considerations of medjugorje

The O'Domhnaill Testimony

A supposed Irish priest (the formal church authorities recognise his priesthood, I do not) calling himself Ruairi O'Domhnaill spoke to me several times during the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 about the topic of apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje.

Whenever I met him, I chose to ask him: "Do you really believe those people in Medjugorje have seen the Blessed Virgin Mary?"

In conversation  with me he consistently purported to believe in the genuineness of these apparitions although on a single occasion he remarked that it might be possible that one or more of the six visionaries were not genuine, that is to say they might not all have been telling the truth.

His testimony about his own claimed experiences of the supernatural at Medjugorje has been published by the Columba Press in 2012 with eleven other testimonies in a book edited by Louise Hall called 'Medjugorje, What It Means To Me.'

The salient piece of conversation between myself and Ruairi O'Domhnaill which does not feature in any book, occurred in 1014 and went as follows.

Ruairi O'Domhnaill: "After Confession, I reached into my pocket and took out the rosary beads. The Rosary had turned gold."

(A pause)

James Healy: "Can I see the rosary Ruairi?"

Ruairi O'Domhnaill: "I gave it to the blind man."

(A pause)

James Healy: "So you don't have it."

Ruairi O'Domhnaill: "Look.  I'm not saying the rosary was turned into pure gold."

James Healy: "Ah."

This exchange took place in 2014. My assessment of Ruairi O'Domhnaill's testimony about Medjugorje, and indeed of anything else he may talk about, is that it is worthless.