I have friends in the charismatic movement who speak of healing the family tree, when there has been serious sin in a previous generation which has supposedly affected a descendant. I can’t understand the logic of this practice. Is there any basis for it?
As you say, some charismatics believe that, where there has been a serious sin that has not been forgiven and committed by someone in a previous generation, it can manifest itself as a physical or mental illness in their descendants. The way to cure the illness is to identify the sin and break the bond of sin through intercession, exorcisms and especially the celebration of Masses for this intention.
The Spanish bishops have recently released a doctrinal note on this practice, saying that there is no theological justification for it. The statement, titled “His mercy extends from generation to generation,” was issued by the Bishops’ Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith” on 1 November 2024, the feast of All Saints. The bishops cite similar statements by bishops from France, Korea and Poland, and they draw attention to some points of Catholic teaching that must be taken into account when considering this form of healing.
First, they state that sin is always personal, and it requires a free decision of the will. The same is true for the punishment for sin. It always involves personal responsibility. In connection with this, they say that the only sin that is transmitted from generation to generation is original sin, but this sin does not involve personal guilt or punishment in the descendants of Adam and Eve.
Second, although in the Old Testament it is affirmed “that the sins of the fathers are visited on the children” (cf. Ex 20:5), this conception of corporate responsibility, which questioned the justice of God, gradually evolved, making each person responsible for his own destiny. In the New Testament, Jesus rejected the concept of an hereditary transmission of sin when he healed a man born blind. When asked who had sinned, this man or his parents, he replied: “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him” (Jn 9:2-3).
Third, in the church’s teaching on the communion of saints, it is only positive spiritual goods that are communicated among the faithful living and dead, not the consequences of the sins of the faithful departed.
Fourth, it is not possible to maintain that there is an intergenerational transmission of sin without contradicting the church’s teaching on Baptism, the sacrament in which all sins are forgiven, both original and personal.
Fifth, so-called Masses of healing or deliverance, linked to the practice of intergenerational healing, are not found in the Roman Missal. Nonetheless, Masses can be offered for the healing of a sick person or for the souls in purgatory. The latter, however, are not offered for the forgiveness of the sins of the holy souls.
Sixth, in gatherings for prayer for healing of the sick and in liturgical ceremonies for this purpose, the norms indicated by the Holy See and the local bishop are to be followed. Moreover, these prayers for healing, as well as prayers for exorcism, liturgical or non-liturgical, cannot be introduced into the celebration of the Holy Mass, the sacraments or the Liturgy of the Hours.
In conclusion, the Spanish bishops state that a person cannot be held guilty of someone else’s sins with which they had nothing to do, nor can anyone be held responsible for the sins of previous generations, but rather each person is responsible for his own life and his own sins (cf. Ez 18:18-20).
In response to this document, in early December Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Spain accepted the doctrinal note and said it “adheres to it with filial obedience, agreeing with its content and the concern that underlies it.”