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Updated guidelines strip bishops of power to recognise ‘supernatural’ nature of purportedly divine eventsApparitions of the Virgin Mary and weeping statues have been part of Catholicism for centuries, but the age of social media has prompted the Vatican to issue a crackdown against potential scams and hoaxes.New rules issued on Friday say that only a pope, rather than local bishops, can declare apparitions and...

Pope Francis to attend installation that includes short film featuring Zoë Saldaña and Giudecca inmatesOriginally a convent dating to the 13th century, and once a reformatory for prostitutes, the Giudecca women’s prison, set on an island in the Venetian lagoon, will this summer perform a quite different role: as the official pavilion for the Vatican at this year’s Venice Biennale.Pope Francis is due to...

Court rules 4-3 to overturn law that had allowed victims to file civil suits over sexual abuse that took place decades agoIn a split ruling that has major implications for hundreds of child sexual abuse victims, the Louisiana state supreme court has struck down a law that had allowed victims to file civil lawsuits over molestation that happened decades ago.Child molestation victims and their...

Senior church officials in Rome decline to act, citing worsening health of French clergyman known as ‘devil priest’A French clergyman dubbed the “devil priest” who stands accused of sexually abusing Inuit children in Canada’s north will not be dismissed from his congregation after senior church officials in Rome declined to act, citing the nonagenarian’s declining health.Johannes Rivoire, a priest with the Missionary Oblates of...