Vatican issues new rules on declaration of supernatural phenomena

May 17 (UPI) -- The Vatican on Friday published new documents updating the reporting of supernatural phenomena, declaring that neither the pope nor local bishops will make a declaration on if the incident was supernatural in origin.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said as a rule, bishops and the pope will only authorize and promote devotion and pilgrimages. It said church authority will no longer engage in officially defining "the supernatural nature of a phenomenon."

The document, presented by Cardinal Manuel Fernandez, said such a declaration can require long periods of time and study to investigate the event. The document said many interventions in recent decades have remained private.

The new guidelines offer six potential conclusions to a supernatural inquiry that may be reached. The Vatican has usually approached alleged supernatural phenomena with skepticism and caution.

But an explosion on social media of such events, many that have proven to be scams or hoaxes, along with countless conspiracy theories, have put pressure on the Vatican to respond to them. The church has said while Our Lady of Guadalupe or Our Lady of Lourdes, have been followed by "spiritual flourishing," other claims have been harmful to the church.

"In particular, I am thinking of the use of such phenomenon to gain profit, power, fame, social recognition or other personal interest, even possibly extending to the commission of gravely immoral acts or the use of these phenomena 'as a means of or pretext for exerting control overpeople or carrying out abuses,'" Fernandez said, according to the National Catholic Reporter.