Alessandro Di Bussolo – Vatican City

«The nihil obstat for public worship in the shrine of Medjugorje means that there is something supernatural, that the Holy Spirit acts there, as in the Mystical Rose of Montichiari, even if the supernatural authenticity of the apparitions is not declared. Some messages from Our Lady may be supernatural, mixed with others that are not. We do not say that the Spirit acts ‘through’, because that would be affirming supernaturality, but ‘in the midst of’: and this already means a special action of the Spirit in that place.»

This and other details of the document “The Queen of Peace” on the spiritual experience of the people of Herzegovina , published last week, were clarified by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, in a conference dedicated to further exploring the new “Norms of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to proceed in the discernment of alleged supernatural phenomena”, promoted by the Observatory of Apparitions and Mystical Phenomena of the Pontifical Marian Academy Internationalis (PAMI).

Why has Medjugorje not been declared supernatural?

In his speech, the Argentine cardinal wanted to clarify some points of the two documents, starting with the new Norms, in force since May 19. He clarified the meaning of the six determinations in the case of alleged apparitions, from the nihil obstat to the Declaratio de non supernaturalitate , and he wanted to answer the question of many Medjugorje devotees, who wondered why the document “Queen of Peace” did not follow the proposal of a declaration of supernaturality of the “Ruini Commission”. Fernandez explained that such a declaration “is always possible”.

But after 45 years, during which “the faithful were never offered clarification of the messages, which were also read and meditated on,” waiting for the declaration of supernaturality, it was important to give them the peace of mind of being in the Church, “an accompaniment and to authorize public worship.” This today “is enough for the Pope.”

The difficult work of the Dicastery

The Cardinal then stressed that the words of the Note , “God is present and acts in our history,” give meaning to everything that follows, and thus “it is possible for God to be present in an extraordinary way” with apparitions and miracles. He reiterated how the work of the Dicastery to arrive at these norms has been “very laborious”: in these 45 years, he recalled, “there have been 3,500 beatifications, which presuppose a miracle, and only 3 or 4 declarations of supernaturality.” But even about these there are doubts, he noted.

Why we couldn’t wait any longer

The risk of waiting too long for an official statement on the alleged apparitions, according to the cardinal, is that “for years people will remain without guidance, and will go to the places of the alleged apparitions without authorization, and this is not good. The problems are often related to the fact that the supposed visionaries are still alive” and it is not known how to tell them to wait, to declare new visions, before the previous ones are evaluated.

And then there is the danger of saying: “They are messages willed by God, and communicated through the Virgin.” These have immense value: “Who then will read the Fathers of the Church anymore,” Fernandez asked, “who did not say that they had had visions?

The numerous Marian sanctuaries without a declaration of supernaturality

The Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith wanted to clarify that the declaration of supernaturality “is not the infallible Magisterium of the Pope, and the faithful are not obliged to believe in it. That is why we believe that it is not indispensable.”

Recalling that for many shrines in the world, even national shrines such as that of Our Lady of Lujan in Argentina, there has never been a declaration of supernaturality, he stressed that the nihil obstat for Medjugorje means three things:

The first is the peace of mind of the faithful who know that the Church is now with me; the second is the authorization for public worship, not just pilgrimages, which means that now “a church or a chapel with that vocation can be built” throughout the world. And the third is useful clarifications for the faithful “so that those who read the messages are accompanied, and there are aspects to interpret correctly.”

In the village in Herzegovina, the spiritual fruits were important for the cardinal, but also some messages. He confided that he was impressed by the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows of Chandavila, in Spain, “where the visionary felt the kiss and the embrace of the Virgin.”

The six determinations of the new Standards

Finally, the prefect of the former Holy Office clarified the decisions taken after the nihil obstat . He explained that the Prae oculis habeatur , which calls for more discernment, was not applied to the cases of Medjugorje and Montichiari, because in the messages of Our Lady herself there are clarifications: “Why do you seek extraordinary things? Everything is in the Gospel, She says, it is She who arranges things.” Curatur is a suspensive judgment, not a prohibition, in which the Bishop accompanies private devotion.

The Sub mandato is used in the case of “positive messages, but the Virgin appears on private grounds, and the family uses this apparition for its own benefit, even making pastoral plans parallel to those of the diocese.” Prohibetur et obstruatur is linked to cases in which “there are strong doubts, but we would not want to “forbid” the Virgin from speaking.” Finally, Declaratio de non supernaturalitate means that the alleged apparition “is dangerous, it does not come from God. But very clear objective arguments are needed.”

Father Cecchin: a meeting to resolve misunderstandings

Father Stefano Cecchin, President of the Pontifical Marian Academy Internationalis , in introducing the meeting, recalled that PAMI, since its foundation in 1946, “has focused especially on the theme of Marian apparitions that have significantly marked the history of the Church.” Mary also appears to non-Christians, bearer of dialogue between creeds and inculturator of the Gospel.

A better example is Our Lady of Guadalupe. In Medjugorje, Mary also refers to the Gospel, he clarified. He then underlined the problems that have arisen in more than fifty years of research, highlighted at the 2020 International Mariological Congress, and linked to the “lack of a true knowledge of the Catholic doctrine on the Mother of the Lord”, which, as St. Paul VI affirmed, is the key “to the exact understanding of the mystery of Christ and the Church”. Indeed, the Second Vatican Council teaches that Mary “is the model of the Church”.

 Beware of those who use the figure of Mary for their own ends

But today this ignorance leads, for Cecchin, to a break between Mariology and the thought of the Church and a certain popular Marianism, that of so many groups and associations, especially in America, “that use the figure of Mary to spread messages and uses that do not conform to the evangelical message, almost always based on supposed private revelations.”

And he criticized the “proliferation of the dissemination of phenomena, visions, prophecies that use the figure of Mary to attack the Pope, the Church, the ecclesiastical authorities, the Magisterium, the institutions with apocalyptic messages, not to create hope for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but to arouse fear.”

Phenomena that he described as “mafia-like” and that seek to divide the Church, must be fought, concluded the president of PAMI, through a correct Mariological formation, because “one cannot be a true devotee, consecrated, lover of Mary if one does not know her in order to imitate her.”

Sister Del Gaudio: the pastoral aspects of mariophanies

Next, Sister Daniela Del Gaudio, director of the International Observatory on Apparitions , spoke of the ecclesiological and pastoral aspects of the Marianophanies. “The theology of the charisms places them in the dynamism of the mystical body that is the Church,” with the aim of building up the body of Christ in charity. For this reason, the focus of the new Norms has shifted “from the declaration of supernaturality to the fruits that Marianophanies produce.”

For the nun, this focus on the fruits “allows us to concentrate more on the pastoral impact that Marian apparitions have in a given territory, in a local Church and in the universal Church and, consequently, in the entire world.” In fact, thanks to mass media and digital communication, “the resonance of a message or an apparition of the Virgin Mary becomes universal, even for non-believers. The Church must take charge of wisely guiding, and even directing, Marian worship.”

The dynamics of Marian apparitions, concluded Sister Del Gaudio, “show how the Virgin Mary succeeds in inculturating the Gospel in all parts of the world. And this fosters, according to Pope Francis’ wish, a Marian style of evangelization” characterized by “the faith, tenderness and mercy of Mary, as a model for the Church on the move.”

Other interventions at the conference

The conference, held in the Aula San Antonio in Via Merulana, was promoted by the Observatory on Apparitions and Mystical Phenomena of the Pontifical Academy Mariana Internationalis (PAMI) in collaboration with the Pontifical University Antonianum , the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Saint Bonaventure and the Pontifical Theological Faculty Marianum .

Following the institutional greeting by Brother Agustín Hernández, OFM, rector of the Pontifical University Antonianum , the following spoke: Father Denis Kulandaisamy, OSM, dean of the Pontifical Theological Faculty Marianum , on “Revelation and private revelations: reference to Sacred Scripture” ; and Father Raffaele di Muro, OFMConv., dean of the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Saint Bonaventure , on “Mystics and visionaries”. The event was moderated by Fabio Bolzetta, director of the Institutional Communications Office of PAMI.

The course on mariophanies and mystical phenomena

The meeting also served to present the Advanced Training Course on Mariology and mystical phenomena promoted by the Pontifical Academy Mariana Internationalis , which, with the contribution of theologians, Mariologists, biblical scholars, journalists, sociologists, doctors, neurologists, psychiatrists and even a lawyer, “aims to offer a multidisciplinary and scientific approach, through accredited lecturers, on the theme of apparitions and the various phenomena related to them,” explained Sister Daniela Del Gaudio.