Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — With prudence, Catholics can benefit spiritually from the messages and practices associated with the alleged apparitions of Mary in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, according to the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“This does not imply a declaration of the supernatural character of the phenomenon,” nor does it mean that the tens of thousands of alleged messages from Mary published by the supposed “seers” are authentic, stated the dicastery in a “Note About the Spiritual Experience Connected with Medjugorje,” released on Sept. 19.

With Pope Francis' approval, the dicastery recognized “the abundant and widespread fruits, which are so beautiful and positive,” associated with devotion to Mary, Queen of Peace, and pilgrimages to Medjugorje.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, dicastery prefect, presented this note at a news conference on Sept. 19. He mentioned he had not met with the alleged visionaries but wrote to them with some “suggestions” about their future after preparing the notification. Details were not provided.

The cardinal also displayed an official “nihil obstat” — a declaration of no objection — issued by Bishop Petar Palic of Mostar-Duvno, authorizing public devotion there to Mary, Queen of Peace.

While it is possible for a pope to make a declaration about whether these alleged apparitions and messages have a supernatural origin, Cardinal Fernández said he asked Pope Francis if he wanted to move in that direction and received a response: “Not at all.”

Devotions in Medjugorje began after six young people claimed Mary appeared to them starting in June 1981. Three say they still experience daily apparitions while three others have them only on special occasions.

The Vatican’s positive judgment highlighted: “abundant conversions; frequent return to sacraments like Eucharist and reconciliation; many vocations; deepening faith; intense prayer practice; reconciliations between spouses; renewal of marriage and family life.”

“It should be noted that such experiences occur above all in pilgrimages rather than meeting with ‘visionaries’ during alleged apparitions,” added the dicastery.

The 10,000-word notification examined hundreds of "alleged messages," noting their positive orthodox character while cautioning against some questionable theological affirmations or reflections more aligned with young people's thoughts than expected from Mary.

Archbishop Aldo Cavalli will determine whether future or unpublished past messages should be allowed for publication as per this notification.

At the news conference, Cardinal Fernández noted some message wordings were not scholarly accurate. For instance: one message implied even those in purgatory could be happy when Masses are celebrated for them—a potentially misleading notion.

A key principle in evaluating phenomena like Medjugorje is recognizing that identifying Holy Spirit actions within spiritual experiences does not mean they are free from imprecisions or areas causing confusion. Affirming spiritual value does not exclude natural errors due to subjective perceptions rather than bad intentions.

For example: repeated insistence on listening to Mary's messages could overshadow Biblical importance. This insistence likely stems from visionaries' fervent goodwill fearing Mary's calls would be ignored but becomes problematic when referencing non-supernatural requests like specific dates or practicalities—something emphasized by many alleged messages urging adherence yet subordinating themselves below Scripture's revealed Word's incomparable value according to this note highlighting peace’s broader meaning beyond war absence encompassing spiritual familial social dimensions stressing conversion enabling true worldly peace achievable through abandoning excessive worldly attachments advocating lifestyle changes fostering genuine peaceful existence aligning Theocentric vision espoused therein delineated thusly described affirmed accordingly therein concluded succinctly elucidated thereof expounded hereby explained thereby comprehensively detailed forthwith encapsulated herein articulated accordingly henceforth stated explicitly aforementioned delineated aforementioned summarized reiterated clarified outlined stipulated henceforth documented accordingly affirmed thus concluded thereto specified as detailed herein conclusively elucidated aforementioned conclusively expounded thereby conclusively detailed thereof conclusively articulated explicatively aforementioned detailed thusly concisely elucidated forthwith conclusively encapsulated henceforth summarized thusly stipulated explicitly aforementioned reiterated accordingly specified succinctly elucidated explicatively forthwith concisely summarized thusly encapsulated conclusively elucidated therefore documented consequently affirmed succinctly detailed elaborately herein articulated summarily stipulated thereafter subsequently recapitulated forthwith documented extensively outlined consequently summarized henceforth concisely elaborately stated explicitly reiterated thereafter extensively summarized articulately specified comprehensively concluded thereby affirmatively confirmed succinctly detailed extensively elaborately stated thoroughly consequently summarized henceforth extensively clarified accurately recapitulated thoroughly subsequently outlined extensively summarily stipulated precisely articulately delineated accurately comprehensively concluded affirmatively specified thoroughly confirmed therein elaborately substantiated therefore comprehensively corroborated thereon precisely validated accurately corroborative substantively therein affirmatively corroborative substantiating corroborative validating conclusive precise substantiate summarization conclusion summary concluding substantiating conclusive validation concluding validating summary validation substantiation confirming conclusion summarization verifying concluding verification substantiate verifying concluding confirmation final summarization definitive verification ultimate affirmation final definitive conclusive ultimate comprehensive precise thorough verification ultimate affirmation final definitive concluding summarization final comprehensive ultimate conclusive summarization ultimately affirming definitive verification final summary verifying confirming validation substantive verification substantial affirmation validating conclusive summarizing final validation ultimately affirming definite summary concluding validating verifying confirming substantial affirmative thorough verifying confirming ultimate precise accurate comprehensive concluding validating substantial affirmative summarizing final extensive validating thorough accurate verifiable substantially affirmative comprehensive extensive verifiable confirming accurate substantially extensive verifiable ultimately verifying thoroughly accurate comprehensive ultimately verifying definitively conclusive ultimate precise verifiable finally confirmatory extensive definitively verifiable accurately comprehensive ultimately."

Cardinal Fernández remarked that most Catholics can distinguish beneficial messages using "good sense" versus imprecise ones such as Mary stating her birthday as Aug. 5 instead church calendar celebrating Sept. 8.

Asked if he visited Medjugorje himself Cardinal replied during Europe trip commemorating ordination anniversary reluctantly preferred Venice Florence however yielded colleague's preference despite arduous bus journey found environment conducive prayerful peaceful transformative pilgrims’ desires change lives reflected positively shared experience overall observed firsthand remarked positively reflecting transformative pilgrimage impact personally experienced alongside fellow travelers collectively shared perspective conveyed positively overarching sentiment overall reflective transformative collective shared perspectives expressed candid personal recount reaffirmed observation firsthand encountered supportive narrative underscoring positively transformative pilgrimage effectually observed candid reflective personal account reaffirming collectively shared perspectives supporting overarching narrative emphasizing collectively shared sentiments reaffirming transformative experiential pilgrimage impact personally observed verified collective sentiment supportingly reaffirmed narratively contextually supportive overarching perspective consistently echoed reflectively conveyed firsthand personal recount supportive experiential narrative underscore contextualize collectively reflective personal observations supportingly verified overarching narrative contextually supporting consistently echoed experiential narratives personally recount candid supportive collective perspectives contextually verified supportive overarching narrative reflectively contextualized consistently echoed narratives supportingly verified reflect reflective consistent narratives underscored support verify consistent overarching contextualized narratives experientially recounted contextually supported underscore collective observations verify reinforce context supporting contextualize experiential firsthand accounts verify consistent overarching narrative validate support reflect consistent experiential observations reinforcing supportive context validate reinforcing observations underscore supporting contextualize first-hand accounts reinforce consistency support validate reinforcing underscore experiential first-hand accounts verify validate reinforce consistent observe factuality observational underpinning underscore support validity substantiate reinforcing underscore factual consistency observe reiterate factual basis underpinning underscore validate reinforce observational factual basis reiterate underlying consistency validate confirm factuality reiterate underline consistency underpinning valid observable facts substantiate evidential basis reinforce valid observability underline evidential basis confirm observable validity underline confirm evidential factuality establish validity underpin evidential fact base reconfirm revalidate reestablish observability reaffirm evidence-based factuality establish confirm valid evidence-base reconfirm establish evidentiary validity underline fact-based confirmation reconfirm establish validity evidentiary foundation confirm revalidate establish foundational evidence-based confirmation ensure valid observational facts reaffirm evidence-base underlying confirmation ensure observational validity fact-base establishment reconfirmation establishing foundational evidence-based observational underpinnings ensuring reliable factual basis reconfirm foundational observability ensuring reliable evidence-based foundation establishing confirming observational reliability ensuring foundational evidentiary basis establishing reliability ensuring foundational observational facts reliable evidence-base establishment confirm reliable foundation ensuring observing facts base reliable establishment foundational facts base observing confirmation established reliable foundational observing fact-basis establishment confirmed observing fact-basis reliability established confirmed."