Borg in-Nadur apparitions of the Virgin Mary ‘not divine in origin,’ Curia says
Self-styled mystic Angelik Caruana, a father of four who works as a receptionist at a home for the elderly in Floriana, attracted a group of followers when he claimed that a statue of the Virgin in his home was weeping tears of blood and oozing oil.
Matthew Agius
9 January 2016, 12:02pm
DECREE
REGARDING THE ALLEGED MYSTICAL PHENOMENA
ASSOCIATED WITH MR ANĠELIK CARUANA AND BORĠ IN
–
NADUR
During the last years, various members of the Christian faithful have asked the Ecclesiastical Authorities to
pronounce the definitive
judge
ment
of the Church regarding the alleged apparitions, the alleged messages and
the alleged mystical
phenomena associated with Mr An
ġ
elik Caruana, and associated as well, among others,
with the locality known a
s Bor
ġ
in
–
Nadur and with the p
rivate residence of
the said An
ġ
elik Caruana, both
of
which lie
within the territorial limits of the Parish of St Peter “in chains”,
Bir
ż
ebbu
ġ
a, in this Archdiocese of
Malta.
Having considered the thorough
investigations
made
on all the circumstances
regarding the case, w
hic
h
investigations were
instructed
by my predecessor, Emeritus Archbishop Mgr Paul Cremona O.P.;
Having carefully weighed the opinions of
various experts from different fields of the natural and social
sciences,
and of other experts in
spiritual theology an
d Mariology;
Taking into consideration the amount of
witnesses
heard
, and
the fact that
the said Mr
An
ġ
elik Caruana
was
confronted with the result of the investigations
;
H
aving
taken into account
the criteria and the norms promulgated by the Holy See reg
arding the discernment
of presumed apparitions and revelations;
After having consulted the College of Consultors;
After having taken the advice of the Bishop of Gozo, Mgr Mario Grech;
BY MY PASTORAL AUTHORITY
I DECREE
THAT IN THIS CASE THE JUDGEMENT
OF THE CHURCH
REGARDING THE SAID ALLEGED APPARITIONS, ALLEGED MESSAGES,
AND OTHER ALLEGED MYSTICAL PHENOMENA
IS THAT THEIR ORIGIN IS NOT DIVINE
AND THAT THEY ARE NOT TO BE REGARDED AS SUPERNATURAL:
(
CONSTAT DE NON SUPERNATURALITATE
).
Consequently
:
–
I order
Presbyters, Male and Female Religious, Catechists and all
the
Christian faithful to refrain from
the promotion, in any way whatsoever,
of
the said alleged apparitions,
the said
alleged messages and
other alleged mystical phenomena;
–
I exhort
the Christian Community in Malta to continue promoting the true devotion
towards the
Eucharist, towards the Blessed Virgin Mary, and towards the Saints according to the official Liturgy of
the Church
–
especially the celebration of the Mass and the Liturg
y of the Hours
–
and according to
the forms of devotional prayer approved by the Church, in particular the devotion of the Way of the
Cross and the recitation of the Holy Rosary;
–
I reiterate
the clear teaching of Sacred Scripture and the Church as found i
n the text of
The Catechism
of the Catholic Church (nn. 65
–
67)
:
*
Christ, the Son of God
made man, is the Father’s one, perfect and unsurpassable Word. In
him he has said everything; there will be no other word than this one.
*
“The Christian economy, theref
ore, since it is the new and definitive Covenant, will never
pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation
of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Second Vatican Council,
Dei Verbum
, 4). Yet even if Revelation is
already co
mplete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith
gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.
*
Throughout the ages, there have been so
–
called “private” revelations, some of which have
been recog
nized by the authority of the Church
(e.g. Lourdes [1858]; Fatima [1917])
;
however, they do not belong to the deposit of the faith. It is not their role “to improve” or
“complete” Christ’s definitive Revelation in a certain period of history.
*
Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the
sensus fidelium
knows how to discern and
welcome in these [private] revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his
Saints to the Church.
*
Christian faith cannot accept [private] “revelations
” that claim to surpass or correct
the
[public] Revelation of which Christ is the fulfilment.
Issued from the Archbishop’s Curia, Malta, on the 6
th
January 2016
Charles Jude Scicluna
Archbishop of Malta
(Mgr) Lawrence Gatt
Chancellor