Apparitions in the News

Many visions and miracles are recorded in the Scriptures. After the Resurrection, Christ appeared to "Peter and then to the Twelve" (I Cor. 15:5). Paul spoke of "visions and revelations" from the Lord (Cor. 12:1-6), and the deacon Stephen saw the heavens open and Christ at the right hand of God the Father (Acts 7:55-56).

Christ worked many miracles of healing, but, at the same time, he did not appear to encourage the search for miracles. "An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given therm except the sign of Jonah" (Mt. 16:4). In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, Christ announces that no messenger from the next world will be sent to the brothers of the rich man to have them repent. . "If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from tile dead" (Lk. 17.31). Finally, we have Christ's words to Thomas after the apostle placed his hand on the side of the risen Lord. "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed" (Jn. 20:29).

Similarly, throughout Christian history, there has been the grateful reception of miracles and apparitions when they occur, together with the acknowledgment that such phenomena are not a substitute for faith in God. The Church preserves the centrality and final revelation given in the person, acts, and words of Jesus Christ, while at the same time honoring the special insights of the saints many of whom received messages through apparitions. The Church takes the middle course between an empiricism which would a priori reject the miraculous and a credulity which accepts anything extraordinary as being miraculous.

The revelations accorded to St. Bridget of Sweden were considered at the Councils of Constance (1414-18) and Basle (1431-49). The Fifth Lateran Council (1512-17) reserved the approval of new prophecies and revelations to the Holy See; however, the Council of Trent (1545-63) authorized bishops to investigate and approve such a phenomenon before public worship could take place. Prospero Lambertini (1675-1758), the future Benedict XIV, provided several rules for discernment of private revelations and the miracles needed with the canonization of saints. Such events must present themselves to human reason as being truly extraordinary and beyond the scope of any demonic influence nor of natural causes.

The Code of Canon Law of 1917 (1399, #5) forbade the publication of anything about "new apparitions, revelations, visions, prophecies, and miracles" without the local bishop's approbation. In 1969, Paul Vl, implementing Vatican II's statement on the right of the mass media to information, lifted the requirement that all writings about apparitions needed ecclesiastical approval before publication.

Since 1969, and especially after 1981 (the beginning of the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje), reports of apparitions are frequent, "numerous and even disturbing," in the words of Fr. Rene Laurentin at a recent conference at Czestochowa. "Eye-witness" television cameras quickly transmit reports of alleged apparitions across the world".

"Visions multiply by imitation" (Tavard), that is, a wellknown apparition seems to encourage reports of similar ones. There were 210 claims of Marian apparitions between 1928 and 1971 (Carroll, Theotokos), and in the last few years there are claims of over 200 Marian apparitions. New Age and Christian bookstores now have almost as many books on apparitions and miracles as they have on angels.

The discerarnent of apparitions and miracles is the responsibility of the local bishop, and ordinarily the Vatican does not become involved in the process. However, two items show the Vatican's concern about the issue. The Activities of the Holy See (1996) noted that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was studying correlations present with the phenomenon: "alleged apparitions are] frequently joined with claims of supernatural messages, and with weeping statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary or of saints." It is the right and responsibility of local bishops to investigate and make judgments about alleged apparitions; at the same time, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has an obligation of "guidance and vigilance."

Apparitions were also noted in the study document for the Special Assembly for America of the Synod of Bishops (Encounter with the Living Jesus Christ: Way to Conversion, Communion and Solidarity). The document acknowledges that in some places, apparitions are a cause of division within the local church. "Within the church community, the multiplication of supposed 'apparitions' or 'visions' is sowing confusion and reveals a certain lack of a solid basis to the faith and Christian life among her members. On the other hand, these negative aspects in their own way reveal a certain thirst for spiritual things which, if properly channeled, can be the point of departure for a conversion to faith in Christ" (33).

In a recent interview at Fatima, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger spoke about visions and apparitions: "To all curious people, I would say I am certain that the Virgin does not engage in sensationalism; she does not act in order to instigate fear. She does not present apocalyptic visions, but guides people to her Son. And this is what is essential."

Cardinal Ratzinger is one of the few who has read the much-discussed third secret of Fatima. It is not, he said, "sensational or apocalyptic." He continued, "Preoccupation with the message and its presumed predictions of catastrophe are not part of a healthy Marian devotion. The Madonna did not appear to children, to the small, to the simple, to those unknown in the world in order to create a sensation." Mary's purpose "is, through these simple ones, to call the world back to simplicity, that is, to the essentials: conversion, prayer, and the sacraments."

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This page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, was last Modified February 5, 2001 by Jim Danis. Please send any comments to ROTEN@data.lib.udayton.edu.

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