IN a report on the alleged apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Medjugorje, the Holy See’s doctrinal office on Thursday endorsed prudent devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the popular pilgrimage site in Bosnia and Herzegovina, yet withheld any declaration on whether the alleged visions are supernatural in origin.
The September 19 note from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), signed by prefect Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández and approved by Pope Francis, grants a “nihil obstat” to the spiritual experience at Medjugorje.
The authoritative judgment means that pilgrims may continue to visit and pray at the site, as more than 40 million people from around the world have done since the apparitions allegedly first began 43 years ago.
Six children, who are now middle-aged, first reported experiencing visions of the Blessed Mother, originally on a hilltop near the rural village of Medjugorje, on June 24, 1981.
The report notes that the remote site, formerly part of Yugoslavia, is now widely “perceived as a space of great peace, recollection, and a piety that is sincere, deep, and easily shared”.
While it offers no definitive judgment on the supernatural authenticity of the alleged apparitions, the report highlights the abundant good fruits that have come from Medjugorje.
“The positive fruits are most evident in the promotion of a healthy practice of a life of faith, in accordance with the tradition of the Church,” the report states.
It points to “abundant conversions, a frequent return to the sacraments (particularly, the Eucharist and reconciliation), many vocations to priestly, religious, and married life, a deepening of the life of faith, a more intense practice of prayer, many reconciliations between spouses, and the renewal of marriage and family life.”
“It should be noted,” the report emphasizes, “that such experiences occur above all in the context of pilgrimages to the places associated with the original events rather than in meetings with the ‘visionaries’ to be present for the alleged apparitions.”
Cardinal Fernández presented the report in a two-hour-long press conference at the Holy See Press Office on September 19.
The prelate quoted Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s 1985 statement that emphasised separating the question of supernatural origin from spiritual fruits.
Cardinal Fernández said Cardinal Ratzinger said even if modern critical thinking might question some aspects, “this doesn’t detract from the fact that those pilgrimages were fruitful, useful, important for the life of the Christian people”.
On this view, he said, Pope Francis said there was “no magic wand” to determine the authenticity of the phenomena, but “the spiritual pastoral fact cannot be denied.”
Spirituality of the messages
A significant portion of the document is a summary of the central points and spirituality of the numerous alleged messages received by the alleged visionaries, identifying “Queen of Peace” as the “most original title in the alleged messages,” though Mary most frequently refers to herself as “Mother”.
The predominant themes of those communications — which the Holy See stresses should be referred to as “alleged messages” — are calls for conversion, peace, reconciliation, and a return to the sacraments, along with a “constant call to abandon a worldly lifestyle and excessive attachment to worldly goods”.
“One of the prevailing characteristics of the spirituality that emerges from the messages is that of trust in God through a total trust in Mary, in order to become instruments of peace in the world,” the document says.
The note quotes from some of the messages to illustrate that in the missives, “Our Lady does not place herself at the centre but shows herself to be fully directed toward our union with God.”
The spirituality of the messages is also one of communion with the pope and with the whole Church, it said, and the spirituality of Medjugorje is overall “joyful, celebratory, and includes a call to live the joy of following Christ.”
During Thursday’s press conference, Cardinal Fernández quoted from several of the alleged messages he found to be edifying.
“Most of the messages have a beautiful content that can stimulate the faithful to conversion, to grow in their encounter with Christ, to be peacemakers in the world,” he said.
Apostolic visitor
The DDF said Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, special apostolic visitor to the parish community of Medjugorje, would continue the duties already entrusted to him and would be responsible for authorising the publication of any future messages.
The dicastery advised people who may visit Medjugorje that pilgrimages should not be made to meet with alleged visionaries but to have an encounter with Mary, Queen of Peace and with her son, Jesus Christ, through participation in the sacraments.
‘Nihil obstat’
In accordance with new norms on the discernment of “alleged supernatural phenomena,” the local bishop must consult and receive final approval from the Holy See after investigating and judging alleged apparitions and connected devotions.
According to the May 17 norms, a “nihil obstat” judgment means: “Without expressing any certainty about the supernatural authenticity of the phenomenon itself, many signs of the action of the Holy Spirit are acknowledged ‘in the midst’ of a given spiritual experience, and no aspects that are particularly critical or risky have been detected, at least so far.”
In its September 19 note, the DDF explained that “through the ‘nihil obstat’ about a spiritual event, the faithful ‘are authorised to give it their adherence in a prudent manner’ (Norms, art. 22, §1; cf. Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, par. 14).”
“While this does not imply a declaration of the supernatural character of the phenomenon in question (cf. Norms, art. 22, §2) — and recalling that the faithful are not obliged to believe in it — the nihil obstat indicates that the faithful can receive a positive encouragement for their Christian life through this spiritual proposal, and it authorises public acts of devotion,” the dicastery said.
“Such a determination is possible,” it said, “insofar as many positive fruits have been noted in the midst of a spiritual experience, while negative and dangerous effects have not spread among the people of God.”
