When Evil Attacks the Church… Look Carefully

The recent vandalism at Medjugorje saddened many people. A statue of Our Lady was spray-painted with the words "Devil in a Skirt." Reports also indicated that banners condemned the Medjugorje visionaries as frauds and suggested that the apparitions themselves were deceptive.

The Church's Careful Approach

Whether one believes the apparitions are authentic or remains unconvinced, the Catholic Church has taken a careful middle path.

In 2024, the Vatican granted a nihil obstat ("nothing stands in the way") for devotion connected with Medjugorje, recognizing the many spiritual fruits experienced there and permitting public acts of devotion. At the same time, it deliberately stopped short of declaring the alleged apparitions to be supernatural.

Catholics are free to visit Medjugorje and benefit from its spiritual life, but they are not required to believe that the reported apparitions are genuinely supernatural.

The Church's response itself is an example of patient discernment.

My First Reaction

The incident also reminds us how easily dramatic events can stir our emotions and tempt us to form conclusions before we know all the facts.

My first reaction wasn't anger.

It was curiosity.

Why spray paint? Why not simply smash the statue with a hammer if the goal was permanent destruction? Why make the difficult climb up Apparition Hill during the night? And why did this happen only days before the International Youth Festival, when thousands of young pilgrims from around the world were about to arrive?

I don't know the answers to those questions, and I don't pretend to. They don't prove anything. But they do remind me that appearances can sometimes be misleading.

The Banner Changes the Picture

After seeing photographs of the banner, I realized this was more than random vandalism.

The banner had obviously been prepared beforehand. Written in Polish, it names four of the Medjugorje visionaries—Ivanka, Mirjana, Vicka, and Ivan—calls them liars and frauds, claims, "I have proof," and cites Jeremiah 14:10–15.

That passage contains God's warning about false prophets:

"The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them..."
—Jeremiah 14:14

This suggests the vandal was making a specific theological argument. If the reported graffiti and banner are understood together, they appear to be directed at the claims surrounding Medjugorje rather than at the Blessed Virgin Mary herself. Calling the apparition "the devil in a skirt," accusing the visionaries of fraud, and citing Jeremiah's warning about false prophets would all be consistent with someone who believed the alleged apparitions were a deception rather than a true Marian apparition.

Whether that interpretation is correct is another question entirely. But understanding the message helps us understand what the vandal was trying to communicate.

The Lesson for Christians

As Christians, we are called to be neither gullible nor cynical.

We are called to practice discernment.

St. John writes:

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God."
—1 John 4:1

It is interesting that this biblical instruction also reflects the Church's own approach to Medjugorje. Rather than rushing to a definitive judgment, the Church has acknowledged the genuine spiritual fruits while continuing to refrain from declaring the alleged apparitions themselves to be of supernatural origin.

That patient discernment offers a good model for all of us.

This command applies to far more than reported apparitions. It applies to news stories, social media, dramatic events, and even our own first reactions. We should be careful not to accept or reject something simply because it fits what we already believe.

At this point, we simply don't know exactly what happened or who was responsible.

There is wisdom in being able to say, "I don't know yet." Truth has nothing to fear from careful investigation, and Christians should never be afraid to ask honest questions while remaining charitable and patient.

Whether Medjugorje is ultimately judged to involve authentic supernatural apparitions or not, our faith does not depend on private revelations. It rests on Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

If this incident encourages us to pray more deeply, think more carefully, and seek the truth with humility rather than emotion, then God can bring good even from an act of vandalism.

Let us pray for those who committed this act. Let us pray for the pilgrims who have come seeking God. Let us pray for those entrusted with investigating what happened. And let us pray for the grace to love the truth enough to follow it wherever it leads.


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