Conditional imprimatur of the Italian Episcopal Conference
At the time of these events, its president was Cardinal Camillo Ruini (1931-), appointed by John Paul II. This cardinal is known for his doctrinal orthodoxy. Its Secretary General, signatory of the letter, was Monsignor Dionigi Tettamanzi (1934–2017). He later became Archbishop of Genoa and then of Milan.
The context
This letter is apparently motivated by "numerous requests, including those addressed to this Secretariat," to know the position of the Church on the writings of Maria Valtorta. Monsignor Dionigi Tettamanzi asks the publisher for his "collaboration" in a spirit of "true good for the readers and with a view to an authentic service to the faith of the Church," to clearly indicate in any reprints of the work that the visions and dictations it contains "must be considered" as mere literary forms used by Maria Valtorta to tell, in her own way, the life of Jesus.
The approach seems unusual because the appropriate interlocutor for a publisher is the bishop of his place of ministry (here, Monsignor Biagio Musto, Bishop of Sora), the tone of the letter is particularly collaborative and "cordial," and finally, the final request raises questions about its meaning and the authority to be given to it.
The publisher, arguing his willingness to publish such a warning to readers but not feeling competent to formulate it himself, wrote to Monsignor Dionigi Tettamanzi to ask for the text to insert[1]. He never received a reply.
The letter
| Reconstructed Italian text | Indicative English translation |
|---|---|
| Conferenza Episcopale Italiana - Prato N. 324/92
Roma, 6 maggio 1992 Stimatissimo Editore, In seguito a frequenti richieste, che giungono anche a questa Segreteria, di un parere circa l'atteggiamento dell'Autorità Ecclesiastica sugli scritti di Maria Valtorta, attualmente pubblicati dal "Centro Editoriale Valtortiano", rispondo rimandando al chiarimento offerto dalle "Note" pubblicate da "L'Osservatore Romano" il 6 gennaio 1960 e il 15 giugno 1966. Proprio per il vero bene dei lettori e nello spirito di un autentico servizio alla fede della Chiesa, sono a chiederLe che, in un' eventuale ristampa dei volumi, si dica con chiarezza fin dalle prime pagine che le "visioni" e i "dettati" in es si riferiti non possono essere ritenuti di origine soprannaturale, ma devono essere considerati semplicemente forme letterarie di cui si è servita l'Autrice per narrare, a suo modo, la vita di Gesù. Grato per questa collaborazione, Le esprimo la mia stima e Le porgo i miei rispettosi e cordiali saluti. + Dionigi Tettamanzi Segretario Generale Spettabile Centro Editoriale Valtortiano Via Po, 95 03036 ISOLA DEL LIRI (FR)" |
Italian Episcopal Conference Prato No. 324/92 Rome, 6 May 1992
To the Publisher, In response to frequent requests, which also reach this Secretariat, regarding the attitude of the Ecclesiastical Authority towards the writings of Maria Valtorta, currently published by the Centro Editoriale Valtortiano, I reply by referring to the clarification offered by the "Notes" published in L’Osservatore Romano on 6 January 1960 and 15 June 1966. Precisely for the true good of the readers and in the spirit of an authentic service to the faith of the Church, I ask you that, in any possible reprint of the volumes, it be clearly stated from the first pages that the "visions" and "dictations" referred to therein should not be considered of supernatural origin but must be regarded simply as literary forms used by the Author to narrate, in her own way, the life of Jesus. Grateful for this collaboration, I express my esteem and extend my respectful and cordial greetings.
To the attention of Centro Editoriale Valtortiano Via Po, 95 03036 ISOLA DEL LIRI (FR) |
Comments
The CEI letter fits within a tradition of caution in the Catholic Church regarding mystical or private writings[2], especially when they claim a supernatural origin[3]. The references to the "Notes" in L’Osservatore Romano (1960, placed on the Index, and 1966, removal from the Index) remind us that the Church had already taken a position on these texts some sixty years earlier.
The tone kept by Monsignor Dionigi Tettamanzi is respectful and cooperative, reflecting a pastoral approach: the Church does not condemn (or no longer condemns) the work but regulates its reception to avoid deviations, notably the one expressed by Cardinal Josef Ratzinger in his 1985 letter. By requesting to explicitly mention in the reprints that the "visions" and "dictations" mentioned should be considered Maria Valtorta’s literary work, the CEI demonstrates a will to protect the faithful against a literal interpretation or an unregulated devotion.
Although the Church no longer forbids publication, does not mention any correction to the work, nor denounces any error affecting faith or morals, it invites readers of Maria Valtorta to a critical reading: Valtorta’s texts should be read as a spiritual and narrative work, not as a supplement (or worse, a substitute) to the Gospels.
This letter, whose provenance was later known to be commissioned by Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, is consistent with the approval of Maria Valtorta’s work given with a 76-year interval by Pope Pius XII and Pope Francis, but imposes a reading discipline, the one governing private revelations in general and all the more so those of Maria Valtorta, based on historical visions of the Gospel she claims in its very title: The Gospel as Revealed to Me.
Origin and authority of the document
It was in 1993, in a letter from Monsignor Raymond J. Boland, bishop of Birmingham in Alabama, that we learned it was Cardinal Josef Ratzinger himself who asked the Italian Episcopal Conference to write, before the influx of requests, this letter to the publisher[4]. The terms and motivation are the same, but Monsignor Dionigi Tettamanzi adds a more friendly tone.
It is the same content, for the same reason, which is taken up by the Dicastery in its statement (22 February 2025). It adds that the Church cannot officially recognize the divine origin of Maria Valtorta's writings as it reserves this guarantee only for the canon of Scripture (the Bible in summary).
This formulation, repeated three times identically, expresses the official position and not a judgment (as some believed). For it to be a judgment, this would have to meet formal procedures and criteria which are not present in the 22 February 2025 statement: five times, it departs from the Procedural Norms provided for this purpose.
The meaning of the CEI letter of 1992 (which is found identically in that of 1993 and in the 2025 statement) was clarified by the Maria Valtorta Association to Monsignor Paolo Giulietti on 17 April 2023. This archbishop is the referent ("Ordinary") for the case of Maria Valtorta. He replied:"In my opinion, Monsignor Tettamanzi's letter to the Italian publisher at the time was intended to specify that one must not compare the revelation of the Gospel with the revelations received by Maria Valtorta. You know, the Index was in any case an evolving tool: even the Bible was placed on the Index and, for centuries, it was not possible for an ordinary Christian to read or possess it[5]. On the other hand, many signs indicate that the writings of Maria Valtorta cannot come only from her and her limited historical and biblical knowledge: what she writes, in some parts, cannot be simply of natural origin. However, if someone reads Maria Valtorta's account thinking it is on the same level as the Gospels, he is gravely mistaken. Finally, regarding the mystical experience, one must take into account that the relationship between what God says and what man understands is conditioned by the culture and knowledge of the person receiving the locutions."
Notes and references
- ↑ Letter of 27 May 1992 and 6 July 1992 (Maria Valtorta, What to Think? Elements of Discernment, CEV 2024, pp. 171–174.
- ↑ PIUS X, Pascendi Dominici gregis, 8 September 1907, §75: "These Apparitions or revelations [even if recognized] have been neither approved nor condemned by the Holy See, which simply allowed them to be considered purely human according to the traditions recounting them, corroborated by trustworthy testimonies and monuments".
- ↑ See Procedural Norms for the Discernment of Presumed Supernatural Phenomena (17 May 2024)
- ↑ This explains why the publisher never received a reply to his request for an official text to be inserted: Monsignor Dionigi Tettamanzi was merely transmitting a position he was not the author of.
- ↑ This refers to the prohibition that the faithful read or possess unapproved translations. Monsignor Giulietti alludes to the time when reading a Bible translated into one's own language required episcopal permission.