Maria Valtorta - Controversy

Controversy

Supporters of Maria Valtorta argue that, according to canon law, the Roman Pontiff has full power over the whole Church, hence the initial approval given by Pope Pius XII effectively nullified any subsequent ruling by the Holy Office. The detractors argue that the same canon law applied to Pope John XXIII when he signed the order to place the work on the Index. However, in 1963 Pope Paul VI succeeded John XXIII and abolished the Index altogether in 1965. Valtorta followers argue that this in effect nullified the suppression of 1959 since the Index no longer existed after 1965. Those opposed to the book considered the abolition of the Index as not reversing the Church's opinion of the work. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) while acting as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1985 wrote that "the Index retains its moral force despite its dissolution." Valtorta supporters point to the fact that the long list of books on the Forbidden Index also included writings by Jean-Paul Sartre, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume, René Descartes, Francis Bacon, John Milton, John Locke, Galileo Galilei, Blaise Pascal and Saint Faustina Kowalska, among others. But some authors (e.g. Karl Marx or Adolf Hitler) whose views are generally considered highly unacceptable to the Church were never put on the Index.

At the moment the official position of the Catholic Church with respect to the book is less than clear. The Catholic Church does not endorse the book, yet does not ban it either, although church officials have made occasional comments about it. The last formal action taken by the Vatican with respect to the book was in 1992, when Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, the Secretary General of the Italian Bishops' Conference, wrote to the publisher Emilio Pisani. In his letter, Tettamanzi requested that a paragraph be added to the first few pages of the book disclaiming any supernatural origin for the work. The publisher assumes that the letter indicates that the Italian Bishops' Conference sees nothing in the work that contradicts the doctrines of the Church, yet some detractors claim that the letter intended to classify the work as fiction. Since 1993 the Catholic Church has chosen to remain silent on its position with respect to the work.

The Poem of the Man God was eventually published as a 4,000 page multi-volume book and has since been translated into 10 languages and received the imprimatur and approval of several Catholic bishops and Cardinals worldwide. Valtorta's other literary works include historical notes on the early Catholic Church and martyrs and comments on biblical texts, as well as some religious poems and compositions.

The Poem of the Man God has, however, also drawn criticism from a variety of theologians and skeptics, who claim internal inconsistencies, friction with the Holy See and theological errors of the Biblical account of the Gospel and Catholic dogma.

Regarding the issue of internal consistency and correspondence with the Gospels, Valtorta supporters point to the fact that ever since Saint Augustine of Hippo addressed the Augustinian hypothesis in the 5th Century, religious scholars have been debating issues regarding the comparison of various texts with the Gospels, at times with no clear resolution. Such debates still take place among experts even on issues regarding the Church Canons and the early Gospels themselves. Valtorta supporters point to the fact that the Poem of the Man God seems to provide solutions to some synoptic debates such as those regarding Luke 22:66 and Matthew 26:57 on the Trial of Jesus by providing simple explanations that resolve the conflicts. And highly respected scripture scholars such as the Blessed Gabriele Allegra have expressed their support for the Poem of the Man God and its correspondence with the Gospel.

As for friction with and within the Holy See, it is well documented that the Cardinals favorable towards Valtorta's writings (e.g. Cardinal Augustin Bea) and those opposing it (e.g. Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani) had high levels of friction with each other on a wide range of issues beyond Valtorta's work. Thus in defense of Maria Valtorta, when providing his imprimatur for the Poem of the Man God, Bishop Roman Danylak recalled John 8:7 and referred to some of her critics as "those who want to cast stones".