THE LADY OF ALL NATIONS AND THE CHURCH
Because
of many requests, we asked Bishop emeritus Jozef Punt to give a short
summary of the development of the position of the Church regarding the
apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as “The Lady of all Nations” or
“The Mother of all Peoples,” (Amsterdam 1945 – 1959): The
Church and “the Lady of all Nations” have a long common history, on the
diocesan level, as well as on the level of the universal Church. It
started more than 70 years ago. Like most of my predecessors, I also had
known the visionary very well. She was totally reliable and very down
to earth. All her visions happened in the presence of others, and were
recorded by others. As a bishop, we have a duty to “test the spirits,”
to separate the “wheat from the chaff,” but also “hold fast to what is
good.” I cannot describe 70 years of history in detail, but shall try to
explain the central stages in this development.
In 1956,
the first local Bishop, Johannes Huibers allowed the private veneration
of the title, the image and the prayer of the Lady of All Nations, but
prohibited public veneration. This was based on the advice of a
diocesan commission, that could not yet establish a supernatural
origin. Besides that, the apparitions were still going on. In 1957, Rome
confirmed the Bishop’s disciplinary measure, adding that it did not
rule out new information presenting itself in the future. After his
retirement (1960), Bishop Huibers became more and more convinced of the
authenticity of the apparitions, as is manifested in letters to his
successor and to Rome, as well as in other documented testimonies.
In
1967, the then Bishop of Haarlem, Theodorus Zwartkruis, on the request
of many faithful and in consultation with the Congregation for the
Doctrine of Faith, decided to re-open the case. A new diocesan
commission could not draw a clear conclusion, but tended to attribute a
natural origin to the events. Yet, it advised the granting of permission
for public devotion. In 1974, the Congregation for the Doctrine of
Faith did not state that the apparitions are false, but specified that
the “non constat de supernaturalitate” position still existed, and in an
official publication confirmed the prohibition of the public veneration
from 1956 by Bishop Huibers.
In 1973, an unexpected development happened.
The sisters of a convent of Eucharistic Adoration in Akita, Japan, had
commissioned a wooden statue after the image of the Lady of all Nations,
and daily prayed the prayer of Amsterdam. In July 1973, Sister Agnes
Sasagawa heard a beautiful voice coming from the statue of the Lady of
all Nations, giving messages. Also, healings, tears and other miraculous
events at the statue happened, five times in the presence of the bishop
himself. After extensive scientific investigation by the University of
Akita, the local Bishop, John Shojiro Ito, on
April 22, 1984
approved “the supernatural character of the events.” He made a
pilgrimage to Amsterdam, and shortly before his death, he wrote a letter
(February 28, 1989) to the Bishop of Haarlem, in which he confirms that
he had approved the events regarding the statue of the Lady of all
Nations in Akita, as consisting of a supernatural origin. There is also a
deep relation of the Lady of all Nations with the Holy Eucharist, both
in Akita and in Amsterdam.
In 1984, Rome modified its position regarding Amsterdam.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith advises the then local
Bishop, Henricus Bomers, to consider making a distinction between the
title and the apparitions, expressing that the Congregation was inclined
to recognize the title. In the following years, there is ongoing
correspondence between the local bishop and the Congregation about the
possibility and the reality of such a distinction. On
April 6, 1990, the Congregation states in writing that “the Bishop of Haarlem himself should judge the advisability” of this policy.
In 1995, Rome allows the public veneration.
In that year, I was appointed auxiliary Bishop of Haarlem. At my
introduction visit to the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith,
October 1995, the Prefect, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, brought up the
issue of the devotion to The Lady of All Nations, and asked my opinion
on this topic. I responded that I was in favour of allowing public
devotion, without yet giving a judgement on the authenticity, but await
further developments. The Prefect gave permission to this policy. On
May 31, 1996,
Bishop Bomers, together with me as his auxiliary bishop, therefore
released a decree in which we allowed the public veneration of “The Lady
of all Nations,” and left the question of the authenticity to the
conscience of the faithful. The devotion sharply spread.
In 2002, in my continued responsibility as the new Bishop of Haarlem, I had to take a position on the Amsterdam apparitions.
Already for several years, I was confronted with many requests from
bishops and faithful to give clarity about the authenticity, and also in
the light of the approval of Akita. I asked some theologians and
psychologists to again study all the available material. On their
positive advice, and in my responsibility as local bishop, I then
approved the apparitions as “in essence consisting of a supernatural
origin.” In a pastoral letter, I added that the approval does not imply a
guarantee on each word or image, because the influence of the human
factor always remains. I also recalled that private revelation, even if
recognized as authentic, “does not bind the conscience of the faithful.”
In 2005, Rome required a small change in the prayer.
The last sentence of the prayer read as follows: “May the Lady of all
Nations, who once was Mary, be our Advocate. Amen.” Of course, the
Blessed Virgin retains the name, “Mary.” The name is used throughout all
the messages. In fact, Our Lady presents herself with the words: “I am
the Lady, Mary, Mother of all Peoples”. What is meant is that this
humble young woman, Mary of Nazareth, was chosen and elevated by the
Lord to become, as St. John Paul II refers to her under the titles, “the
Mother of all Humanity” and “the Mother of all Peoples.” But to avoid
misunderstanding, and in obedience, the clause was changed. Now the most
current form of the clause reads: “the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
The devotion has spread all over the world and is presently supported by hundreds of bishops and cardinals.
The prayer is translated in almost all languages of the world. The
first sentence of the prayer reads: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the
Father, send now your Spirit over the earth,” with special emphasis on
“now.” Our world needs the Holy Spirit now, more than ever. If we honour
Mary in the full greatness the Lord has granted Her, She then can fully
execute her maternal power over the heart of her Son, and obtain for us
a new descent of the Holy Spirit over our wounded world. That is the
essence of this devotion. For this reason, millions of people are
praying the Rosary and this prayer. At the Lady of All Nations prayer
day in Germany, 2019, we were happy to receive a message of greeting and
blessing on behalf of Pope Francis.
