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Question Title Posted By Question Date
imprimi potent? jean marie Sunday, September 12, 2010

Question:

Dear Brother,
you have always answered my questions with integrity for which I am very greatful - Thankyou.

For years my family have met each month to pray the rosary - its evident that some family members are having conversions of heart thanks to Mary's intercession.

My question is about a group which my sister invited to her house to have "Mary Immaculate Queen of the Universe" enthroned in her home.

I felt a little uncomfortable with it. I rang one of my sisters and asked her to give me the details on the bottom of a leaflet she had been given. It mentioned Pope Pious the 12th had promoted devotion to Mary under this title in 1954; however, that did not indicate to me that the fraternity promulgating the enthronement and " Pact" prayer were acting in accordance to that Pope's directions.

It seems they were acting according to a seer by the name of Clemence Le doux, whom I can find out very little about.

I haven't got much time for seers, and like to stick by approved apparitions. However, if you could explain to me what " Imprimi potent" might mean I could perhaps be able to steer my family away from something which may mislead them - or lead them into disobedience of church teaching.

thanks again.



Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r)

Dear Jean Marie:

Imprimi potent is a religious superior's stamp that a book does not violate Church teaching. It means, "it can be printed". After the book receives the stamp from the Religious Superior, it then goes to the Censor. If the Censor can find no doctrinal errors he give the book the stamp of Nihil Obstat, which means "nothing stands in the way" (no doctrinal errors to stand in the way of publication). The final approval then comes from the bishop who gives the book his Imprimatur, which means "let it be printed."

If the author is not a religious, then the Imprimi potent is not needed as the book goes directly to the Censor.

Usually you will see the follow statement after the Imprimatur:

The "Nihil Obstat" and "Imprimatur" are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat and the Imprimatur agree with the content, opinions or statements expressed.

So, these designations are meant to certify only the lack of any doctrinal or moral error and nothing more. The book could be utter nonsense in its thesis as long as it does not have doctrinal or moral error contained in it.

Of course an Imprimatur is only as good as the bishop who grants it. Thus, it is theoretically possible for a book to receive an Imprimatur that shouldn't have. There have been cases of, for example, the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible receiving an Imprimatur even though it contained doctrinal problems with inclusive language. The Vatican removed that Imprimatur, but of course, you can still see it in the bibles printed previous to this.

As for Mary, under the title of Queen of the Universe, "on June 3, 2009 the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments forwarded the Decree granting the title of Minor Basilica to The National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. What this means is that the Shrine has been recognized by the Pope for its outstanding ministry and environment."

As for Clémence Ledoux, who died in 1966, she is the founder of the Fraternity of Mary Immaculate Queen of Bois le Roi (near Fontainebleau, south of Paris). The Fraternity was canonically established as a public Association of the Faithful by the bishop of Meaux on January 25, 1986.

Thus, you have nothing to fear. With the Fraternity formally recognized as a Public Association by the Bishop, and the Vatican granting Basilica status to the National Shrine, devotion to Mary, under the title of Queen of the Universe, and the enthronement, is okay.

The normal provisos always apply to any private revelation -- that they are not necessary to our salvation and are not required for belief. Thus, we are completely free to believe or not to believe the seer. But, we must have respect for anything that the Church has given approbation. Also, one must have proper balance. Study of the Bible is more important, for example, than study of any seer's writings.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary


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