Letter from Cardinal Seper, Prefect of the congregation
For the Sacred Doctrine Of the Faith, to Archbishop Philip
M. Hannan of New Orleans, Louisiana.
April 21, 1970
"This office has received you letter of April 1970 in which
you expressed justifiable apprehension about the diffusion
of the Garabandal movement in your Archdiocese and in which
you asked for clear and reliable guidelines from the Holy
See for dealing with this phenomenon.
"The Holy See share your perception about the manifest and
increasing confusion due to the diffusion of this movement
among the faithful and desires with this letter to clarify
its position on the matter.
"This Sacred Congregation despite requests form various Bishops
and faithful has always refused to define the supernatural
character of the events of Garabandal. After the definitive
negative judgment issued by the Curia of Santander this Sacred
Congregation, after attentive examination of the proceedings
forwarded to this office has often praised the prudence that
characterized the method followed in the examination but has
still decided to leave direct responsibility for the matter
to the local Ordinary.
"The Holy see has always held that the conclusions and dispositions
of the Bishop of Santander were sufficiently secure guidelines
for the Christian people and indications for the Bishops to
order to dissuade people from participating in pilgrimages
and other acts of devotion that are based on claims connected
with or founded on the presumed apparitions and messages of
Garabandal. On March 10, 1996, this Sacred Congregation wrote
a letter to this effect to the Bishop of Santander who had
also asked for a more explicit declaration of the Holy See
to the matter.
"However promoters of the Garabandal movement have tried to
minimize the decisions and the jurisdiction of the Bishop
of Santander. THIS SACRED CONGREGATION WANTS IT TO BE CLEARLY
UNDERSTOOD THAT THE BISHOP OF SANTANDER HAS BEEN AND CONTINUES
TO BE THE ONLY ONE WITH COMPLETE JURISDICTION IN THIS MATTER
AND THE HOLY SEE HAS NO INTENTION OF EXAMINING THIS QUESTION
ANY FURTHER, since it holds that the examinations already
carried out are sufficient as well as are the official declarations
of the Bishop of Santander. There is no truth to the statement
that the Holy See has named an Official Papal Private Investigator
of Garabandal and affirmations attributed to the anonymous
personage to the extent that the verification of the Garabandal
apparitions lies completely in the hands of the Holy Father
Pope Paul VI and other such expressions that aim at undermining
the authority of the decisions of the Bishop of Santander
are completely unfounded.
"In order to reply to certain doubts that you expressed in
your letter this Sacred Congregation wishes to assert: that
the Holy See has never approved even indirectly the Garabandal
movement, that it has never encouraged or blessed Garabandal
promoters or centers. Rather the Holy See deplores that fact
that certain persons and Institutions persist in formatting
the movement in obvious contradiction with the dispositions
of ecclesiastical authority and thus disseminate confusion
among the people especially among the simple and defenseless.
"From what has been said so far you will easily realize that
though this Sacred Congregation certainly agrees with the
contents of the note of May 10, 1969 (as published in various
countries and especially in the French magazine LA DOCUMENTATION
CATHOLIC September 21, 1966, n:1547 p. 821) It must say that
it is inexact to attribute the part of the text that deals
with the lack of supernatural character of the events of Garabandal
of the Sacred Congregation which has always striven to abstain
from any direct declaration on the question precisely because
it did not consider it necessary to do so after the clear
and express decisions of the Bishop of Santander. This is
the genuine meaning of the letter written on January 21, 1970
by the Most Reverend Paul Phillippe, Secretary of this Sacred
Congregation to the editor in chief of LA DOCUMENTATION CATHOLIQUE.
"In order to contribute further to your pastoral action in
this matter, this office is enclosing other essential documents
already published in other countries such as Spain: The two
official notices of the Bishop of Santander, two letters of
the Sacred Congregation to the same Bishop and a letter to
the Apostolic Delegate to Mexico. This office hopes in this
letter to have clarified a question that concerns not just
your Archdiocese but also other dioceses.
"With sentiments of deepest esteem and cordial respect
"I am devotedly yours,
Francis Cardinal Seper Prefect
Paul Philippe , Secretary"
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http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/statements/index.html#garabandal
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