MEDJUGORJE AND AGATHA CHRISTIE: «A CLUE IS A CLUE, TWO CLUES ARE A COINCIDENCE, BUT THREE CLUES MAKE PROOF"

«The faithful, regarding the cult of Mary "Queen of Peace", are “authorized to observe it with prudence”, although this does not imply approval of the supernatural character of the phenomenon in question, with the note that believers are not obligated to believe it. That the priests of this Diocese, accepting and respecting the decision of the Church, are free to agree or disagree with this spiritual proposal" (Decree of the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno, 19 September 2024).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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That with the advent of Francesco, a paradigm shift has occurred in the Church, it is no longer a case that needs proof. It's not possible yet, nor is it prudent to take stock of his pontificate so far, but some things can already be said. Even Father Antonio Spadaro writes that the way of communicating has changed with the current pontiff S.J., immediately his trusted interpreter, in an article that recently appeared on The Republic:

«Francis understood that comprehensibility is not the same thing as clarity... Today's man, more than simply "clear" speeches... it needs speeches that are credible, carriers of complexity, situations, of experiences, of life that sometimes is not and cannot be so "clear". The clear language is that of the norm. If the pastor adopts it as a communication method he ends up getting confused and taking on the role of the legislator and the judge" (The Republic, 19.09.24, pg. 39).

The famous mystery writer Agatha Christie said: «A clue is a clue, two clues are a coincidence, but three clues prove it". So no more clear and distinct ideas, so dear to his last predecessor, but a new style that is attentive to complexities, to situations and experiences, of individuals as well as communities. This is probably why the Pope chose Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez as his close collaborator at the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.. Who received these recommendations from the Pontiff on the occasion of his assignment, in a letter that we report here in the Spanish version because there is no official translation from the Holy See:

«The Dicastery that you will preside over, In other times he used immoral methods. These were times when, rather than promoting theological knowledge, possible doctrinal errors were persecuted.. What I expect from you is undoubtedly something very different.…What's more, You know that the Church "needs to grow in its interpretation of the revealed Word and in its understanding of the truth" without this implying imposing a single way of expressing it. Because "the different lines of philosophical thought, theological and pastoral, if they allow themselves to be harmonized by the Spirit in respect and love, "They can also make the Church grow.". This harmonious growth will preserve Christian doctrine more effectively than any control mechanism. It is good that your assignment expresses that the Church "encourages the charisma of theologians and their effort for theological research" as long as "do not be satisfied with a desktop theology», with «a cold and hard logic that seeks to dominate everything». It will always be true that reality is superior to the idea. In that sense, We need Theology to be attentive to a fundamental criterion: consider "inadequate any theological conception that ultimately calls into question the omnipotence of God and, especially, his mercy". We need a thought that knows how to convincingly present a God who loves, that forgives, that saves, that liberates, that promotes people and calls them to fraternal service» (cf.. text WHO, italics and underlining mine).

Vatican, 1 Julio 2023

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Since that day the Cardinal has not failed in this trust and this can easily be found in the notes or responses given by the presided over Dicastery. Among these, the Note on the blessing that can be given caused quite a stir, under certain conditions, to irregular or homosexual couples and the very recent one about the spiritual experience linked to Medjugorje, which created a wide debate in the ecclesial community. The Cardinal Prefect cannot be accused of having failed in his mandate, moreover, its orientation is clear and made explicit on several occasions, as when he said, in a meeting at the Lateran University in February this year:

«A theology for the People of God is a theology attentive to the dynamics that this people is experiencing in this historical moment, to help him interpret them in the light of faith, both to purify them and to encourage everything that is positive. This is typical of any enculturation process that includes both aspects. Hopefully, therefore, that theologians can be equal to this mission. It is certainly not a question of inventing a new Revelation, but to bring out from the inexhaustible source of the Gospel what can best illuminate the life of the People of God, what can help these people to live happily amidst the limits and difficulties of life. Indeed, in the letter that the Pope wrote to me when he appointed me Prefect, he said that ultimately today we “need a theology that can convincingly present a God who loves, who forgives, that saves, that frees, who promotes people and calls them to fraternal service" (WHO).

Sixty years ago or more the Second Vatican Council was celebrated. As the dean of Italian theologians said, Severino Dianich, it put the theme of the hermeneutics of faith back at the center of the life of the Church. Since then many things have changed and societies and cultures have profoundly transformed. The great social pressures, cultural and ideological ideas that animated the period of the Council have faded, some tragically, others changed and divided into a thousand streams. Above all, the loss of great ideals and points of reference common to the masses has led to a reevaluation of religious sentiment, after all, never suppressed or erased, as some hoped. But even within it the same dynamics that run through society have been reproduced; as much as the loss of common identity, as much as the subject left alone in the face of the great problems that afflict existence and the post-modern world, they highlighted the same neuroses found elsewhere: anxiety, disorientation, depressions, loss of meaning in one's life. Thus the search for places of apparitions that provide confirmation, messages from above offering reassurance have multiplied, so much so as to become a serious problem for the Church. The most striking signal is the religious phenomenon of Medjugorje on which the Church could no longer fail to intervene with an authoritative word, encouraging the spiritual journey that takes place there, but placing serious limits on both the messages and the "alleged" seers, both not recognized in a blatant and clear way. But if we look at the latest documents of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith before the recent Note on the Medjugorje phenomenon, there are nine texts that precede it, mostly responses to bishops about alleged apparitions and messages from the Virgin Mary, in different parts of the world. These responses were possible after the issuing by the same Dicastery of the «Regulations for proceeding in the discernment of alleged supernatural phenomena» (WHO).

It took twelve years for a first declaration for the facts reported by Bernadette which allowed the influx of faithful and veneration in Lourdes. Fatima had almost immediate relevance; at just two years old from the events declared by the shepherd children the local bishop, with the approval of the Holy See, he declared:

«Worthy of belief, the visions of the shepherd children of Cova da Iria, occurred in the parish of Fátima, in this diocese, from the 13 May to 13 October 1917".

But they were also other times and other contexts. In France, at the time of the Lourdes events, Emperor Louis Napoleon blocked any agreement with the Church beyond the concordat of 1801. In Portugal, the shepherd children were jailed for two days by order of the then mayor of Vila Nova. Beyond the historical context, we will be able to say that the Holy See's declarations on the events of Lourdes and Fatima were timely and concerned "facts considered extraordinary".

For the facts of Medjugorje It took over forty years for the publication of a Note that valued religious experience more than message data, defined with extreme clarity as “presumed”, the apparitions were defined as “alleged” but, above all, "alleged" self-styled seers. Now it's just that, religious experience, the fact that stands out most in the eyes of those who read the Note from the Dicastery. Of course, the partisans, sometimes actual Taliban, of the religious and spiritual events arising from the area of ​​Bosnia-Herzegovina, they won't notice and have already hailed the Note as a victory, as a great recognition. But it has to be said. What the Note introduces, as well as in the nine documents that precede it, there are two aspects: that of the personal perception of a phenomenon on the one hand, and on the other hand the recognition of a religious experience even if not fully founded and clear in all its aspects. This is the new paradigm that stands out. The importance given to the perception of the individual, very in tune with what modern society hopes for, even in multiple areas; and the value given to experience which can even lead to good fruit beyond an ambiguous doctrine present in some groups. The Note asks the various bishops to monitor the religious experiences of individuals and groups; at the same time, recalling the rules, asks to "appreciate the pastoral value and also promote the diffusion of this spiritual proposal".

In my opinion this is something new in the Church, which I have defined as a new paradigm, moreover anticipated by the ways of doing and communicating of the current Supreme Pontiff and put into practice by his closest and most important collaborators. Where all this will lead is anyone's guess. It is evident that the Church, the current state, it is more inclined to govern these processes so that they do not deviate or deteriorate, rather than stopping them. This is the recommendation given to the bishops, that is, to the overseers of the People of God. The Bishop of Monstar-Duvno, the person directly involved in the events of Medjugorje, in fact he issued his own note following that of the Holy See in which after a resumption of the same, he clearly says the exact words:

«The faithful, regarding the cult of Mary "Queen of Peace", are “authorized to observe it with prudence” (Standards, art. 22, §: cf. Benedict XVI, Word of the Lord, n. 14), although this does not imply approval of the supernatural character of the phenomenon in question (cf.. Standards, art. 22, §2), with the note that believers are not obligated to believe it. That the priests of this Diocese, accepting and respecting the decision of the Church, are free to agree or disagree with this spiritual proposal" (WHO).

How can one greet a text of this kind calling it a historic approval by the Holy See, how he rejoiced, to name one among many, Father Livio Fanzaga, who from Radio Maria's microphones even speaks of "full recognition" (cf.. WHO). How can you? It is a question.

Incidentally it must be remembered that all the bishops who have succeeded one another in that Diocese since the beginning of the alleged apparitions, they didn't just be skeptical, they have declared apparitions throughout history to be false and the so-called seers to be unreliable. The alleged apparitions were declared not authentic by H.E. Mons. Pavalo Zanic, Bishop of Mostar-Duvno since 1980 al 1993, who was succeeded by H.E. Mons. Ratko Peric gave 1983 al 2000, than in his book The throne of wisdom (Church on Kamen, Mostar 1995), in the chapter entitled The criteria for evaluating apparitions dedicates a paragraph to the apparitions of Medjugorje where he tries to demonstrate that the apparitions of the Madonna are not true and that the alleged visionaries lied repeatedly and immediately (cf.. pp. 266-286).

Today we are certainly in a transition phase, long gone, as we said, since the conciliar times, but the approach has also changed rapidly compared to the previous magisteriums of recent Popes. Because of this, perhaps, attempts must be viewed with some benevolence, sometimes even curious, eccentric and clumsy used by the Pope and his collaborators to spread this new course? Just one example. Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez in the press conference to present the Note had to mention the difficulties that some "Marian messages" given in Medjugorje posed. But to interpret them positively, despite containing obvious inaccuracies, even doctrinal, he referred to the texts of mystical authors such as Saint John of the Cross or Saint Therese of Lisieux, which according to him would also report inaccuracies. Now the mystical experience is in itself unspeakable and with difficulty is translated into human words, even written ones. But these are still human authors who use the human tools available. This can be compared to the supposed messages that would come from above, from the Virgin Mary, of which the so-called seers are only intermediaries? What would messages be if they are not messages and must be decrypted? This is one of the many difficulties that should be seriously questioned.

The Church has chosen to operate in this way It is probably, rather than governing the ongoing processes, tries to chase them and contain them as best he can, accepting that personal experience and a religious proposal can become an opportunity for salvation, although it needs to be monitored carefully. But the Church is also called to deal with other aspects that accompany our contemporary society, among these the progressive distancing of it from the ecclesial community, the science and resulting technologies that now regulate the lives of human beings, the pressure of algorithms and so-called artificial intelligence which now dictate the choices of individuals and social groups. How will the Church respond to these requests, while it still appears too closed in on itself and its internal problems? Maybe with a double track, one for the simple people who still seek visions and ask for messages from above and another with which he seeks to dialogue and interact with society and contemporary worlds?

Again the aforementioned Italian theologian Severino Dianich he recently lambasted his brothers and fellow theologians, accusing them of treason (cf.. WHO), because they are incapable of uttering an insightful word about the facts happening in the world and the cultural processes underway. The responses of some theologians who felt caught short were either out of context or too verbose. It is certain that the Church is experiencing trouble, who knows if it will lead to a transformation or a new birth, certainly different from the previous ones to which we have been accustomed for centuries. In the years that followed the Council, as the movement born in May of spread 1968, he inherited Michel de Certeaux, much listened to in very secular France and who went on to direct the studies of the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris spoke of "shattered Christianity" (WHO). An uncomfortable expression that was not accepted at the time, but whose effects we feel today. What the Christianity of tomorrow will be like? It is not known, because it's like wondering what the world will be like in the near future, in which the Church with its members will be inserted. Of course, hopefully tomorrow's Christianity is not composite, according to what is unfortunately revealed today, an aggregation of faithful fideists in the morbid search for Madonnas who appear around the world predicting catastrophes and delivering terrifying secrets to self-styled seers who now appear like wildflowers after the rain. The hope, at least my personal one, is that she stops looking at her own navel and begins to confidently announce the Gospel of Jesus Christ again, capable of forming solid and tenacious Christians "always ready to respond to anyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you" (1PT 3,15).

From the Hermitage, 5 October 2024

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