Victor Manuel Cardinal Fernandez, the current Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that investigates and authenticates reported apparitions, recently authenticated as true the controversial Octavianni Document, which led to the Mediatrix apparitions being labeled a hoax.

The 1951 Ottaviani Document was not an official promulgation. It was a draft full of handwritten additions and deletions and could not possibly be a formal promulgation from Pope Pius XII. Yet, Fernandez authenticated it as true. As a protocol, the Vatican issues formal promulgations, not drafts.

In a letter dated 6 October 2023, Fernandez said the Lipa apparitions, “after serious examination, turn out to not have a supernatural origin or character,” as noted in CBCP Circular 24-03 dated 19 February 2024.

In other words, Fernandez, as head of the DDF, confirmed that Pope Pius XII declared the Mediatrix apparitions a hoax. But did Pius XII really declare that? Does the Octavianni Document, a mere draft, not imply invalid evidence? There is no copy of this Papal declaration in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, a requirement for a Papal declaration to be effective according to Canon Law. In other words, the Pius XII decree claiming the Mediatrix was a hoax is NON-EXISTENT. Why, then, did Fernandez insist the Mediatrix was a hoax?

Why did he and the DDF authenticate a draft? Was it because he had no other tangible evidence that the Mediatrix was a hoax and was forced to authenticate a draft to save face, to protect the image of the Church? Is the image of the Church more important to them than the truth of no evidence? It would be embarrassing for the Church to admit it has been wrong for the seven decades it has suppressed the Mediatrix.

Would it not have been better if Fernandez, in all humility, admitted that the Ottaviani Document was not a formal Papal promulgation but merely a draft? Would that gesture of humility, in fact, help save face for the Church? Authenticating a draft did the exact opposite. It made the Church and the Vatican lose face even more. In his despair to stick to the premise of a hoax, was he, in fact, forced to authenticate a draft?

Ottaviani may not be the culprit. He simply did his duty back in 1951, as ordered by his superiors, to come up with a draft to be edited and approved by them. Yet Fernandez authenticated the draft document.

Any move by Fernandez and the DDF to reverse a policy of Marian suppression that has been implemented for seven decades actually puts the Church in a very bad light.

The Fernandez blunder implies (1) the hoax theory has no basis; (2) the Mediatrix apparitions may be authentic; and (3) the Vatican pronouncement “with finality” of the Mediatrix hoax is not final. Yet, it became the basis for seven decades of Marian suppression.

It’s about time Filipino Bishops break their silence to uphold the Philippine Church by questioning the veracity of the Vatican and DDF Mediatrix hoax claims based on non-existent documents. If the Filipino Bishops do not question the hoax claims, it can be misconstrued as a sin of omission.

The majority of Bishops nationwide believe in the Mediatrix but are silent due to Vatican reprisals in the past. Is it not these Bishops’ duty to unite and present their position to Pope Francis, Fernandez, and the DDF respectfully and without adversity?

Pope Francis is a reasonable man. He will listen to the concerted voices of the Philippine Church.

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