The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith — the “guardian of dogma” in the Catholic Church — will soon publish a document on “various Marian themes.” The dicastery’s prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, made the announcement to journalists on July 3, 2025. This text will clarify the new norms for studying supernatural phenomena in the Catholic Church, promulgated in May 2024.
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández announced a new text on various Marian themes as followup to 2024's new norms for pronouncements on supernatural phenomena.
For over a year, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) has been evaluating numerous cases of mystical phenomena — apparitions, revelations, etc. — in light of a new, stricter method of investigation. At the end of the investigation, the Holy See may declare that a fact is not supernatural — but never the opposite — or grant it a nihil obstat (“nothing stands in the way”) after finding that the fact bears good fruit and does not involve any negative aspects.
More nuanced norms already in place
These new standards, which propose a scale of six “levels” of approval, make it possible to highlight both positive and negative aspects of the same phenomenon.
“When we give the nihil obstat, (it means that) we see something very positive, a spirituality that does good, people who convert,” Cardinal Fernández emphasized during a press conference on Thursday.
But this recognition “does not mean that everything that is said [about this phenomenon] is without risk,” the prefect acknowledged. “When we look at all these phenomena as a whole, [we see] recurring problems."
To bring “balance” to these issues, the DDF is preparing a document that is “almost finished,” the Argentine cardinal revealed.
It will take “a few more months” for it to be published, Cardinal Fernández said. The text, begun under Pope Francis, must be approved by the new pope.
Since the publication of the new norms in May 2024, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has ruled on alleged apparitions in Italy (Trevignano Romano, Brescia, Madonna dello Scoglio, Maccio, Maria Valtorta), France (Estelle Faguette), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Croatia (Medjugorje), Spain (Chandavila), India (Vailankanni), and Puerto Rico.
