'A river of goodness amid human imperfections'

By Salvatore Cernuzio

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, gave a wide-ranging presentation at a press conference on Thursday, 19 September. 

From the messages at Medjugorje being accepted as “edifying texts” that can instil a “beautiful spiritual experience”, even if there is “no certainty that they are from Our Lady”; to the “great respect” shown by the three most recent Popes towards “the widespread devotion” at Medjugorje. From the innumerable works of charity that have arisen around this spiritual experience, including the many conversions, confessions, fruits of good; to the “problems” and the internal debates (there are even those who have gone so far as to define the phenomenon as ‘demonic’).

Cardinal Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, touched on history and current events and even shared some personal experiences during the press conference for the presentation of the Note on “The Queen of Peace”, held on Thursday, 19 September, in a packed Holy See Press Office.

In the Note, the Argentinean Cardinal retraced the process, listing the lights and shadows of a reality through which “God, in His mysterious designs, even in the midst of human imperfections, has found a way to make a river of goodness and beauty flow”. 

Problems and challenges

The Cardinal recalled the important “problems” that occurred “in small percentages (five or six dioceses)” in the world, which present challenges in “speaking of only positive effects” in Medjugorje, and indicated “the darkest and saddest point” marked by the long “conflict” between the rebellious Franciscans and the Bishops.  With great clarity, he also mentioned the controversy surrounding Fr Tomislav Vlasic, famous for being considered the ‘spiritual father’ of the six visionaries, who was dismissed from the clerical state in 2009 for various crimes.

The gaze of three Popes

The Cardinal also presented the Medjugorje phenomenon from the viewpoint of the last three Popes: John Paul II, who had shown an “intense wish” to visit the place; Benedict XVI who, as Prefect of the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1985, had expressed a “clear thought” on the separation of the declaration of the possible “supernatural character” of the phenomenon from its spiritual fruits. 

And lastly, Pope Francis, who during his return flight from Fatima in 2017, had spoken about the “very good” report of the Ruini Commission, stating, “The real core of the Ruini report” is “the spiritual fact, the pastoral fact, the people go there and are converted, the people who meet God, who change their lives”.

“What stands out with the three Popes”, Cardinal Fernández emphasised, “is an attitude of great respect in the face of such widespread devotion among the people of God”, which translates into “an analysis of the positive spiritual phenomenon” and not “into a conclusion on the supernatural origin or otherwise of the phenomenon”. 

In fact, Pope Francis, the Cardinal said, reiterated in a recent meeting that the nihil obstat  is absolutely sufficient and that there is no need to go further with a declaration on the supernatural nature. In other words, he continued, it is sufficient “to say to the faithful: you can pray there, pilgrimages can be made, and these messages can be read without danger”.

Messages of the ‘Gospa'

On the subject of the messages of the ‘Gospa’  [i.e., Lady], the Cardinal Prefect explained that some of them contain “phrases that are not exactly St Thomas Aquinas-like”. However, Cardinal Fernández clarified that these messages should not be read as “a magisterial text”, but one must grasp “the profound thinking” even behind some “imperfection of words”.

The peace proposal

The Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith added that “we now accept these messages not as private revelations, because we do not have a certainty that they are Our Lady’s messages, but we accept them only as edifying texts that can encourage a true and beautiful spiritual experience”. 

The messages, Cardinal Fernández recommended, “must be evaluated as a whole”, because it is only in the overall view that “great exhortations” appear, starting with peace “in the ecumenical and interreligious context of Bosnia Herzegovina”, torn apart by a war in the past.

The risks

However, the Cardinal Prefect noted several “weak points” in these messages, starting with the “frequency” or the insistence on the need to listen to them. “This is confusing, it creates the danger of creating an over-dependence on apparitions and messages”, he said.

Future messages

Cardinal Fernández also addressed the question of future messages. “If there are any”, he said, “they must be evaluated and approved for possible publication, and until they are analysed, the faithful are not advised to consider them as edifying texts”.

Prudence “is always necessary”, with the knowledge that Our Lady “does not command that something be communicated necessarily or immediately; she does not use us as puppets or inanimate instruments; she always leaves room for our discernment”. She is not, in short, a postwoman he said, recalling the words of Pope Francis.

Devotion among the people

The Prefect of the Dicastery went on to highlight the worldwide spread of devotion to the Queen of Peace, as well as the "many prayer groups with Marian devotion," the charitable work for orphans, for those struggling with drug dependence, and for people with disabilities.

This is "a popular phenomenon," he said. “What draws people is the Queen of Peace and the presence of her image in the most diverse places."

Image of Our Lady in every town

Cardinal Fernández confided that he too has found the image of Our Lady even in the smallest country villages.

Even in his own native Argentina, he recounted, when he was a parish priest he proposed to the faithful to build shrines with a Marian image in various neighbourhoods. "The first one they proposed to me was that of the Queen of Peace. Only one sister said: ‘But is it authorised?’ And the Bishop replied: ‘But what harm can that image do?’'’

Contact with visionaries "not advisable"

As for contact with the visionaries, the Cardinal explained that “it is not forbidden but neither is it advisable”, even for their own sake. “The spirit of Medjugorje is not to search for the visionaries but to pray to the Queen of Peace”, he said. Cardinal Fernández reported  that he had sent a short letter “with some suggestions and words”, which should remain confidential.

Contributions of other speakers

Joining Cardinal Fernández at the speakers’ table were Monsignor Armando Matteo, Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Editorial Director of the Dicastery for Communication, Andrea Tornielli. Monsignor Matteo emphasised that the Note is the “fruit” of an “extensive process of discernment” that began in May with the publication of the Norms on alleged supernatural phenomena.

Andrea Tornielli drew on a personal pilgrimage experience, and highlighted some “interesting statistical data”, such as the number of people who received Communion in the parish and places linked to the apparitions: over 47,413,740 between 1985 and 2024; and the number of priests who concelebrated in Medjugorje between December 1986 and June 2024: 1,060,799.

These numbers, he said, represent the devotion of the faithful who flock to the Bosnian village every year, drawn by Eucharistic Adoration, meditation, and Confession, which he called, the most heartfelt sacrament in Medjugorje.