Recent comments from Vatican leaders hint that tighter restrictions could be coming. The new head of the Vatican’s doctrinal department, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, told OSV News in February that apparitions have led to a rise in abuse cases — financially, spiritually and sexually — tied to “false mysticism.”
A recent case was the so-called Madonna of Trevignano, a town not far from Rome, where a self-declared “clairvoyant” with a criminal past, Maria Giuseppe Scarpulla, convinced unsuspecting faithful that a statue of Mary wept tears of blood and performed miracles. A private investigator discovered that the blood belonged to a pig, and civil investigations found that believers had paid the mystic over $100,000.
After a church investigation in 2023, the miracles were deemed nonexistent and the faithful were encouraged to not heed Scarpulla’s words.
Referring to the Madonna of Trevignano case, Francis warned that Marian apparitions are “not always real,” during an interview with Italian Public Television in June 2023. “There are images of the Madonna that are real, but the Madonna has never drawn attention to herself,” the pope said.
“I like to see her with her finger pointing up to Jesus. When Marian devotion is too self-centered, it’s not good. Both in the devotion and in the people who carry it forward,” he added.
An aide adjusts Pope Francis’ cape as he speaks at the Knock Shrine, in Knock, Ireland, on Aug. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Aleja Hertzler-McCain reported from Mount Rainier, Maryland. Claire Giangravè reported from Vatican City.
This article originally appeared here.
