Mgr Roman Danylak and Maria Valtorta

Coat of arms of Mgr Roman Danylak

Born on December 29, 1930, in Toronto (Canada) and died on October 7, 2012, in the same city, he was apostolic administrator of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church for Eastern Canada.

Licensed in theology, he held a doctorate in canon law obtained at the Pontifical Lateran University. As an expert, he later participated in the revision of the canon law regarding the Eastern Churches. He was based in Toronto where, at 62 years old, he became Apostolic Administrator of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church for all of Eastern Canada.

In August/September 1992, then a simple priest of Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada), he published a lengthy article in which he refutes the criticisms made at the time against the work of Maria Valtorta and substantiates his favorable point of view on the work.

On June 24, 2001, having become Apostolic Administrator, he issued, with the full weight of his office, a "testimonial" for an edition of the work in English, assuring the perfect conformity of the work with "the canonical Gospels, Tradition, and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church."

On February 13, 2002, he officially encouraged the consultation of a website dedicated to Maria Valtorta and her work, reaffirming its conformity with the Catholic faith. This "cyber-imprimatur" was a novelty. On that occasion, he mentioned that Cardinal Ratzinger "in private letters acknowledged that this work is free from doctrinal or moral errors," but he did not specify these private sources, recently identified.

"In Defense of The Poem" (1992)

In 1991, when he wrote this first manifesto published in 1992, Roman Danylak was still a priest, but he already had solid experience with Roman authorities: he had been for 17 years, from 1973 to 1990, a consultor to the Pontifical Commission for the revision of canon law for the Eastern Churches. He was indeed a member of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, licensed in sacred theology from the Pontifical Urban University, and doctor in utroque jure from the Pontifical Lateran University. The result of this pontifical commission was published on October 10, 1990, by John Paul II.

In August/September 1992, this long defense text of Maria Valtorta's work was published in "A Call to Peace," a Texas journal dealing with the Marian apparitions of Medjugorje. Indeed, Father Philip Pavitch, confessor and accompanier of pilgrimages to Medjugorje, had published, following the "Gospa's" invitation to read Maria Valtorta's work, a critique of this work that caused confusion. Roman Danylak thus took the opportunity to publish and justify his position on Maria Valtorta's work.

His public testimony is therefore symptomatic of what could or could not be said about Maria Valtorta in circles close to the Vatican. In this document, it should be noted that he does not mention Cardinal Ratzinger's 1985 letter to Cardinal Siri and is unaware of its existence. In Rome, he would not have failed to be informed about it as he shows a quite deep knowledge of the "Maria Valtorta dossier." It is therefore good that at that time, as confirmed by Emilio Pisani in an independent testimony, Maria Valtorta was no longer "persona non grata" at the Palace of the Holy Office and that her work was henceforth considered a "good book."

Significantly, Roman Danylak was named bishop and apostolic administrator a few months later, in December. He would not have been appointed if he had been a promoter of a book still considered harmful and condemned.

Preface to "Gospel as revealed to me" by Maria Valtorta (2001)

In 2001, he prefaced the second English edition previously known as The Poem of the Man-God and now under the title Gospel as revealed to me, thus following international usage. In this preface, he recalls all his public writings in support of the work which he recommends.

Refutation of EWTN criticisms (2002)

In February 2002, Bill Bilton, a journalist of an American television channel based in Alabama, answered a listener’s question about Maria Valtorta. The answer implied that Maria Valtorta’s work was officially and definitively condemned as it was presented as dangerous. He ended with this often repeated advice by those who have read neither the work of Maria Valtorta nor the Magisterium texts governing private revelations: "Catholics who want to know more [about the life of Jesus and His Mother] should devote their time to reading the Gospels or a good biography of Christ."

This attitude outraged Mgr Danylak who responded to the channel by arguing what he considered to be "a disservice and a blemish on the good reputation and authority that EWTN rightly has among Catholic listeners, not to mention the absence of an investigation into the status of the question."

The imprimatur of Brother Chrysostome’s website (2002)

File:The Abbey of Our Lady of Gathhsemani.jpg

Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Kentucky, USA

Brother Chrysostome Castel (1938-2021), born in New Orleans, was a Trappist monk of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (OCSO) based at Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey. This abbey, which counts over 70 monks, is located in the United States near Bardstown in Kentucky. It is considered the mother of all Trappist houses in the United States. The writer Thomas Merton (1915-1968) lived there.

"Fr. Chrysostome, who devoted himself to the writings of the modern mystic Maria Valtorta, maintained a website dedicated to her. He learned Italian especially to be able to read her in the original and translate her works into English. He also knew French and Latin."

On January 13, 2002, Mgr Roman Danylak published on his site the Nihil obstat and the imprimatur that he granted him. These authorizations apparently concerned, for the first time, website content and not a printed work.

The tone is firm against the "stone throwers," and he dwells on recalling the past mistakes of hasty censorship. It is in this document that he certifies a letter that "Cardinal Ratzinger acknowledged in private letters that this work is free of doctrinal or moral errors. The Italian Bishops' Conference recognized the same thing in correspondence with the current editor-in-chief, Dr. Emilio Pisani." A certification that corroborates the 1991/1992 events related to Cardinal Ratzinger's change of position after reading the work.

Brother Chrysostome’s site, following his death, is archived on the Wayback Machine.

"Maria Valtorta, Her Life and Work"

In this last document, published on his website and undated, Mgr Roman Danylak synthesizes his pleas in defense of the work and more generally of the sanctity of Maria Valtorta. He summarizes the main arguments, notably those endorsing the "ecclesiastical approval" following the encouragement of Pius XII.

Notes and references

• Website of Mgr Roman Danylak.

In a Christian sense, study concerning God and divine things in the light of Revelation.

Legal code organizing the life of the Catholic Church and its members.

Authority in matters of faith and morals exercised over the Catholic faithful by the pope and all bishops in communion with the pope.

Person who is not religious or a non-religious affair.