3) OFFICIAL CHURCH DOCUMENTS CONCERNING VASSULA
A) 1/9/1991: Declaration from the bishop of Sion-Switzerland, Mgr. Heinrich Schwery:
1. Vassula is not a Catholic. Her initiatives are purely private and have nothing to do with any official oecumenical discussion group. To support initiatives for the promotion of unity amongst Christians, one must avoid absolutely such private initiatives, which are not recognised by her own (Orthodox) church, nor by the Catholic Bishop Conference.
2. The ecumenical attitude of Vassula Ryden is ambiguous. Real ecumenism, in which we hope and which we pursue in spite of all difficulties, can only exist if all participating churches adhere loyally to their own church. Blurring and confusion cannot lead to unity. Every Christian is necessarily a member of a particular church.
3. Vassula Ryden owes her success partly to her private revelations, which she claims are dictated directly to her by Jesus Christ. We must warn the faithful against the many dangers which result from this:
3.1 Private revelations, which are accepted by others without reservations, seriously compromise the credibility of the Church. People frequently attach more belief to these private messages than to the teachings of the Church.
3.2 Private revelations must be considered as invalid as long as the Church has not officially recognised them.
3.3 A theological assessment of the private revelations of Vassula obliges the bishop of Sion to prohibit the use of these messages as a basis for prayer, meditation or study in his diocese.
Note: This clear condemnation has not extinguished the burning enthusiasm of Vassula fans in the least. In all possible languages the endless messages are spread worldwide, a commercial but dubious success. Someone who has done a lot of business with the messages of Vassula and those from a great many other not recognised apparition sites is the Swiss André Castella. In Stella Maris, November 2000, he writes the following nonsense: He who claims to speak in name of God or of Our Lady must be believed, as long as proof to the contrary has not been provided. Castella reverses the roles. (Cf. bishop of Sion, point 3.2) The inevitable happened four years later from the Vatican:
B) 6/10/1995: Declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [Rome]
(amongst others in the German Osservatore Romano no. 44 of 3/11/1995 and the French no. 44 of 31/10/1995, and in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis AAS 87 (1996) 956-957 in Italian).
Note: in l'Impartial of Nov/Dec 1995, p. 12-13, Pierre Picqué calls on all his readers to accept this ruling of the Roman Catholic Church. He reminds readers of the words of Melanie Calvat of La Salette: One must always obey the church. The publication decided to stop all further reports concerning Vassula
Declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Many bishops, priests, religious and lay people have sought an authoritative judgement from this Congregation on the activity of Mrs. Vassula Ryden, a Greek Orthodox residing in Switzerland, who in speech and in writing is spreading in Catholic circles throughout the world messages attributed to alleged heavenly revelations.
A calm, attentive examination of the entire question, undertaken by this Congregation in order to "test the spirits to see whether they are of God" (cf. 1 Jn 4:1), has brought out -in addition to positive aspects - a number of basic elements that must be considered negative in the light of Catholic doctrine.
In addition to pointing out the suspect nature of the ways in which these alleged revelations have occurred, it is necessary to underscore several doctrinal errors they contain.
Among other things, ambiguous language is used in speaking of the Persons of the Holy Trinity, to the point of confusing the specific names and functions of the Divine Persons. These alleged revelations predict an imminent period when the Antichrist will prevail in the Church. In millenarian style, it is prophesied that God is going to make a final glorious intervention which will initiate on earth, even before Christ's definitive coming, an era of peace and universal prosperity. Furthermore, the proximate arrival is foretold of a Church which would be a kind of pan-Christian community, contrary to Catholic doctrine.
The fact that the aforementioned errors no longer appear in Ryden's later writings is a sign that the alleged "heavenly messages" are merely the result of private meditations.
Moreover, by habitually sharing in the sacraments of the Catholic Church even though she is Greek Orthodox, Mrs. Ryden is causing considerable surprise in various circles of the Catholic Church. She appears to be putting herself above all ecclesiastical jurisdiction and every canonical norm, and in effect, is creating an ecumenical disorder that irritates many authorities, ministers and faithful of her own Church, as she puts herself outside the ecclesiastical discipline of the latter.
Given the negative effect of Vassula Ryden's activities, despite some positive aspects, this Congregation requests the intervention of the Bishops so that their faithful may be suitably informed and that no opportunity may be provided in their Dioceses for the dissemination of her ideas. Lastly, the Congregation invites all the faithful not to regard Mrs. Vassula Ryden's writings and speeches as supernatural and to preserve the purity of the faith that the Lord has entrusted to the Church.
Vatican City, 6 October 1995.
Note: On 25/10/95 Vassula receives from her Jesus the following message: Today, as you see, you have been sold out by your own people. You were handed over to the Romans, through one of your own, “to be condemned and to be crucified.” You self, Vassula, keep my silence. You have sufficient witnesses to defend yourself. They will remain faithful. In the meantime, while your persecutors rejoice, my seventh angel shall pour out his chalice into the air and cause everything to catch fire…Till now they have been unable to believe that this message comes from Me.
Peter Klos, SSS, president of Vox Populi Dei, Amsterdam, writes that this condemnation from Rome is invalid and the work of Satan…. It is supposed to be invalid because it lacks the signature of Cardinal Ratzinger. (AVE has the document, with the signature definitely present, editor). Only the devil himself writes anonymous letters…Klos called for a petition to the Pope on 7/11/95 to have the 6/10/95 note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith withdrawn, because it was invalid according to Peter Klos. The same Father Klos, who is continually in conflict with his superiors, obtained his wish from the Pope. Already in 1996 there appeared a new declaration, where Cardinal Ratzinger himself dotted the i’s, and in which he addressed the problem of publications of supposed private revelations in general.
C) 29/11/1996: New Declaration from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
(inter alia, this appeared in the official organ of the press office of the Vatican (Bulletin no. 447 of 29/11/1996 and in the English L’Osservatore Romano of 4/12/1996 and the A.A.S 1996, page 966):
Official Declaration from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Cardinal Ratzinger repeats the warning against Vassula Ryden. The Congregation clarifies the rules regarding supposed supernatural revelations. The following communication was released on 29 November 1996:
NOTIFICATION ON VASSULA RYDEN (Dec 1996)
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
I. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has received various questions about the value and authority of its Notification of 6 October 1995, published in L'Osservatore Romano on Monday/Tuesday, 23/24 October 1995, p. 2 (L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 25 October 1995, p. 12), regarding the writings and messages of Mrs. Vassula Ryden attributed to alleged revelations and disseminated in Catholic circles throughout the world.
In this regard, the Congregation wishes to state:
1) The Notification addressed to the Pastors and faithful of the Catholic Church retains all its force. It was approved by the competent authorities and will be published in Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the official organ of the Holy See, with the signatures of the Prefect and the Secretary of the Congregation.
2) Regarding the reports circulated by some news media concerning a restrictive interpretation of this Notification, given by His Eminence the Cardinal Prefect in a private conversation with a group of people to whom he granted an audience in Guadalajara, Mexico, on 10 May 1996, the same Cardinal Prefect wishes to state:
a) as he said, the faithful are not to regard the messages of Vassula Ryden as divine revelations, but only as her personal meditations;
b) these meditations, as the Notification explained, include, along with positive aspects, elements that are negative in the light of Catholic doctrine;
c) therefore, Pastors and the faithful are asked to exercise serious spiritual discernment in this matter and to preserve the purity of the faith, morals and spiritual life, by not relying on alleged revelations but by following the revealed Word of God and the directives of the Church's Magisterium.
II. Regarding the circulation of texts of alleged private revelations, the Congregation states:
1) The interpretation given by some individuals to a Decision approved by Paul VI on 14 October 1966 and promulgated on 15 November of that year, in virtue of which writings and messages resulting from alleged revelations could be freely circulated in the Church, is absolutely groundless. This decision actually referred to the "Abolition of the Index of Forbidden Books", and determined that - after the relevant censures were lifted – the moral obligation still remained of not circulating or reading those writings which endanger faith and morals.
2) It should be recalled however that with regard to the circulation of texts of alleged private revelations, canon 823 §1 of the current Code remains in force: "the Pastors of the Church have the right to demand that writings to be published by the Christian faithful which touch upon faith or morals be submitted to their judgement".
3) Alleged supernatural revelations and writings concerning them are submitted in first instance to the judgement of the diocesan Bishop, and, in particular cases, to the judgement of the Episcopal Conference and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The notification was subsequently published in Acta Apostolicae Sedis [Acts of the Apostolic See] - AAS, vol. LXXXVIII, N. 12 (5 December 1996), 956-957.]
Taken from: L'Osservatore Romano, Weekly Edition in English, 4 December 1996
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