‘Medjugorje contains a river of good even amid human weakness’

By Salvatore Cernuzio

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, made a broad presentation at a press conference on Thursday, September 19.

From the messages of Medjugorje to be accepted as “edifying texts” that can arouse a “beautiful spiritual experience,” even if there is “no certainty that they come from Our Lady”; to the “great respect” shown by the last three popes towards “the widespread devotion” to Medjugorje. From the countless works of charity that have arisen around this spiritual experience, including the many conversions, confessions, fruits of good; to the “problems” caused by “human weakness” and internal debates (some have even gone so far as to define the phenomenon as “demonic”).

Cardinal Fernandez spoke about history, current events and even shared some personal experiences in a packed Holy See press office during the presentation conference of the note “The Queen of Peace.”

In the note, the Argentine cardinal traces the process, listing the lights and shadows of a reality that involves the spirituality of millions of faithful and through which, as he says, “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 have occurred “in a small percentage (5 or 6 dioceses)” in the world and that present challenges, “speaking only of positive effects” in Medjugorje.

He pointed to “the darkest and saddest point” marked by the long “conflict” between the rebellious Franciscans and the bishops and, with great clarity, he also spoke of the controversy surrounding Father Tomislav Vlasic, famous for being considered the “spiritual father” of the six seers, who was dismissed from the clerical state in 2009 for various crimes.

The gaze of three popes

The cardinal also presented the phenomenon of Medjugorje from the point of view of the last three popes: John Paul II, who, as can be seen in private letters, had expressed an “intense desire” to visit this place; Benedict XVI, who, as prefect of the former Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1985, had expressed a “clear thought” on the separation of the attestation of the possible “supernatural character” of the phenomenon from its spiritual fruits.

Finally, Pope Francis, who on his return flight from Fatima in 2017, spoke of the “very good” report of the Ruini Commission, affirming that “the central question” is “the spiritual reality, the pastoral reality, the people who go there and are converted, the people who encounter God, who change their lives… There is no magic wand, this spiritual-pastoral reality cannot be denied.”

“What stands out in the three popes,” Cardinal Fernandez stressed, “is an attitude of great respect for such widespread devotion among the people of God,” which translates into “an analysis of the positive spiritual phenomenon” and not “a conclusion on the supernatural origin or not of the phenomenon.”

In fact, Pope Francis, the cardinal revealed, reiterated in a recent meeting that No Obstat is “absolutely sufficient” and that “there is no need to go further with a statement about the supernatural nature.”

In other words, he said, it is enough “to tell the faithful: you can pray there, worship is public, pilgrimages can be made and these messages can be read without danger.”

Messages from the “Gospa”

Regarding Our Lady’s messages, the Cardinal Prefect explained that most of them have a “beautiful content” that can “encourage” conversion; many express words closer to the language of the people; some instead contain “phrases that are not exactly those of St. Thomas Aquinas.” But, Cardinal Fernandez specified, “when there are spiritual experiences of a different nature, there is no rule” … “the person perceives the content and tries to remember it and express it as best as possible.” Therefore, these messages should not be read as “a magisterial text,” but it is necessary to grasp “the deep thought” even behind an “imperfection of words.”

The Peace Proposal

The Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith added: “We now accept these messages not as private revelations, because we are not certain that they are messages from Our Lady, but we accept them only as edifying texts that can encourage a true and beautiful spiritual experience.”

The messages, Cardinal Fernandez recommended, “must be evaluated as a whole.” Only in an overall vision do “the great exhortations” appear. For example, peace is “the great proposal of Medjugorje.”

“The message of peace implies loving also those who are not Catholic. And this is understandable in the ecumenical and interreligious context of Bosnia-Herzegovina,” torn apart by a war fueled by religious motivations. “Look at history repeating itself today with Ukraine,” the cardinal stressed.

The risks

The cardinal prefect, however, noted several “weak points” in these messages, starting with the “frequency” or the insistence on the need to listen to them.

“Listen to my messages, accept my messages. Sometimes it becomes a little tiring… Our Lady speaks of her plans of salvation, of ‘plans’ that must be accepted, as if they were different from those of God. This creates confusion, it creates the danger of creating an excessive dependence on apparitions and messages,” he said.

Future messages

In his speech and in answering questions from journalists, Cardinal Fernandez also addressed the issue of future messages, “if there are any.”

“If there are any,” he said, “they must be evaluated and approved for possible publication, and until they are analyzed, the faithful are not advised to consider them as edifying texts.”

Prudence “is always necessary,” knowing that the Virgin “does not order 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 lady of postmen, he said, recalling the words of Pope Francis.

Devotion among the people

The Prefect of the Dicastery then highlighted the worldwide spread of devotion to the Queen of Peace, as well as the “very numerous groups of prayer and Marian devotion”, the charitable work in favor of orphans, drug addicts, alcoholics and the disabled.

It is a “popular phenomenon,” he said, which does not take into account messages or discussions about supernatural origins. “What attracts people is the Queen of Peace and the presence of her image in the most diverse places.”

Image of Notre-Dame in every city

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

Even in his native Argentina, he says, when, as a parish priest, he had proposed to the faithful of different neighborhoods to build shrines with a Marian image, “the first one that was proposed to me was that of the Queen of Peace. Only one sister said: ‘But is it allowed?’ And the bishop replied: ‘But what harm can this image do?'”

Contact with visionaries “not recommended”

As for contact with the clairvoyants, the cardinal explained that “it is not forbidden but it is not advisable either”, even for their own good.

“The spirit of Medjugorje is not to seek out visionaries but to pray to the Queen of Peace,” he said.

Cardinal Fernandez said he had had no contact with them so far, but had sent a short letter “with some suggestions and words,” which should remain confidential.

Contributions from other speakers

Alongside Cardinal Fernandez, 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.

Msgr. Matteo stressed that the Note released on Thursday is the “fruit” of a “vast process of discernment” that began in May with the publication of the Norms on alleged supernatural phenomena.

This work has involved decisions on cases in Italy, Spain, India, the Netherlands and other countries.

Andrea Tornielli drew on a personal experience of pilgrimage and highlighted some “interesting statistical data”, such as the number of communicants distributed in the parish and the places linked to the apparitions: more than 47 million (47,413,740 exactly) from 1985 to 2024, as well as the number of priests who concelebrated in Medjugorje from December 1986 to 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 sincere sacrament in Medjugorje.