The Great News On The Latest Nihil Obstat for Luisa & What It Means For Divine Will

Posted in: Catholic Teaching, Featured, The Divine Will

In this great conversation, Carol talks with Fr. Dominic O’Connor, Fr. Humphrey O’Connor, Derek Williams, Sam Khadhouri OCDS & Ann Weigel about this latest rule on Luisa and what this means for those supporting Luisa, her writings and her cause for beatification and the Divine Will.

The nihil obstat for the resumption of the Cause of Beatification of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta has been issued. This was announced by the Postulator of the Cause, Msgr. Paolo Rizzi, in a note dated August 10, 2024, the text of which is published here.

The Cause of Beatification of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta has never been closed, but has always been pending at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, which had temporarily suspended its canonical process. In fact, the spirituality, thought, and writings of the Servant of God had been submitted to the study of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which in 2019 pointed out that the writings presented some ambiguities of a theological, Christological, and anthropological nature; ambiguities that, while not doctrinal errors in themselves, required further evaluation.

Through the support of a theologian expert in mysticism, the Postulation’s clarifying responses to the aforementioned findings enabled the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to conclude that in the writings and thought of the Servant of God there are no statements that are blatantly in contrast with the doctrine of the Church. Thus in June 2024 the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the nihil obstat for the resumption of the Cause, which was formally notified by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to this Postulation on July 8, 2024.

This confirms the Church’s historical position on the writings that they are free from theological errors. See below:

In 1997 Two independent Church-appointed, highly qualified theologians –Fr. Cosimo Rho, Professor of Dogmatic Theology, and Fr. Antonio Resta, Rector of the Pontifical Institute of Southern Italy, in separate evaluations that were submitted to the Diocesan Tribunal of Luisa’s Cause arrived at the same conclusion: “The doctrines contained in Luisa’s text are free of doctrinal error.”

After the Cause was moved from the Diocese to the Vatican Dicasteries for the Doctrine of Faith and the Causes of Saints have unanimously affirmed that while, on account of Luisa’s imperfect grammar, there are “difficulties” in her writings, they are free of doctrinal error.

In 2008 the Congregation for the Causes of Saints appointed two theological censors to review Luisa’s writings. At the end of 2009, one of two theological censors gave his positive judgment. July 19, 2010, the other theological censor gave his positive judgment.

Again, they both asserted that nothing in Luisa’s writings is opposed to Catholic Faith and Morals. It also means that the Church recognizes the legitimacy and authenticity of her writings.