Catholics Forced To Keep Quiet Over Virgin Visions

Catholics who claim they have seen the Virgin Mary will be forced to remain silent about the apparitions until a team of psychologists, theologians, priests and exorcists have fully investigated their claims under new Vatican guidelines aimed at stamping out false claims of miracles.

The Pope has instructed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly the Holy Office of the Inquisition, to draw up a new handbook to help bishops snuff out an explosion of bogus heavenly apparitions.

Benedict XVI plans to update the Vatican's current rules on investigating apparitions to help distinguish between true and false claims of visions of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, messages, stigmata (the appearances of the five wounds of Christ), weeping and bleeding statues and Eucharistic miracles.

Monsignor Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, a respected Spanish Jesuit archbishop, has been placed in charge of drawing up the handbook, known as a "vademecum", which will update the current rules set in 1978.

According to Petrus, an Italian online magazine which leans towards conservative elements in the Vatican, anyone who claims to have seen an apparition will only be believed as long as they remain silent and do not court publicity over their claims. If they refuse to obey, this will be taken as a sign that their claims are false.

The visionaries will then be visited by a team of psychiatrists, either atheists or Catholics, to certify their mental health while theologians will assess the content of any heavenly messages to see if they contravene Church teachings.

If the visionary is considered credible they will ultimately be questioned by one or more demonologists and exorcists to exclude the possibility that Satan is hiding behind the apparitions in order to deceive the faithful.

Guidelines for the approval of apparitions and revelations were last issued in 1978. They lay down that a diocesan bishop can "either on his own initiative or at the request of the faithful" choose to investigate an alleged apparition. He then submits a report to the Vatican for approval.

Read more from the Independent.

Comments

[Diogenis]

Papal BULL!

[sophieozz]

Obedience is overrated.

[Euranya]

If this were any other group--secular OR religious--and not Catholics, investigating a claim before making it public knowledge would be considered the correct, logical AND rational thing to do. However, because Catholic-bashing is so vogue and socially acceptable, and because a lot of people who claim to think logically just because they reject religion actually DON'T think logically and can't see beyond their own bias, everything the Vatican does is considered wrong. Think about it: Shouldn't rational people want to verify claims of miraculous events?

[Patricia84]

Wow! Just wow!

[cobraxus]

theologians will assess the content of any heavenly messages to see if they contravene Church teachings.
In other words if The Son Of God or The Blessed Virgin tell you something The Church doesn't agree with then you must've gotten this stuff from Satan.Nice one!

[JohnFromCensornati]

"anyone who claims to have seen an apparition will only be believed as long as they remain silent"

I suppose the stupidity of this statement is lost on "believers".

[normalkid0615]

after a team of psychloligists evaluate the person believed to see Jesus, they should evaluate the Pope himself and ALL other people who buy into this religion crap. Psycho!

[bud812]

OMG i just found a cheeto in the likeness of Jeebus what do i do?Oops kid ate it dont send the bishops.

[JoePalooka]

(Jerk!)

[Ranta]

Oh Oh......Popes on his way to limbo.

[FrozenNorthObserver]

What! No more Jeebus on whole wheat? Well then give me a minor saint on pumpernickle and a coffee..

[mspink]

Silly people. No more Mary Sightings in your french toast!

[minimalist syntax]

I think most Christians don't look for the Virgin Mary or Christ in their food. They much more sensibly prefer to see Christ in the starving and the poor.

[Hirnlego]

You mean the absence of christ or his non-interventionism at least.

[provgrays]

It took the Church until 1992 to apologize for persecuting Galileo.

If Mary or Jesus appeared to someone and instructed the person to tell the world, would this interfere with the Church's code of conduct?

[Tabasco]

Yep!

[dandan1]

there are more things in heaven and earth....

[Luca]

I am sure this was how things were handled during Jesus' time. Didn't he have a group of psychologists and others verifying what he was doing? Ya. I think I remember seeing this in the appendicies to the Bible.

[DoctorWhoDat]

The Pope also wants Chinese Catholics to start eating converted rice

[JoePalooka]

LOL! Almost spilled my coffee!

[Diogenis]

Hopefully...Uncle Bens!