Scripture, and on the other, the tradition of the Church and its Magisterium”. “Everything else – he said – even supernatural phenomena like this one, can help the personal faith of believers”. Regarding the status of Medjugorje, the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno specified that it remains the same as before, that is to say, a parish under the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno. “At present, we are not talking about a shrine because specific conditions are necessary and the question therefore remains open”, Mgr Palic concluded.