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Concept
Private revelation
Summary
In Christian theology, a private revelation is an instance of revelation, in a broader sense of the term, of divine reality to a person or persons. It contrasts with revelation intended for humanity at large, which is sometimes termed public revelation.
Within Catholicism, an official skeptical predisposition toward accounts of private revelation is maintained. When recognized by the authority of the church - after their credibility and religious significance has been judged positively by the local Catholic bishop - these messages are considered helpful to believers "in a certain period of history". Still, faith in them is equated to human faith, as opposed to supernaturally bestowed faith, and such beliefs are not dogmatically taught. Private revelations come in a variety of types, such as Marian apparitions and visions. Any such revelation is deemed not to add to or amend the completed revelation, but as a heavenly message that helps its recipients and other faithful live by revelation.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, public revelation was complete in New Testament times, but depends on interpretation and deepening understanding of this foundational or "definitive" revelation:
97 "Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God" in which, as in a mirror, the pilgrim Church contemplates God, the source of all her riches.66 "The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ." Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.67 Throughout the ages, there have been so-called "private" revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith.
Official source
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