續評〈默主哥耶朝聖的感想〉

尹雅白神父的大作〈默主哥耶朝聖的感想〉（二），刊登於今期公教報第8頁。

當中，他不斷列舉「朝聖」者何其眾多，以及韋寶榮（Wayne Weible）述及默主歌耶訊息的著作何其暢銷的現象。

小弟認為，從倫理角度而言，單以「朝聖者」數目的多寡、及「獵奇書籍」的銷情，來考慮某些聲稱啟示或顯現的真實性，則有若緣木求魚，且極之誤導。

Donal A. Foley在他的《Understanding MEDJUGORJE - Heavenly Visions or Religious Illusion?》中（p. 221），曾提及過這例子：

To use a concrete example, suppose a person has a $10 bill or a €10 note in their possession. How do they know that it is not counterfeit? Suppose it is believed that forgers have been working in the area, and that there is a possibility that an appreciable amount of forged currency is in circulation. The person has two basic options: they can either take the suspect note to the bank and have it checked, or they can just pass it on to the next person. They might argue that if that person accepts it then they will assume it is good, and if they don't, then they will regard it as a forgery. But that is faulty from a moral perspective. If someone has good reason to believe that a banknote is forged then it is their duty to have it checked.

If we apply this to the question of true and false visions, then it is obvious that checking the note with a bank is like finding out what the official spokesman of the Church - the bishops - have said about a particular vision. But just ignoring the status of the vision and relying on the alleged good fruits is like passing on the note the next time we shop - all that concerns us is whether or not the shop accepts it, and not whether it is forged or genuine. It might be said that a few forged notes in circulation are not going to do much harm, and that is true enough. But if the forgeries reach a certain percentage of the money in circulation then it will start to lose its value - the principle of bad money driving out the good comes into play. If the process goes on unchecked, ultimately the economy of the nation concerned will collapse, because its money will become totally worthless.

按理而言，聲稱啟示支持者們所熱烈標榜的各種「善果」（不少人的心靈皈依、勤領聖事等），往往與人們「信以為真」的程度成正比，但它們卻完全建立於不甚穩妥的基礎上。當中涉及的倫理考慮、以及與公共啟示所要求的超性信德之間的關係，其實比起不少輕信之徒所想的，要複雜得多。