Vatican approves the Marian devotion rooted in a Mount of Slovakia without recognizing the appearances

The Dicasteria for the Doctrine of Faith granted the Nothing stands in the decir Nothing opposes – to the Marian devotion linked to the alleged appearances of the Virgin Mary on Mount Zvir, near the town of Litmanova, in the northwest of Slovakia, produced between 1990 and 1995, without recognizing its supernatural character.

The cartasigned by Cardinal Prefect Víctor Manuel Fernández and addressed to Archbishop Jonáš Jzef Maxim, the leader of the prešov archiearchy for Catholics of Byzantine Rite, recognizes the pastoral value of the phenomenon and authorizes public cult, without pronouncing on the supernatural authenticity of the appearances.

The purple affirms in the letter, published by the Vatican Dicastery, that the discernment “has taken into account the abundant spiritual fruits generated by this phenomenon.”

The decision responds to the formal request of Archbishop Maxim, who in letters sent to the Vatican in February and May of this year, said “the innumerable sincere and deep confessions” and the conversions experienced by the pilgrims, which continue to occur in the sanctuary, despite the fact that the alleged appearances concluded three decades ago. The Slovak prelate also highlighted the constant flow of pilgrims who have not stopped going to the place, manifesting a constant faith.

Cardinal Fernández highlights several messages attributed to the Virgin who offer invitations to conversion, to joy and inner freedom. One of the most cited texts, urges: “Let Jesus free you. Let Jesus make you free. And do not allow your enemy to limit your freedom, for which Jesus shed so much blood. The free soul is the soul of a child” (December 5, 1993).

On several occasions, the Marian figure is presented as “happy” and repeats expressions of unconditional love: “I love you, as you are. I love you. I love you! I want you to be happy, but this world will never make you happy” (August 7, 1994).

The faithful are also invited to live a simple and deep spirituality: “begin to live in a simple way, to think in a simple way and act in a simple way. Look for silence so that the Spirit of Christ can be born again within you” (June 5, 1994).

Some ambiguities

In any case, the Dicastery for the doctrine of faith recognizes that “some messages contain ambiguities or unclear formulations”, such as the one that suggests that a region of the world would be almost entirely condemned, or the one that states that “the cause of all disease is sin.”

These messages have not been considered acceptable by the Vatican for publication. However, the Argentine cardinal recalls in the letter that, already in 2011, a doctrinal commission dedicated to investigating these appearances explained that the alleged seers did not listen to messages in human language, but lived inland experiences that then tried to translate, which explains certain imprecisters or personal interpretations.

Therefore, the purple of the Roman curia asked the Archbishop of Prešov to publish a compilation of these messages without taking into account those statements that may generate confusion or disturb the faith of the singles.

For his part, the Vatican made it clear that the nothing stands It does not equal the recognition of a supernatural intervention, but it does allow public cult and encourages the faithful to approach without fear of this spiritual proposal, whose contents can help to live in greater depth the Gospel of Christ.

A living sanctuary

Mount Zvir, three kilometers from the town of Litmanova, has been a place of pilgrimage for thousands of faithful, especially by Byzantine rite. In the alleged appearances, which began on August 5, 1990, three children were present: Ivetka Korcáková, Katka Ceselková and Mitcho Ceselka.

This step of the Dicastery for the doctrine of faith is possible thanks to the new norms on supernatural phenomena, Posted in May 2024which foresee varying degrees of discernment, from the nothing stands even negative judgments, allowing to value with more flexibility the spiritual experiences lived by the communities.

Since it entered into force just over a year ago, it is the dicastery for the doctrine of faith, and not the local bishops, which is pronounced on these facts, and the process of discernment of the Catholic Church no longer ends “with a declaration of supernaturalitate (supernatural) ”.

The objective of the reform of the regulations, which Pope Francis approved was to avoid fraud and scams that take advantage of the goodwill of the faithful.