Unapproved Private Revelations and the Mission of the Marian Catechist Apostolate

Marian Catechist Apostolate International Office Memorandum

TO: All Members
FROM: Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, International Director
SUBJECT: Private Revelations and the Mission of the Marian Catechist apostolate
DATE: May 8, 2019

Laudetur Iesus Christus!

I offer a counsel for Marian Catechists regarding the promotion of unapproved private revelations. Private revelations are those “supernatural manifestations by God of hidden truths made to private individuals for their own spiritual welfare or that of others,”[1] many of which are a source of inspiration and can be spiritually beneficial.

The Servant of God Father John A. Hardon, S.J., strongly opposed the involvement of the Marian Catechist Apostolate in promoting unapproved private revelations. It is not at all that he doubted that there are private revelations or that he thought that they were harmful, but he rightly saw that the Marian Catechists, who by nature are devout Catholics, could easily lose their focus, if the direction of the Apostolate became that of promoting private revelations, of which, as I am sure you know, there are many – some of which have been studied and approved, and some of which have not.

 Approved private revelations may be used as an effective tool in evangelization and catechesis, but as Marian Catechists the majority of our time and energy should be focused on promoting the doctrines of the Catholic Faith. Thus, it is not my intention to discourage the study and reference of approved private revelations as a tool in catechesis, but rather to emphasize as our priority the mission of the Marian Catechist Apostolate which God gave to the Servant of God Father Hardon and to us who are his spiritual children, which is the formation of catechists, both doctrinally and spiritually, for the teaching of the Catholic Faith.

The world has never needed more the solid teaching and direction which Our Lord, in His immeasurable and unceasing love of man, deemed to pass on through His Church.  To reiterate, it is not my intention to discourage the study of approved private revelations and their possible use as a tool in catechesis, but to convey that the focus of the Marian Catechist Apostolate is on teaching and spreading the doctrines of the Catholic Faith in a time when the majority of Catholics are poorly catechized and in a world in which atheistic materialism and relativism continue to promote confusion and division in the Church and to ravage the cultures of many nations, to the detriment of countless souls.

Thank you for all that you do so faithfully in serving the mission of the Marian Catechist Apostolate. May God reward you.

God bless you, your family, and all your labors, and may Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego, Saint Michael the Archangel and Saint Joseph guide and protect you.

Yours in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and in the Purest Heart of Saint Joseph,

Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke

[1] Modern Catholic Dictionary, John A. Hardon, S.J. (Bardstown, KY: Eternal Life, 1999), p. 451.