(ZENIT News / Roma, 04.30.2024).- The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is in the final stages of drafting a new document that will establish clear guidelines for discerning apparitions and other similar events. Cardinal Víctor Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery, revealed to the National Catholic Register that he and his team are working on this new text, which will contain precise norms to guide the discernment process regarding apparitions.
This new document, whose publication date has not yet been revealed, will be the first of its kind since 1978, when the then Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the “Norms regarding the manner of proceeding in the discernment of presumed apparitions of revelations.”
That document described the process followed by the Catholic Church in investigating alleged apparitions or revelations, establishing both positive and negative criteria for judging their authenticity.
Chronologically speaking, the most recent document dealing with the topic of Marian apparitions dates back to 2001: it is the “Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines,” issued by the then Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
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