The authorization, or nulla osta, indicates that the faithful "can receive a positive stimulus for their Christian life through this spiritual proposal and authorizes public worship," says the Vatican Note, signed by Cardinal Victor Emmanuel Fernandez and Monsignor Armando Matteo, respectively prefect and secretary of the doctrinal section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The high-ranking ecclesiastics have presented the textThe event was attended by the editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, Andrea Tornielli.
The Note also specifies that "the positive evaluation of most of the Medjugorje messages as edifying texts does not imply that they have a direct supernatural origin".
And although there are - as is known - different opinions "on the authenticity of some facts or on some aspects of this spiritual experience, the ecclesiastical authorities of the places where it is present are invited to appreciate the pastoral value and also to promote the diffusion of this spiritual proposal", it adds.
Encounter with Mary, Queen of Peace
The text indicates that "all this" is done "without prejudice to the power of each diocesan bishop to make prudential decisions in the event that there are persons or groups that 'make an inappropriate use of this spiritual phenomenon and act in a wrong way'.
Finally, the Dicastery invites those who go to Medjugorje "to accept that pilgrimages are not made to meet so-called visionaries, but to have an encounter with Mary, Queen of Peace".
Pilgrimages authorized in 2019
May 2019, Pope Francis authorized that dioceses and parishes around the world should organize pilgrimages to the Marian shrine of Medjugorje, which did not imply giving the green light to the alleged apparitions.
Now "the time has come to conclude a long and complex history concerning the spiritual phenomena of Medjugorje. It is a story in which divergent opinions of bishops, theologians, commissions and analysts have followed one another", the Holy See points out. With these words begins "The Queen of Peace", the above-mentioned Note on the spiritual experience linked to Medjugorje, signed by Cardinal Victor Emmanuel Fernandez and Monsignor Armando Matteo. At the press conference, the Cardinal revealed that the Holy See has had a special contact with the local bishop, but that the decree transcends the diocese, and has a worldwide reach, because the devotion is popular.
"Many positive fruits"
A text approved by Pope Francis on August 28, the note explains, recognizes "the goodness of the spiritual fruits linked to the Medjugorje experience," authorizing the faithful to adhere to it - in accordance with the new Norms for the discernment of these phenomena - since "many positive fruits have been produced and no negative or risky effects have been spread among the People of God."
In general, "the judgment on the messages is also positive, although with some clarifications on certain expressions," the Holy See explains. It also emphasizes that "the conclusions of this Note do not imply a judgment on the moral life of the alleged visionaries" and that, in any case, the spiritual gifts "do not necessarily require the moral perfection of the persons involved in order to be able to act".
Abundant conversions and confessions: renewing faith
The places connected with Medjugorje have been visited since 1981 by pilgrims from all over the world. The positive fruits are revealed above all as the promotion of a healthy practice of the life of faith" according to the tradition of the Church. There are "abundant conversions" of people who have discovered or rediscovered the faith; the return to confession and sacramental communion, numerous vocations, "many reconciliations between spouses and the renewal of married and family life," the text continues.
"It is worth mentioning," the Note states, "that these experiences occur mainly in the context of pilgrimages to the sites of the original events, rather than during encounters with 'visionaries' to attend the alleged apparitions. They also report "numerous healings".
The parish in the small Herzegovinian village is a place of adoration, prayer, seminars, spiritual retreats, youth meetings and "it seems that people go to Medjugorje mainly to renew their faith rather than for precise concrete requests". Charities have also sprung up to care for orphans, drug addicts and the disabled, and there are also groups of Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
Millions of visits
The official approval of the devotion and spiritual experience that began in Medjugorje in June 1981, when six boys told of seeing Our Lady, was made possible by the abundant positive fruits seen in this parish visited by more than a million people every year and all over the world: pilgrimages, conversions, return to the sacraments, marriages in crisis that are rebuilt.
"These are the elements that Pope Francis has always looked at since he was bishop in Argentina: the popular piety that moves so many people to the shrines must be accompanied, corrected when necessary, but not suffocated. When judging alleged supernatural phenomena, we must always look precisely at the spiritual fruits," says Andrea Tornielli.
It corresponds to this vision of the Successor of Peter to have detached, thanks to the new norms published last May, the judgment of the Church from the most rigorous declaration of supernaturality".
The message of peace
The Note of the Dicastery, and the Cardinal Prefect underlined In her presentation, she then examines the central aspects of the messages, beginning with that of peace, understood not only as the absence of war, but also in a spiritual, familial and social sense: the most original title that Our Lady attributes to herself is, in fact, that of "Queen of Peace". "I have presented myself here as Queen of Peace to tell everyone that peace is necessary for the salvation of the world. Only in God is true joy to be found, from which comes true peace. For this reason I ask for conversion". (16.06.1983).
A peace that is the fruit of lived charity, which "also implies love for those who are not Catholics". An aspect that is better understood "in the ecumenical and interreligious context of Bosnia and Herzogovina, marked by a terrible war with strong religious components".
God at the center
The invitation to trusting abandonment to God who is love comes up frequently: "We can recognize a nucleus of messages in which Our Lady does not place herself at the center, but is fully oriented to our union with God".
Moreover, "Mary's intercession and work are clearly subordinated to Jesus Christ as the author of grace and salvation in each person. Mary intercedes, but it is Christ who "gives us strength, therefore, all her maternal work consists in motivating us to go to Christ": "He will give you strength and joy in this time. I am close to you with my intercession" (25.11.1993).
Again, many messages invite us to recognize the importance of asking for the Holy Spirit's help: "People make a mistake when they only turn to the saints to ask for something. The important thing is to ask the Holy Spirit to descend upon you. Having him, you have everything" (21.10.1983).
Call for conversion
In the messages one finds "a constant invitation to abandon the worldly lifestyle and excessive attachment to earthly goods, with frequent calls to conversion, which makes true peace in the world possible".
Conversion is at the heart of the message of Medjugorje, the Note emphasizes, and the Cardinal Prefect corroborated it. There is also an "insistent exhortation not to underestimate the seriousness of evil and sin and to take very seriously God's call to fight against evil and against the influence of Satan," pointed out as the source of hatred, violence and division. The role of prayer and fasting is also fundamental, as well as the centrality of the Mass, the importance of fraternal communion and the search for the ultimate meaning of existence in eternal life".
