Publisher Tonimir has released the English translation of Bishop Emeritus Ratko Perić's book 'Virgin Most Prudent: On Medjugorje Out of Love for the Truth', which offers critical reviews of the Papal Commission's work and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith's Note, and is recommended by international theologians.
In August 2026, the publishing house Tonimir released Bishop Emeritus Ratko Perić's book Virgin Most Prudent: On Medjugorje Out of Love for the Truth. This is the English translation of his book Djevice premudra: O Međugorju iz ljubavi prema istini, originally published in September 2024.
The 311-page book offers a detailed analysis of the Medjugorje phenomenon from one of its foremost experts. Bishop Perić, who served as the local ordinary of the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno from 1993 to 2020, spent decades intensively studying the alleged Marian apparitions that began on June 24, 1981.
The English translation is the work of Mario Glibić and Archbishop Petar Antun Rajič. The book consists of 19 chapters (pages 11-290), and includes notes on the origins of the chapters (pp. 291-292), an extensive bibliography (pp. 293-300), forewords by two international experts (pp. 7-9), endorsements from two bishops (pp. 301-303), and an index of names (pp. 305-311).
Professor of Dogmatic Theology at the Theological Faculty in Lugano, Switzerland, Manfred Hauke, notes that Bishop Perić "belongs among the best experts on this phenomenon and has published important assessments and statements about it." He particularly highlights the value of texts previously unavailable to the public: "Among these, his critical reviews of the Papal Commission's work from 2010 to 2014 stand out, as do his remarks on preternatural influences in Medjugorje."
Hauke concludes that "this exceptionally well-documented work should be required reading for all those who engage with the Medjugorje phenomenon from a theological and pastoral perspective."
High school teacher in Casarano (Apulia, Italy) and researcher Marco Corvaglia, in his recommendation, recalls that in 2009, Pope Ratzinger entrusted the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with establishing an investigative commission for Medjugorje, but "the results of that endeavor proved disappointing beyond all expectations."
Corvaglia most criticizes the work of the commission led by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, and particularly addresses the document on the spiritual experience in Medjugorje published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on September 19, 2024. According to him, these documents are "riddled with factual, historical, documentary, and logical errors, leading the Holy See to adopt a contradictory and unclear stance."
Corvaglia emphasizes that today, in 2026, the book is "useful and necessary, even more so than it seemed when the author sent the original version to press in mid-2024." The reason is that the original text was written before the Dicastery issued its Note, so it does not refer to it.
The researcher notes that the study is "firmly and meticulously grounded in facts, drawing extensively from primary sources that illuminate, in particular, the first decade of the phenomenon, which have been overlooked by both apologetic essays and the papal investigative commission." His verdict is clear: "Mons. Perić's contribution to the critical and informed study of Medjugorje's beginnings is valuable, first-rate, and fundamental."
