Vatican approves devotion but steers clear of the supernatural at Medjugorje

The Vatican has attempted to deliver its judgment on the Marian apparitions and devotions associated with the Medjugorje phenomenon.

It has approved devotion to Medjugorje but has not validated any supernatural character to the Marian apparitions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and emphasised the continued need for “caution” in approaching the famous mystery.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) presented the document titled “The Queen of Peace” in a news conference on 19 September.

In the foreword for the nearly 20-page document, approved by Pope Francis on 28 August, the DDF said: “The time has come to conclude a long and complex history that has surrounded the spiritual phenomena of Medjugorje.”

The statement explained that approval for devotion to Medjugorje had been given due to “the abundant spiritual fruits received at the sanctuary of the Queen of Peace”, but also noted this was being done “without making a declaration on the alleged supernatural character of Marian apparitions”.

“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,” the statement said.

The DDF insisted that the approval of devotion does not constitute “a judgment about the moral life of the alleged visionaries” and that any spiritual gifts received by a person “do not necessarily require those involved to have moral perfection”.

The DDF also urged a degree of caution, saying, “Although we find many positive elements that help to heed the call of the Gospel, when we consider the overall set of messages tied to this spiritual experience, some people believe that certain messages contain contradictions or are connected with the desires or interests of the alleged visionaries or others”.

It added: “It cannot be ruled out that this may have happened in the case of a few messages,” explaining that it is possible that “some error of a natural order” might be present, which is “not due to bad intentions, but to the subjective perception of the phenomenon”.

The Vatican’s ultimate ruling, the document said, was based largely on “the existence of clearly verified fruits, together with an analysis of the alleged Marian messages”.

Positive fruits associated with “the Medjugorje phenomenon”, the document said, can most prominently be seen in “a healthy practice of a life of faith, in accordance with the tradition of the Church”.

Other fruits include “abundant conversions”, as well as reconciliation between spouses and “the renewal of marriage and family life”, as well as reports of numerous healings.

The DDF also acknowledged the message of peace associated with Medjugorje, saying it’s the fruit of charity, which implies “a love for those who are not Catholic”, which the DDF said is an important message given the historic divisions in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Calls to conversion and the frequent invitation to put God at the centre of the spiritual life are also positive signs, the document said.

In terms of issues in need of clarification, the document said a few of the messages deviate from the overall positive content.

“To prevent this treasure of Medjugorje from being compromised, it is necessary to clarify possible points of confusion that can lead some small groups to distort the valuable proposition of this spiritual experience,” the document said.

If some messages are read only partially, the spiritual message can erroneously be linked to “confused human experiences, theologically inaccurate expressions, or interests that are not entirely legitimate”, it said.

Messages which appear to contain instructions for local pastors, giving the impression that Mary “wants to substitute herself for the ordinary parish structures meant for participation,” ought to be taken with caution, the document states.

It also warned against passages in which Mary insists that everyone must listen to and accept her messages, as well as apparent messages in which Mary “gives orders about dates, places, and practicalities and when she makes decisions about ordinary matters”.

Some messages are problematic due to their use of terms such as “my plan” and “my project” by Mary, the document said, saying these phrases can “create some confusion” over the role of Christ.

In terms of public worship, the DDF in its document stated that while there is no requirement to believe in the Marian phenomena at Medjugorje, and that 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 DDF reiterated that “the positive assessment that most of the messages of Medjugorje are edifying does not imply a declaration that they have a direct supernatural origin”.

In terms of questions regarding the authenticity of certain facts or aspects of the spiritual experience associated with Medjugorje, the DDF said local ecclesial authorities are invited to “appreciate the pastoral value of this spiritual proposal, and even to promote its spread”.

Each diocesan bishop, the document said, also has the freedom to make their own prudential decisions regarding groups or individuals “who, by misusing this spiritual phenomenon, act in a mistaken way”.

The DDF urged pilgrims who visit Medjugorje “to be strongly advised that pilgrimages are not made to meet with alleged visionaries but to have an encounter with Mary, the Queen of Peace”.

The Medjugorje ruling was determined according to a new set of norms issued by the DDF in May for evaluating the authenticity of Marian apparitions and other spiritual phenomena.

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The 19 September announcement of formal Vatican approval of devotion to the Medjugorje apparitions attempts to bring to a close one of the Catholic Church’s most longstanding recent debates.

The alleged Medjugorje apparitions began in June 1981, and they are often divided into two categories: the “originals”, which took place during the period of 24 June – 3 July of that year, when the Virgin is believed to have appeared daily to six young people aged between 10 and 17 at the time; and then the subsequent apparitions that some of the original seers claimed to have had, at times daily, since 1989.

While the original set of alleged apparitions all took place in the same place, seers who claim to still receive messages from the Virgin Mary have said they see Mary at random times and places.

In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI formed a commission to study the alleged apparitions, which was headed by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, who at the time was retired as the Pope’s Vicar of Rome. He had also served as president of the powerful Italian Bishops’ Conference.

The commission submitted its report, called the “Ruini Report” to Pope Francis in 2014. The Pope has previously voiced his own personal scepticism regarding the alleged ongoing apparitions, telling journalists on his way back to Rome on 13 May 2017, after a two-day visit to Fatima, Portugal, that the original apparitions need to be distinguished from the ongoing appearances.

Pope Francis in 2017 named Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser to study the pastoral care given to the town’s residents and visiting pilgrims, with the Vatican emphasising that his role had nothing to do with determining the authenticity of the apparitions.

In May 2018, Hoser was sent as “Apostolic Visitor” for an undetermined time to the Saint James parish in Medjugorje, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, run by the Franciscan friars.

A year later, in May 2019, the Vatican authorised pilgrimages to the site, but expressed no opinion on the authenticity of the alleged apparitions.

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Photo: Catholic pilgrims pray near a statue of the Virgin Mary at apparition hill, near the village of Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 26 June 22021. (Photo by ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP via Getty Images.)

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