Vatican Outlines Virgin Mary Sighting Rules To Evaluate Authenticity (Catholic Caucus)

Sanctepater ^ | May 23, 2012 | Alessandro Speciale

[NYer]

The Vatican has published rules to evaluate the authenticity of the dozens of apparitions of the Virgin Mary reported each year.

The “Norms Regarding the Manner of Proceeding in the Discernment of Presumed Apparitions or Revelations” have been in use since 1978, but until now had been available only in Latin, never officially published and only circulated among bishops and specialists.

The Vatican document has now been translated into English and other languages to aid bishops in the “difficult task of discerning presumed apparitions, revelations, messages or ... extraordinary phenomena of presumed supernatural origin,” Cardinal William Levada, the head of the Vatican doctrinal office, wrote in a companion letter last December that was published only recently on the Vatican website.

The norms mandate that the local bishop must conduct a “serious investigation” to ascertain, with “at least great probability,” whether the Marian apparition effectively took place.

The rules also require an evaluation of the “personal qualities” of the alleged seer, including his or her “psychological equilibrium,” “rectitude of moral life” and “docility towards Ecclesiastical Authority.” The contents of the “revelation” must be “immune” from theological error, and the apparition must bear “abundant... spiritual fruit,” such as conversions.

The authenticity of the vision should be rejected if, among other factors, the alleged seer shows “psychological disorder” or “evidence of a search for profit."

In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed a high-level commission to evaluate the authenticity of the controversial Marian apparitions in Medjugorje, Bosnia, which have been attracting tens of thousands of pilgrims for years despite opposition from local bishops.

Link:

• Vatican Outlines Virgin Mary Sighting Rules To Evaluate Authenticity

[NYer]

CATHOLIC CAUCUS THREAD

Alert! Link is to the Huffington Post.

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[Aliska]

I never could understand why the scripture test was not applied by the recipient(s) of the apparition at least in some of the many, many cases through the centuries:

"1 John 4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

Granted young children might not understand and an adult might be in shock by the unexpected. Old testament and new testament examples abound about the reaction of the recipient - usually falls, weakness, and has to be helped up.

The way I see it, the target of the apparition could possess every moral virtue and still be deceived. And then we have an apparition not approved by the church which two successive bishops fought with all their might to maintain integrity and truth and yet the hysteria of many who wanted to believe otherwise wouldn't listen.

[netmilsmom]

>>The contents of the “revelation” must be “immune” from theological error,<<

Oh like this....

Chronicle, 6 May 1982, getting it sincerely from the “seers” at Medjugorje

“This evening the young people posed a theological question and received the answer. Are people in heaven present with their souls, or with the soul and the body? – they asked. They are present with the soul and with the body – that was their answer.”

Guess the Gospa never heard of the Nicene Creed.

[dangus]

Where on Earth did you ever get the notion that the scripture test was NOT the very most important standard by which an apparition was judge. Any heresy at all immediately precludes any apparition from being judged as authentic.

[Aliska]

I never heard of those specific scripture words being used by the seers to query or for the spirit or apparition to validate itself in all the fairly well-known and some not-so-well-known apparitions I've read about.

I've just wondered about it for a long time and didn't see anything applying to the seers or visionaries in the norms or rules.

In the case of children seers, I wouldn't expect them to necessarily know or understand that scripture.

I know the church carefully evaluates what happens to whether it could be heretical or not using tradition, church doctrine and maybe scripture in general. If it is deemed heretical, it wouldn't be declared "worthy of belief".

Actually usually it's the sole responsibility of the local bishop.

[johngrace]

You bring up excellent points.

Certain cases through out history have the angels repeat only what a Godly angel not fallen can declare.

A fallen angel spirit can not declare in the personal pronoun a belief in what sums up to be 1 John4. In like Fatima the spirit that Declares it is The Virgin Mary recites the Apostles creed and the Gloria which can not be declared by a false spirit. So I believe if the reports are accurate that it was the Virgin Mary.

I have personally met a new ager claim to be a Christian. I challenged her to declare the Apostles or Nicene creed in the personal noun. Also that divinity in Jesus became human/flesh. She could not do it. The entity in her would not allow her to say it. She had contortions then declared there were many gods.

What we have to remember is the devils are already judged as Jesus declares in the Gospels. They can not and will not be able to say what a Holy Spirit person can declare as 1 John4 requires. They have no chance of redemption ever.

Not that this would happen, If I ever have an apparition I will cover the blood of Christ then if it continues. It will have to declare The Apostles creed/Nicene creed 1John 4 requirement.

Praise Jesus who came in the flesh!! Amen!!

Freeper Cheers in Christ!!

[johngrace]

The picture is really Ephesians 4:30. Sorry.

[dangus]

Well, if the apparition is proclaiming something, it makes little sense to then go and ask it exactly what it just claimed.

“All hail Arthur, King of England!”
“So do you recognize Arthur as King of England?”