Brief Warning from the French Episcopal Doctrinal Commission

2021 - Brief Warning from the French Episcopal Doctrinal Commission - page 1

2021 - Brief Warning from the French Episcopal Doctrinal Commission - page 2

"The Brief Warning regarding the dissemination of The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me by Maria Valtorta" is a doctrinal note published on September 29, 2021 by the Doctrinal Commission of the Conference of Bishops of France. The text expresses a pastoral concern in the face of an intensification of the dissemination of Maria Valtorta's writings both at the parish level and on the internet.

Out of the 104 dioceses in France, only one — that of Viviers — officially published the text, which was then removed from the website of the Conference of Bishops of France.

The argument of the Doctrinal Commission

The commission reaffirms the necessity to prioritize the Word of God and the teaching of the Church, while prudently accompanying the interest in private revelations to avoid confusion and dangers to the faith. The warning does not explicitly condemn the readers but states that Valtorta's writings:

• are not recognized as supernatural,
• have been judged problematic,
• and present a risk of doctrinal and ecclesial confusion if disseminated as a “Gospel.”

1. An already established negative judgment of the Magisterium

• Indexing : The work The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me by Maria Valtorta was placed on the Index on December 16, 1959, a decision explained in L’Osservatore Romano of January 6, 1960.
• Position of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith : In 1985, Cardinal Ratzinger (then prefect) recalled that although the Index was abolished, its moral value persists. He judged it inappropriate to disseminate a condemned work after careful consideration, because of risks to the faith of the most fragile.
• Reminder from the Italian Episcopal Conference : In 1992, the Conference of Bishops of Italy asked publishers to explicitly specify that the writings of Maria Valtorta are not of supernatural origin.

2. Distinction between the Word of God and private revelations

• Limited role of private revelations : The 2008 Synod of Bishops emphasized that private revelations do not supplement the definitive Revelation of Christ but aim to help the faithful live it more fully at a given time.
• Risk of confusion : The commission warns against the tendency to equate private revelations with the Word of God, which can blur the essential distinction between the two.

3. Ecclesial authority and communion

• Primacy of the Church : No person, outside of full communion with the Church and its pastors, may claim to be guardian of the Gospel or Tradition. The authentic reception of the Word of God occurs in communion with the Church, which is the bearer of the Good News.
• Dialogue with God : Revelation is a dialogue between God and the Church, not an individual or pietistic experience. It is rooted in the living tradition of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit and transmitted by pastors in apostolic succession.

4. Pastoral and spiritual risks

• Increasing dissemination : The commission notes the intensification in the dissemination of Maria Valtorta’s writings, including by priests and parish groups, which may lead to the mistaken impression of ecclesial approval.
• Necessary accompaniment : It calls for pastoral discernment to enlighten the faithful on the distinction between the Word of God and private revelations, without quenching the Spirit but avoiding abuses.
• Spiritual thirst : While recognizing the spiritual aspirations of the faithful, it encourages drawing the living nourishment of faith in listening to the Word of God with the whole Church, not from unrecognized works.

5. Theological foundation

• Dei Verbum : The dogmatic constitution recalls that the knowledge of faith grows in the Church, under the assistance of the Holy Spirit, through contemplation, study, and preaching by pastors, not through individual initiatives.
• Christ, center of Revelation : The Church is the place where the Word of Christ resounds, and every authentic spiritual experience must orient towards Him and ecclesial communion.

Full text

BRIEF WARNING regarding the dissemination of The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me by Maria Valtorta.

The dissemination of Maria Valtorta’s writings has intensified for at least two years. Indeed, in addition to faithful who nourish themselves with these texts, priests who spread these writings, reading groups of Maria Valtorta whose activities are announced in some parish bulletins, associations and websites widely circulate emails commenting on the Sunday Gospel using texts by Maria Valtorta. Good-faith faithful assume that this work is approved by the Church.

A clear judgment of the Church’s Magisterium placed on the Index The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me on December 16, 1959. The sentence is explained in an article of the Osservatore Romano of January 6, 1960. It was recalled by Cardinal Ratzinger, then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on January 31, 1985, in which he explained: “Although abolished, the Index retains all its moral weight, which is why it is not considered appropriate to disseminate and recommend a work whose condemnation was not taken lightly but after thoughtful reasons in order to neutralize the damage that such a publication can cause to the most unwary faithful.”'[1].

Also to mention is the letter of May 6, 1992, by which the secretary general of the Italian Episcopal Conference asked a publisher not to publish the writings of Maria Valtorta without explicitly indicating that they are not of supernatural origin[2].

The 2008 Synod of Bishops on the Word of God recommended to “help the faithful to distinguish the Word of God from private revelations”, whose role “is not to (…) “complete” the definitive Revelation of Christ, but to help live it more fully at a certain period of history” [3].

We observe among some faithful of the Catholic Church an interest in private revelations, a taste for what appears new and manifests the actuality of Revelation through mystical Graces or charisms. This deserves to be accompanied by pastoral care which aims not to quench the Spirit but to enlighten the faithful on this distinction between the Word of God and private revelations.

Our pastoral concern for those attracted by this type of literature leads us to recall an important truth of faith: one must be aware that a single person, without full communion with the Church and its pastors, cannot claim to be the bearer of the Gospel or Tradition. For the fruit of receiving the Word of God is the communion of the Church with the Father and the Son: “We proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us: what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ”[4]. The only “solo” in the symphony of Creation is Christ.[5]

“God who once spoke continues to converse with the Bride of his beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel resounds in the Church and through it in the world, leads believers into the whole truth and makes the word of Christ dwell in them with all its richness”[6]. The permanent conversation of the community of the faithful with God is not “pietistic-individual.” It is the dialogue of God with the Bride of Christ, the holy Church. It echoes through the world because through the Church in which the Word of Christ resounds, God makes the Good News heard by the world. This ecclesial experience of Revelation is also verified by the fact that it leads to Christ and makes the Church a bearer of the Good News of Salvation for today’s world.

The dogmatic constitution Dei Verbum explicates the various modes by which this dialogue of God with the Church continues. They never limit themselves to individual feeling or the personal thought of a particular faithful of Christ. Under the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the Church’s knowledge of the objects of faith grows “either through contemplation and study of believers […], or through the inward understanding they experience of spiritual realities, or through the preaching of those who, with episcopal succession, have received a certain charism of truth”[7].

The spiritual thirsts we can observe in the People of God deserve to be taken seriously, and the need for reading, living nourishment to foster fervor and contemplation of the mystery of Christ, are an encouragement to continue to listen, with the whole Church, to the Lord’s word, and to proclaim the truths of faith with fervor and enthusiasm.

September 29, 2021

Notes

1. A priest from the Archdiocese of Genoa addressed the CDF by a letter dated May 18, 1984 regarding the Church’s position on Maria Valtorta’s work. Cardinal Ratzinger personally responded by a letter dated January 31, 1985, to Archbishop Cardinal Giuseppe Siri, on whom the requesting priest depended. Here is the original Italian phrase cited: “Benché abolito, l’Index conservava tutto il suo valore morale, per cui non si ritiene opportuna la diffusione e raccomandazione di un’Opera la cui condanna non fu presa alla leggera ma dopo ponderate motivazioni al fine di neutralizzare i danni che tale pubblicazione può arrecare ai fedeli più sprovveduti.”
2. “I ask you, in the event of a possible reprinting of the volumes, to clearly indicate on the first pages that the "visions" and "dictations" referred to in these volumes cannot be recognized as of supernatural origin, but must be considered simply as literary forms that the author used to recount, in her own way, the life of Jesus.” (Dionigi Tettamanzi, Secretary General of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Letter to publisher, May 6, 1992)
3. Quotation from Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, no. 14
4. 1 John 1:2-3
5. This reflection is inspired by what Benedict XVI says in Verbum Domini no. 13
6. Quotation Dei Verbum no. 8
7. Quotation Dei Verbum no. 8

Reception of the document by defenders of the work

For its defenders, Valtorta’s work:

• arises from enlightened personal conscience,
• is not doctrinally condemned,
• is spiritually fruitful and useful,
• conforms to the faith of the Church.

While the Doctrinal Commission emphasizes doctrinal and ecclesial prudence, defenders emphasize the spiritual fruits and freedom of the faithful.

1. The Index is no longer legally binding

The Doctrinal Commission maintains the censorship of the Index, abolished in 1966, without considering its corollary: the capacity to discern, ultimately, of the faithful: "The Index no longer has the force of ecclesiastical law with the censures attached to it. That is why the Church trusts the mature conscience of the faithful", even if it relies “on the vigilant solicitude” of bishops . These notions are later taken up in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (§67): “Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sense of the faithful knows how to discern and judge what, in these revelations, constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.”

2. There is no negative consensus in the Church

In 75 years, no Magisterial text has declared that the work contains formal doctrinal errors. The condemnation mentioned, the only one existing, is of a canonical disciplinary nature.

The risks denounced in the Brief warning are pastoral. The magisterial documents it claims mention only pastoral risks. Finally, the Commission warns of potential but not proven risks.

3. The value of private revelations is marginalized

The Commission only partially cites article 14 of the post-synodal exhortation Verbum Domini. The first part, which it cites, limits the role of private revelations, but the second part, initiated by Benedict XVI, delineates what they are in positive terms. This constant teaching alone serves as a basis for a true dialogue on the value and place of The Presumed Private Revelation of Maria Valtorta.

A non-recognized revelation is not necessarily a condemned revelation. This conflation is quite common, but a revelation may not yet be recognized, or may never be recognized, as specified by the procedural norms of 2024, subsequent to the Brief warning.

4. Consideration of the historical dossier is limited

The historical documentation of the dossier is very partial. It leads to fault the encouragements to publication, reading or dissemination promulgated by Popes or saints. Pope Francis’ letter to the Maria Valtorta Foundation (Viareggio) on February 24, 2024 (postdating the Brief warning) is incompatible with a work that would be condemnable or harmful. The same holds for the pastoral letters of the Archbishop of Lucca, the bishop responsible for the cause of Maria Valtorta.

5. The reading is circumstantial

The Doctrinal Commission interprets the letter of the Italian Episcopal Conference as a condemnation of supernatural origin. The later communique of the Dicastery, which reprises these terms, does not refer at all to a diocesan procedural inquiry, however prior to a judgment, nor to the usual procedural mentions required for such a condemnation (constat de non supernaturalitate). There is no prohibition to read or disseminate, but contingent provisions.

Authority in matters of faith and morals exercised over the Catholic faithful by the pope and all bishops in communion with the pope.

Solemn document of the pope or a council defining essential points of the Catholic faith.

Gift conferred by divine Grace for the common good.

Gift conferred by divine Grace for the common good.

Official document of the pope summarizing and developing guidelines for the Church resulting from the conclusions of a synod of bishops.

Manifestation of the Holy Spirit after the Bible to a person or particular group. It is individual and relative.