Unfortunate Norms: Vatican Cannot Find Anything "Supernatural" Anymore
The main change: Neither the local bishop nor the Vatican will declare that phenomena are of supernatural origin, but the Vatican can authorise the local bishop to declare that a phenomenon is "not supernatural".
There is no provision in these norms for ecclesiastical superiors to give positive recognition to the divine origin of alleged supernatural phenomena, the regulations state.
The second major change is the centralisation of the process, since Francis is the pope of Roman centralism. The local bishop's decisions must be given approval by the Vatican.
The document refers to cases in the 20th century where the local bishop declared a phenomenon to be supernatural, and the Vatican later issued a decision to the contrary. In other cases, a bishop said one thing and his successor said the opposite about the same phenomenon.
Tucho Fernandez wants to leave open the possibility that a different response may be necessary in the future according to how the devotion related to a phenomenon develops.
He even allows his dicastery to overturn its own previous decisions which means that a Vatican decision - not only in the field of supernatural phenomena - can never be trusted.
The six possible outcomes, according to the new document, are:
- Without expressing a certainty about the authenticity of the phenomenon itself, many signs of the action of the Holy Spirit appearing "in the midst" of these events may be recognised [this could be applied to Medjugorje].
- Prae oculis habeatur: Important positive signs are recognised while some aspects of confusion or potential risks exist.
- Curatur: Various critical elements are noted, but the phenomenon is already widespread.
- Sub mandato: A phenomenon is considered to be without significant problems, but problems arise from people associated with it.
- Prohibetur et obstruatur: Critical issues and risks of the alleged vision appear to be very serious, therefore the local bishop should prohibit adherence to the alleged vision.
- Declaratio de non supernaturalitate: The Vatican authorises the local bishop to declare that the phenomenon is not supernatural.
These rules have two unfortunate consequences: It is impossible to apply them only to future supernatural phenomena, leaving out phenomena of the past such as Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima. On the other hand: As long as the Vatican does not explicitly say that a phenomenon is "not supernatural", it will be presented as "supernatural" by those who promote it. They will argue that the Vatican will never declare a phenomenon to be supernatural, even if it is.
#newsKzaosevdlz
