In new vetting process for apparitions, Vatican nixes ‘supernatural’ label

ROME – On Friday, the Vatican rolled out a new expedited procedure for vetting alleged Marian apparitions or other spiritual phenomenon, ruling that they will no longer deemed supernatural, but simply that nothing stands in the way of encouraging devotion.

In an introductory presentation of the new norms, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), said one of the biggest novelties is that, in order to prevent delays in the vetting process for alleged apparitions...