What has the Vatican already said about discerning Marian apparitions?

[Michie]

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández will unveil guidelines for discerning Marian apparitions and other supernatural phenomena on Friday, but it is not the first time that the Vatican’s doctrine office has issued a directive for how the Church should respond to news of an alleged apparition.

Fifty years ago officials from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith identified how the emergence of mass media had created an environment in which news of an alleged apparition could spread rapidly and quickly draw larger crowds than in past centuries thanks to the ease of modern travel.

Officials from the congregation met to discuss problems that could come up in examining apparitions in November 1974 and agreed on a procedure for Church authorities to follow in the case of a reported apparition.

The Vatican’s doctrine office made these norms public with the approval of Pope Paul VI in 1978, just three years before Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was named the prefect of the congregation.

Continued below.

What has the Vatican already said on discerning Marian apparitions?

Officials from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith discussed problems that could come up in examining apparitions in November 1974.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

 

[AlexB23]

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández will unveil guidelines for discerning Marian apparitions and other supernatural phenomena on Friday, but it is not the first time that the Vatican’s doctrine office has issued a directive for how the Church should respond to news of an alleged apparition.

Fifty years ago officials from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith identified how the emergence of mass media had created an environment in which news of an alleged apparition could spread rapidly and quickly draw larger crowds than in past centuries thanks to the ease of modern travel.

Officials from the congregation met to discuss problems that could come up in examining apparitions in November 1974 and agreed on a procedure for Church authorities to follow in the case of a reported apparition.

The Vatican’s doctrine office made these norms public with the approval of Pope Paul VI in 1978, just three years before Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was named the prefect of the congregation.

Continued below.

What has the Vatican already said on discerning Marian apparitions?

Officials from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith discussed problems that could come up in examining apparitions in November 1974.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

Alright, for those who do not know what a Marian Apparition is, here is the explanation:

A Marian apparition is a reported vision or supernatural appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, to one or more individuals. These apparitions often include messages or requests for prayer and repentance, and are considered by many Catholics and some other Christians as divinely inspired events that serve as reminders of faith and calls to spiritual renewal. Some well-known Marian apparitions include those at Lourdes in France (1858), Fatima in Portugal (1917), and Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina (beginning in 1981). The Church has officially recognized certain apparitions as worthy of belief, while others remain unapproved or rejected due to lack of evidence or credibility.