The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has issued a statement ending the controversy over Medjugorje. “The time has come to end the long and complex history surrounding the spiritual phenomena of Medjugorje. It is a history in which there have been divergent opinions from bishops, theologians, commissions and analysts” – with such a declaration begins the “Note on the spiritual experience related to Medjugorje”. Except that this promise – in the strict sense – has not been fulfilled.
Vatican issues opinion on Medjugorje /Zvonimir Barisin/PIXSELL/PAP/EPA
This is a harsh assessment, but it is enough to read the content of this document to understand it. The dispute that has been going on for years, and in which serious bishops and theologians took mutually contradictory positions – concerned the authenticity of the apparitions, and more specifically whether they have a supernatural character. And the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, contrary to its own promises, does not answer this question at all. This note, as it is clearly written in it, “does not constitute a declaration of the supernatural character of the phenomenon in question”, and “the faithful are not obliged to believe in them”. So what do the decisions (specifically granting nihil obstat) of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith mean? Nihil obstat indicates that they can receive a positive impulse to Christian life through this spiritual proposal and allows public worship. Such a statement is possible because many positive fruits were observed during the spiritual experience, and no negative or risky effects occurred among the People of God – explain the authors of the document.
This form of decision should not be surprising, because it is in line with the earlier, but also this year’s “Norms of Procedure in Discerning Presumed Supernatural Phenomena” of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. It was in this document that it was decided that the Vatican would no longer be involved in judging whether or not certain events are supernatural in nature, but only whether they are beneficial from a pastoral perspective. And this is how the phenomena in Medjugorje were assessed. The criterion for assessment was therefore not truth, not the authenticity of the apparition, but usefulness.
This has been expected for years. Vatican issues opinion on Medjugorje
And the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith itself admits this. In the test, we find statements that some of the messages from Medjugorje may contain errors, contradictions, and even stem from the personal interests of the visionaries. Moreover, it explains that “the reader should remember that whenever this Note refers to the “messages” of Our Lady, this should always be understood as “presumed messages”. So what was subject to evaluation? Pastoral effects, referred to as “fruits”.
Positive fruits are revealed above all in the promotion of a healthy practice of living the faith, in accordance with what is present in the tradition of the Church. In the case of Medjugorje, this applies both to those who were far from the faith and to those who until now practiced the faith in a superficial way. The specificity of this place lies in the multitude of such fruits: many conversions, frequent returns to the sacramental practice (Eucharist and reconciliation), numerous vocations to the priestly, religious and married life, deepening the life of faith, more intensive practice of prayer, numerous cases of reconciliation between spouses and the renewal of marital and family life. It should be mentioned that such experiences occur mainly in the context of pilgrimages to the places of the original events, and not during meetings with “seers” in order to participate in alleged apparitions,” we read. Many faithful have discovered their vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life in the context of the “Medjugorje phenomenon.” The stories of these people are very different, but they converge in the same spiritual experience of feeling called to this kind of imitation of Jesus. Some went there to know God’s will for their lives, others only out of curiosity or without believing at all. A number of people also testify that they received the grace of vocation under the influence of a strong desire to surrender themselves completely to God on the mountain of alleged apparitions, others during adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, we read in the “Note.”
The Dicastery also presents correct interpretations of the “alleged apparitions” – that is, purged of everything that may be dangerous to the full expression of faith – and also indicates elements that cannot be accepted. This concerns recurring warnings about the supposedly approaching end of the world, admonitions to parishes, constant emphasis on listening to the messages, or the self-aggrandizement of the Mother of God. All this must be reinterpreted in the light of other words from the “alleged apparitions”. However, this raises the question of why Mary, in her subsequent “alleged” statements, contradicts herself or expresses theses that are inconsistent with the teaching of the Church (which from the perspective of faith means their falsification)?
The answer to this question can be found in the note, but it also indicates that the Vatican in fact avoids judging the supernatural nature of private revelations, but rather draws attention to their entanglement in the human situations of the visionaries. Although in the entirety of the messages related to this spiritual experience we find many positive elements that help us understand the call of the Gospel, some messages – according to some – are said to contain contradictions or to be related to the desires or interests of the alleged seers or other people. It cannot be ruled out that this could have happened in the case of some messages, and this fact reminds us of what the Norms of this Dicastery state: that such phenomena “sometimes appear to be related to unclear human experiences, theologically imprecise expressions or interests that are not entirely justified” (Norms, no. 14). This does not exclude the possibility of “certain errors of natural origin, not resulting from bad intention, but from subjective perception of the phenomenon” – we read in the “Note”. In a word, we learn that some of the “alleged revelations” may not be revelations at all.
The opposition to the recognition of the apparitions by the Bishop of Mostar, which has been ongoing since the beginning of the apparitions, has been “dealt with” in an interesting way. Subsequent bishops in this place have consistently opposed recognizing Medjugorje as a place of authentic apparitions. The Vatican “allows” them to keep their opinion.
Even if there may be different opinions about the authenticity of certain facts or aspects of this spiritual experience, the ecclesiastical authorities in the places where it occurs are called to appreciate the pastoral value, and also to encourage the dissemination of this spiritual proposal – the authors of the Notification note. To put it simply: the bishops of Mostar may continue to consider, as they did, that these apparitions are not supernatural in nature, but… they must appreciate the pastoral value. Other bishops, on the other hand, may discern whether the activity of groups associated with Medjugorje in their dioceses is indeed positive. Although the positive fruits of this spiritual phenomenon are widespread throughout the world, this does not mean that there cannot be groups or individuals who, abusing this spiritual phenomenon, act in an improper way. Diocesan bishops, each in their own diocese, have the freedom and authority to make prudent decisions that they consider necessary for the good of the People of God – we read in the Notification.
In conclusion, we can say that – contrary to promises – the Notification does not actually decide or end anything. The subject of the dispute was not at all whether Medjugorje brings positive fruits (because it can be seen with the naked eye when going there), but whether it is really based on a supernatural event… And to such a question – there was no answer.
