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LETTER FROM ROME ON MEDJUGORJE
For the 17th
Anniversary of the apparitions, the Church just gave a beautiful gift to Our Lady! The
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sent the following letter to Bishop Gilbert
Aubry of Saint Denis clarifying its position on Medjugorje. He received it on June 24th.
On the 25th, he spread it to the priests and communities of his diocese (circular # C003)
so that they can have the latest statement from Rome and, if necessary, inform the
faithful with full knowledge of the facts.
CONGREGATIO
PRO DOCTRINA FIDEI
Pr. No 154/81-05922
Citta del Vaticano, Palazzo del S. Uffizio
May 26, 1998
To His Excellency Mons. Gilbert Aubry,
Bishop of Saint-Denis de la Reunion
Excellency:
In your letter of January 1, 1998, you submitted to this Dicastery several questions about
the position of the Holy See and of the Bishop of Mostar in regard to the so called
apparitions of Medjugorje, private pilgrimages and the pastoral care of the faithful who
go there.
In regard to this matter, I think it is impossible to reply to each of the questions posed
by Your Excellency. The main thing I would like to point out is that the Holy See does not
ordinarily take a position of its own regarding supposed supernatural phenomena as a court
of first instance. As for the credibility of the "apparitions" in question, this
Dicastery respects what was decided by the bishops of the former Yugoslavia in the
Declaration of Zadar, April 10, 1991: "On the basis of the investigations so far, it
can not be affirmed that one is dealing with supernatural apparitions and
revelations." Since the division of Yugoslavia into different independent nations it
would now pertain to the members of the Episcopal Conference of Bosnia-Hercegovina to
eventually reopen the examination of this case, and to make any new pronouncements that
might be called for.
What Bishop Peric said in his letter to the Secretary General of "Famille
Chretienne", declaring: "My conviction and my position is not only 'non constat
de supernaturalitate,' but likewise, 'constat de non super- naturalitate' of the
apparitions or revelations in Medjugorje", should be considered the expression of the
personal conviction of the Bishop of Mostar which he has the right to express as Ordinary
of the place, but which is and remains his personal opinion.
Finally, as regards pilgrimages to Medjugorje, which are conducted privately, this
Congregation points out that they are permitted on condition that they are not regarded as
an authentification of events still taking place and which still call for an examination
by the Church.
I hope that I have replied satisfactorily at least to the principal questions that you
have presented to this Dicastery and I beg Your Excellency to accept the expression of my
devoted sentiments.
Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone
(Secretary to the "Congregatio", presided over by Cardinal Ratzinger)
Fr. Daniel-Ange (France) summerizes this way:
The
declarations of the Bishop of Mostar only reflect his personal opinion. Consequently, they
are not an official and definitive judgement from the Church.
One is
directed to the declaration of Zadar, which leaves the door open to future investigations.
In the meanwhile private pilgrimages with pastoral accompaniment for the faithful are
permitted.
A new
commission could eventually be named.
In the
meanwhile, all Catholics may go as pilgrims to Medjugorje.
A clarification from
Cardinal Schonborn:
The letter of Archbishop Bertone to the Bishop of Le Reunion sufficiently makes clear
what has always been the official position of the hierarchy during recent years concerning
Medjugorje: namely, that it knowingly leaves the matter undecided. The supernatural
character is not established; such were the words used by the former conference of bishops
of Yugoslavia in Zadar in 1991. It really is a matter of wording, which knowingly leaves
the matter pending. It has not been said that the supernatural character is substantially
established. Furthermore, it has not been denied or discounted that the phenomena
may be of a supernatural nature. There is no doubt that the magisterium of the Church does
not make a definite declaration while the extraordinary phenomena are going on in the form
of apparitions or other means. Indeed it is the mission of the shepherds to promote what
is growing, to encourage the fruits which are appearing, to protect them, if need be, from
the dangers which are obviously everywhere.
It is also necessary at Lourdes to see to it that the original gift of Lourdes not be
stifled by unfortunate developments. Neither is Medjugorje invulnerable. That is why it is
and will be so important that bishops be very conscientious about their mission as
shepherds for Medjugorje, so that the obvious fruits that are in that place might be
protected from any possible unfortunate errors.
I believe that the words of Mary at Cana: “Do whatever He tells you,” make up
the substance of what s he says throughout the centuries. Mary helps us to hear Jesus and
she desires with her whole heart and with all her strength that we do what He tells us.
This is what I wish for all the communities of prayer which were formed from
Medjugorje; this is what I wish for our diocese and for the Church.
...Personally, I have not been to Medjugorjre, but in a certain way I have been there many
times through the people I have met and the people I know. And in their lives I am seeing
good fruit. I would be lying, if I said this fruit did not exist. This fruit is concrete
and visible and I can see in our diocese and in many other places graces of conversion,
graces of a supernatural life of faith, graces of joy, graces of vocations, of healings,
of people returning to the Sacraments - to confession. All this is not misleading.
Therefore, as far as I am concerned, as a Bishop, I can only see the fruit. If we had to
judge the tree by it’s fruit, like Jesus, I must say that the tree ia fruitful!
Cardinal Christoph Schonborn
Cardinal Schonborn, the Archbishop of
Vienna, who gave the Holy Father and his Papal Household their 1998 Lenten Retreat (and
who was head of the church’s commission responsible for the “Catechism of the
Catholic Church”), gave the preceeding testimony in Lourdes on July 18, 1998. The
Cardinal’s words were published in “Medjugorje Gebetsakion”, #50, and in
“Stella Maris”, #343, pp. 19, 20. |
