|
DECLARATION OF THE BISHOP OF GIKONGORO, RWANDA
On Monday 2 July, the Holy See released the declaration of Bishop
Augustin Misago of Gikongoro, on the apparitions that took place
in 1982-83 in Kibeho, Rwanda. The text we offer is a translated
summary from the original 23-page French report on the apparitions
of Our Lady in Kibeho and on the work of the two commissions (medical
and theological) that studied them for the past twenty years.
Twenty years have already passed since the beginning of the study
of the dossier on the apparitions of Kibeho. These unusual phenomena
began on 28 November 1981, in the college of Kibeho.
The apparitions continued for a considerable length of time. Many
words have been spoken by the alleged visionaries, and many facts,
more or less mysterious, have taken place over the years. However,
the phenomenon of the proliferation of alleged visionaries in the
region of Kibeho and in the rest of the country might have really
disoriented public opinion.
Two study commissions, one of doctors and one of theologians, were
immediately set up by the local Bishop; they have been at work since
April 1982.
On 15 August 1988, the local Bishop decided to approve a public
devotion linked to the apparitions of Kibeho. Recognizing the legitimacy
of this devotion, he deliberately put aside two questions whose
solution was of capital importance for the future:
—Did the Virgin Mary and Jesus appear in Kibeho as some alleged
visionaries affirm?
—If so, what visionary, man or woman, can be believed, in
view of the large number of people who in those days began to talk
about visions and messages from heaven?
The advanced state of the study commissions' work now offers sufficient
elements to allow competent ecclesiastical authorities to pronounce
definitively on this question.
As a result, Bishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro, who represents
this authority, has published his declaration concerning the definitive
judgement on the apparitions of Kibeho, Rwanda. This important event
in the history of the Diocese of Gikongoro, as in the life of the
Church in Rwanda, took place on 29 June 2001, on the solemnity of
Sts Peter and Paul, during a solemn Mass concelebrated in the cathedral
of Gikongoro.
All the Catholic bishops of Rwanda with the Apostolic Nuncio of
Kigali were present, together with many priests, religious and lay
faithful from various parishes and religious communities of the
Diocese of Gikongoro, but also from other Dioceses of the country.
Bishop Misago, who was the main celebrant of the Mass, personally
read, in front of the assembly, the long-awaited Declaration, but
only its most significant passages, for lack of time. The 23 page
text is composed of three parts or chapters.
1. Explanation of the facts
The first part (pp. 1-10) consists in a brief exposition of the
facts, in which the Bishop primarily establishes some historical
reference points, then he presents the elements of the message and
finally he shows how the apparitions of Kibeho have born fruit,
good fruit, in spite of the difficult moments that Rwanda and the
other countries of the Great Lakes region have lived in the last
10 years.
II. Studies and conclusions
The second part (pp. 11-19) is the heart of the matter. It begins
by recalling the initiatives to promote the devotion to Our Lady
taken by Bishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro. In 1988 his predecessor
authorized public devotion at the site of the apparitions. He was
Bishop Jean Baptiste Gahamanyi, of the Diocese of Butare, from which
the Diocese of Kibeho was cut off. After a comment on the new phases
of the work of the commissions, the Bishop declared that the dossier
is ready and so the moment has come to publish the conclusions,
summed up in 16 points.
We mention here some statements that govern the rest of the document.
The Bishop declared as follows:
The three initial authentic testimonies of the apparitions at Kibeho
1. Yes, the Virgin Mary appeared at Kibeho on 28 November 1981 and
in the months that followed. There are more reasons to believe in
the apparitions than to deny them. Only the three initial testimonies
merit being considered authentic; they were given by Alphonsine
Mumureke, Nathalie Mukamazimpaka, and by Marie Claire Mukangango.
The Virgin appeared to them with the name "Nyina wa Jambo",
that is "Mother of the Word", which is synonymous to "Umubyeyl
W'iamna" that is, "Mother of God", as she herself
explained.
2. Various reasons justify the choice by Our Lady of these three
visionaries already recognized as visionaries. These witnesses,
historically linked, were the only ones on the scene for some months,
at least up to June 1982. They are the ones who made Kibeho known
as a place of apparitions and pilgrimage causing crowds of people
to flock there. What is more important is that Alphonsine, Nathalie
and Marie Claire corresponded satisfactorily to all the criteria
established by the Church in the matter of private apparitions and
revelations. In contrast, the evolution of the alleged subsequent
visionaries, especially after the apparitions were over, reflects
disquieting personal situations, which have reinforced the existing
reservations in regard to them and discouraged ecclesiastical authorities
from proposing them to the faithful as points of reference.
3. In the evaluation of the facts and the messages, only the public
apparitions are taken into consideration. Public are those apparitions
that take place in the presence of various testimonies, which does
not necessarily mean a crowd.
The most active period of these apparitions ended with the year
1983. Everything said or done after that date at Kibeho did not
bring anything new with respect to what was already known, from
the point of view of the messages and of the signs of credibility.
This is also validfor Alphonsine who continued to attract many people
up to the end of her apparitions.
First two years of apparitions at Kibeho
4. The first two years of the apparitions at Kibeho (1982 and 1983)
constitute a decisive period for whoever wishes to know what happened
and form an opinion. In fact it was during these two years that
significant events were produced. These made Kibeho known and caused
crowds to flock there. It was always in that period that the fundamental
elements of the message of Kibeho were communicated and recapitulated
and the apparitions of the major part of the first visionaries ended.
5. In the case of the three visionaries named above, who are at
the origin of the fame of Kibeho, nothing that they said or did
during the apparitions is contrary to Christian faith and morals.
Their message is in conformity with the Sacred Scripture and the
living Tradition of the Church.
The alleged apparitions of Jesus reported at Kibeho beginning in
July 1982 are not taken into consideration in this Declaration for
various reasons, primarily because the alleged visionaries of Jesus
known to the pilgrims of Kibeho, developed disquieting personal
situations. Regarding instead the first visionaries of the Virgin
Mary, "no decisive objection has been formulated against the
apparitions; the arguments in favour of their supernatural character
appear to be very serious and the passing of the years has only
made them more incisive".
Usefulness of apparitions for applying Gospel to current
events
"The recognition or negation of the authenticity of an apparition
does not guarantee infallibility; it is based on proofs of probability
more than on apodictic arguments". In the sphere of the apparitions
there is then no absolute certainty for the witnesses, except perhaps
for the visionary. The definitive judgement about the Apparitions
of Kibeho should be interpreted in this spirit. The recognition
of these apparitions should not be considered a requirement of faith.
Therefore each Christian is free to believe or not.
"A recognized apparition, that strengthens the life of faith
and prayer, is certainly a powerful help for Shepherds of souls,
but the message linked to this apparition is not a new revelation;
it is rather a way of recalling the ordinary teaching of the Church,
which has been forgotten".
III. Pastoral directives: Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows and public
devotion
The third part of the Declaration (pp. 20-23) contains a group of
pastoral directives that indicate to the faithful the line of conduct
to follow in this context, in particular for all that regards the
exercise of public Marian devotion linked to the apparitions of
Kibeho already officially recognized. These practical instructions
repeat in part what Bishop Jean Baptiste Gahamanyi had formulated
in his three known Pastoral Letters on the events of Kibeho. The
Bishop of Gikongoro completes them adding others, judged opportune
in the present circumstances.
The name given to the Marian sanctuary at Kibeho is "Shrine
of Our Lady of Sorrows", as the Bishop had anticipated when
the first stone was laid, 28 November 1992, and repeated in his
message of 15 September 1996, with fuller explanations.
"That Kibeho become a place of pilgrimage and of encounter
for all who seek Christ and who come there to pray, a fundamental
centre of conversion, of reparation for the sins of the world and
of reconciliation, a point of meeting for 'all who were dispersed',
as for those who aspire to the values of compassion and fraternity
without borders, a fundamental centre that recalls the Gospel of
the Cross" (from the Declaration).
The Declaration, formulating a definitive judgement on the apparitions
of Kibeho, permits the clarification of a situation which was ambiguous
for many faithful for a long time, and for public opinion, not only
at Kibeho but in the whole country. "in the great number of
celebrations for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 of the Redemption
and of the Centenary of evangelization in Rwanda, this Declaration
makes it possible to respond to the expectations of the People of
God and to bring new enthusiasm to the public devotion recognized
already for 13 years".
The complete text printed in Kinyarwanda and in French is available
at the diocesan offices of Gikongoro.
Gikongoro, 29 June 2001
Rev. Ignace Mboneyabo
Chancellor of the Diocese
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taken from:
L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
11 Jult 2001, page 8
L'Osservatore Romano is the newspaper of the Holy See.
The Weekly Edition in English is published for the US by:
The Cathedral Foundation
L'Osservatore Romano English Edition
320 Cathedral St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
Subscriptions: (410) 547-5315
Fax: (410) 332-1069
lormail@catholicreview.org
|
