The Vatican reviews its doctrine and warns its followers – Al-Tahrir

This is a software update that will cause a lot of noise. On Friday, May 17, the Vatican revised its rules regarding supernatural events such as visions or other miracles. The new rules, published by the Holy See's powerful Dicastery (equivalent to a ministry) for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Pope Francis, favor a stricter approach. “to caution” Unexplained manifestations.

“In certain circumstances, everything is not black and white.” Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, who heads the department, pleaded during a press conference on Friday. “Sometimes a potential divine apparition intervenes […] of human thoughts and fantasies, he added.

Make fat pizza

The history of the Catholic Church is peppered with episodes of strange or unexplained phenomena involving religious statues (weeping virgins), other artefacts or testimonies of apparitions.

The new guidelines come two months after the church declared that a series of miracles attributed to a statuette of the Virgin Mary, including making pizza grow larger, were false.

These rules, updated for the first time since 1978, provide essential tools for bishops who, until now, have been left relatively free to determine the validity of these visions on a case-by-case basis. Only six cases of alleged supernatural events have been “officially resolved” by the Vatican since 1950, according to the document.

He added: “Today we are convinced that we must always avoid these complex situations that cause confusion among believers.” Cardinal Fernandez continued. The new rules call for greater cooperation between the various dioceses and the Vatican regarding these events, the text specifies.

“Nihil Obstadt”

The final decisions of the bishops will be subject to the approval of the department. This point is crucial, the document specifies, because announcements or manifestations of occult phenomena can be linked to “Crimes, manipulation of people, attacks on the unity of the church, undeserved financial gains, serious doctrinal errors, etc., which can cause scandal and damage the credibility of the church. And among them are the believers.”Driven by an event attributed to divine initiative, but which is nothing but the fruit of imagination, the desire for novelty, an obsession with myths, or a tendency to forgery.

If there are no problems, dioceses may declare “no problem,” indicating that there is nothing in the reported phenomenon that contradicts faith and morals. So can believers “join” to the idea that it is a supernatural phenomenon, but not an official declaration of its validity, which is generally to be avoided under the new rules unless “permitted by the Pope.”