The doctrinal note was published in response to these practices “in some Spanish dioceses, especially in the area of prayers and retreats organized by new religious movements of a charismatic nature.”
After receiving reports from various experts “in the fields of dogmatic theology, spiritual theology and psychology,” the conference’s Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith prepared the text that was approved for publication.
The doctrinal note identifies as originators of these practices Anglican missionary Kenneth McAll, Claretian religious John Hampsch and Catholic priest Robert DeGrandis of the Society of St. Joseph, “who has popularized the practice in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal due to his involvement in it.”
These authors teach “the intergenerational transmission of sin and, correlatively, the possibility of intergenerational healing.” The way to “cure” physical and mental illnesses resulting from the sins of ancestors consists of “identifying the sin in one’s own family tree” and breaking “the bond of sin” through “intercession, exorcisms and, especially, the celebration of a Eucharist,” which results in a supposed healing, the doctrinal note explains.
The bishops warn that “merging aspects proper to the Catholic faith with others that are foreign to it, results in a syncretism that appears Catholic with aspects that concern, explicitly or implicitly, questions of eschatology,” as well as ecclesiology, anthropology, and the theology of the sacraments.
The magisterium of the Catholic Church on sin
In the doctrinal note, the Spanish bishops emphasize some magisterial points to be taken into account on the question of “intergenerational healing.”
First, they state that “sin is always personal and requires a free decision of the will. The same is true of the punishment for sin. It always involved personal responsibility.”
In connection with this, they note that “the only sin that is transmitted from generation to generation is original sin,” but they also point out that this transmission occurs “in an analogous way,” that it does not have the character of personal guilt and that its punishment “does not pass on” to the next generation.
The prelates explain in the second instance that although in the Old Testament it is affirmed “that the sins of the fathers are visited on the children,” this conception of corporate responsibility, “which called into question the justice of God,” evolved “making man responsible for his own destiny”.
“In the New Testament Jesus rejected the concept of a hereditary transmission of sin, breaking with the logic of ‘personal and collective guilt-punishment’ in the well-known scene of the healing of the man born blind,” the bishops explain.
Baptism, Eucharist and intergenerational healing
The Spanish bishops also point out that it’s not possible to “maintain there is an intergenerational transmission of sin without contradicting the Catholic doctrine on Baptism,” the sacrament in which “the forgiveness of all sins occurs.”
Regarding the Eucharist, the prelates note that “the so-called ‘Masses of healing or deliverance,’ closely linked to the practice of intergenerational healing,” are not found in the Roman Ritual and therefore “the introduction of such intentions into the scope of the celebration of the Holy Mass seriously changes the nature of and distorts the Eucharistic celebration.”
The doctrinal note also refers to prayer meetings “whose purpose is to obtain from God the healing of the sick,” to reaffirm that, although “any member of the faithful can freely lift up prayers to God asking for healing,” when it comes to meetings “they must be subject to the supervision of the local Ordinary.”
“These prayers for healing, as well as prayers for exorcism, liturgical or non-liturgical, cannot be introduced into the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the sacraments and the Liturgy of the Hours,” they specify.
In conclusion, the Spanish bishops affirmed that “basing ourselves on the Word of God, we wish to affirm that you can’t be guilty of someone else’s sins you had nothing to do with nor can anyone be held responsible for the sins of previous generations, but that each person is responsible for his own life and his own sins.”