Frequently asked questions

Yes. Catholic faith is the publication's foundation. Corpus Files is independently operated and is not an official publication of the Catholic Church. Its articles distinguish Church teaching, theological interpretation, disputed historical or scientific claims, and personal reflection.

Yes. We write for people with difficult questions as well as curious practicing and returning Catholics. You can explore a question at your own pace. Our aim is wonder and deeper understanding; reading an explanation does not require you to pretend every doubt has disappeared. Readers of other beliefs are also welcome.

Yes. Our stories, explanations, and sources can support discussion at home or in a learning group. Read a page before sharing it with children: some files discuss suffering, death, human remains, or medical claims and are written primarily for adult readers. Choose material and language appropriate to your group.

Matthew Walton is the pen name used by the founder of Corpus Files. His signed reflections explore the meaning of these stories from within the Catholic faith. The publication is operated by W Consulting, LLC, and its editorial standards explain how sources and review are handled.

A case assessment answers its stated historical or scientific question, such as the provenance of an object or the documentation of an event. It is not a rating of Catholic faith. We explain the Church's position separately and identify the difference between established teaching, a theological interpretation, and an individual extraordinary claim.

Visit Corrections and updates to see dated changes and use the RSS feed to follow them in a feed reader. You can also bookmark the collections and return to explore another story or question.

Corpus Files is an independent, openly Catholic publication exploring extraordinary stories, sacred history, beauty, belief, and pilgrimage. Its 399 case files welcome discovery and difficult questions while distinguishing Church teaching, interpretation, historical or scientific evidence, and reflection. Details still awaiting verification remain visible in yellow.

Editorial decisions are made in-house. Each case file names its sources, presents competing evidence, gives a verdict limited to the question examined, and reports Church status separately. Details still awaiting verification are highlighted. Visitors may submit private suggestions, but nothing publishes automatically.

In Catholic devotional and historical usage, 'incorrupt' is a label applied to some human remains reported to show unusual preservation. Corpus Files does not treat that label as a forensic diagnosis. Each case must separately document condition, environment, interventions, custody, and what examiners actually observed.

Some reported Eucharistic cases have laboratory reports or later scientific commentary; others do not. Methods, custody, contamination controls, source authentication, and replication vary by case. Church recognition and scientific findings are reported separately, and no category-wide conclusion is assumed.

Corpus Files covers reported miracles, relics, saints and preserved remains, apparitions, and recurring historical, scientific, and theological questions. Sources must be strong enough to describe the claim, evidence, counterarguments, and limits fairly.