Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta - 2003 EWTN Meeting

2003 - EWTN Meeting in Atlanta with the Postulation of Luisa Piccarreta

For several years an incongruity had existed between the fame of holiness of Luisa Piccarreta, which includes the canonization of one of her spiritual sons, St. Annibale de Francia, together the establishment of a Cause for her own beatification, and the confusion and controversy surrounding her name and spirituality, especially in the United States. It has never seemed justified to attribute this confusion to the Servant of God, but rather to poor translations, rash interpretations of her writings, and a lack of theological competence by some who try to explain her writings. For this reason, EWTN has always urged Catholics to use great caution, until such time as clarity could be brought to the situation by ecclesiastical authority.

Toward this end, EWTN contacted the Holy See and the then Archbishop of Trani, Italy, Giovanni Picchierri, where Luisa lived and died and where in 1994 the Diocesan phase of a Cause for her Beatification was opened in 1994. This contact resulted in a letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith as well as the sending of the Postulation's Promoter of the Faith, Father Bernardino Bucci, OFM Cap., to the United States. His purpose was to answer EWTN's questions and to meet with various groups who promote the spirituality of Luisa Piccarreta. His official capacity was certified by the Archdiocese in the Certificate he supplied. Deacon Bill Steltemeier, and myself (Colin Donovan), met with Fr. Bucci for several hours in Atlanta, during which time he answered our questions and provided the following important clarifications, many of them in writing (as documented below). I have summarized our meeting and the documents as follows:

1. The Servant of God

Luisa Piccarreta lived a holy life of prayer and suffering, attested to by her contemporaries and with a fame of holiness to this day. She was always obedient and submissive to the Church in everything. This is precisely known, since from 1884 until her death in 1947 she was under the care of confessors appointed by her bishop. On this basis the Archbishop of Trani, with the permission of the Holy See, opened her Cause for Beatification in 1994. The investigation has confirmed these facts without any doubt. Any attribution of heterodoxy to her constitutes a grave injustice [cf. Clarifications 1-6].

Addendum: On October 29, 2005, Archbishop Pichierri declared the diocesan process of the Cause for the Beatification of the Servant of God favorably completed, and he committed the documentation to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints for its Roman phase.

2. Her Writings

Writing under obedience, Luisa Piccarreta wrote two small texts Life of the Blessed Virgin and Hours of the Passion. She later produced 36 numbered manuscripts, in which she elaborated what she received in prayer about living in the Divine Will. These texts were written in her region's dialect of Italian, rather than in standard Italian, a factor which complicates accurate translation of the sense of her writings.

A number of the early volumes were reviewed, and published, by Saint Annibale de Francia (+1927), in his capacity as confessor and diocesan censor. In 1938, however, this activity ended, when three of her works (annotated by another person) were put on the Index of Forbidden Books. The balance of her writings were taken into custody by the Holy Office (now called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, or CDF), where they remained sequestered until 1994. 

In 1994, the Holy See authorized the Cause for the Beatification of Luisa Piccarreta, now designated Servant of God, by granting it the nihil obstat ("nothing stands in the way"). Retaining the original volumes, the Congregation allowed the Postulation to photocopy the writings for study, and for the production of a critical edition. 

Some other copies of the writings, however, are in circulation, both from before 1938 as well as photocopied in 1994 from the editions held by the CDF. These latter have neither the approval or the imprimatur ("let it printed") of the Archbishop of Trani, who is the legal owner of Luisa's writings. While the Archdiocese has allowed some small publishers in English to exhaust their stocks of the first two books (Life of the Blessed Virgin and Hours of the Passion), in the future the Archdiocese alone will produce the authorized translations of the writings, based on the critical edition. This edition will also contain explanatory theological notes. The Postulation is not now granting, or encouraging, publication and promotion of the writings (except as noted above), so as not to create obstacles to the Cause. [cf. Clarifications 7-9, 11, 14; and the Communique of 5 August 2003]

As for the status of the writings with the Holy See, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith affirmed the following in a letter to EWTN of 4 October 2003,

The writings of Luisa Piccarreta have not been judged by this Dicastery: as such they enjoy neither the official approbation, nor the official condemnation, of this Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In fact, they are currently being studied, by reason of competence, by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, after this Servant of God, independently of the content of her writings, received the nihil obstat of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith regarding her cause for beatification. 

As such, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith makes, at this time, no pronouncement on the writings in question.

It should be noted that as of the close of the Diocesan phase of the Cause in October 2005, the typical edition of the writings had been prepared for delivery to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints which, together with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will review it. Only after review could the critical edition of the writings be publicly released.  [Clarifications 2-3,7-8]

3. Interpreting her Writings

The Servant of God's writings should be interpreted according to the mind and teaching of the Church. Even if they are ultimately judged to be of supernatural origin, they necessarily correspond also to the mystic's own mentality, which was that of a simple pious person and not a theologian. In keeping with Catholic mystical theology, this must be taken into account in judging what she wrote down of her experiences. At present there is not yet as authoritative interpretation of her writings (see n. 2 above). The Diocesan Process judged only her life and heroic virtues, and is preparing the critical edition of the writings with commentary, for the review of the Holy See, which alone can give a definitive judgment and explanation.

4. Conferences

In 1998 the now retired Archbishop of Trani, Carmelo Cassati, ordered the suspension in the United States of Divine Will Conferences, because of the controversies noted earlier. While this suspension no longer applies, the following statements govern conferences in the U.S. and throughout the world.

a. The Archbishop can only directly authorize priests under his authority, such as Fr. Bucci, to speak on Luisa and her spirituality. However, priests who have a letter from their own Bishop permitting them to speak on Luisa, and who are conversant with both her writings and Catholic theology, can have their Bishop request a letter from the Archbishop of Trani which authorizes them to speak officially. They can then present the Archbishop's letter to the bishops of locales where they wish to give conferences.

b. The Archbishop will only grant public speaking permission to priests, and then only about the life and virtues of the Servant of God. Lay persons will no longer be permitted to teach publicly, either about the spirituality of the Divine Will, or regarding her life and virtues. All conferences presented by priests without this letter, or by laity, would not represent the Postulation.

c. While unable to regulate what local bishops might allow, the Postulation is discouraging Catholics from attending conferences given by individuals without a letter of authorization from the Archbishop of Trani, Italy.  (cf. Clarifications 14)

5. Reading her Writings

While the Postulation does not have the authority to prohibit the reading of Luisa's writings that are in circulation, no one is permitted to publish her Diary of 36 volumes. Exceptions have been made for the following writings of Luisa: The 24 Hours of the Passion, The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will, and her Letters, as well as for the works of Padre Bernardino Bucci about Luisa. Prayer groups are encouraged to study these approved books until such time as the official typical edition is published in conformity with the doctrine of the Church and the approval of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. [Clarifications 8, 14]

6. Prayer Groups

The Postulation encourages prayer groups in the various dioceses of the world, in order to spread Luisa's fame of holiness. It especially desires that her great devotion to the Mother of God be imitated. It urges, whenever possible, that groups be conducted under the guidance of a prudent priest of proven orthodoxy. The supervision of prayer groups falls under the competence of each diocesan bishop. 

The Postulation also encourages prayer to Luisa, and the careful documentation and reporting of any favors received through the intercession of the Servant of God. However, in keeping with the norms of the Holy See, while there may be private prayer and veneration (i.e. outside the church setting), there must be no public veneration (cultus) of Luisa, as would be given to a blessed or saint (public liturgies or devotions, images in churches, etc.) . This would constitute a grave obstacle to the Cause, as it belongs to the Holy Father alone, with the Beatification of an individual, to permit public veneration. [cf. Clarifications 10, 12-13]