Vatican moves to assert more control over supernatural manifestations

ROME — When is a weeping statue of the Virgin Mary truly a weeping statue of the Virgin Mary?

From now on, only the Vatican decides — and such events will very rarely if ever be declared “supernatural” by the Roman Catholic Church.

With the backing of Pope Francis, the Vatican on Friday issued sweeping new guidelines on unexplained religious phenomenon — the first since 1978 — effectively modernizing the way 1.4 billion Catholics should view the mystical side of the world’s largest Christian faith in a bid to root out flights of fancy and fraudsters.