Probe may find 'nothing supernatural' about weeping Mary

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 13 - A diocesan commission set up to probe a weeping Mary statue in a small town on the shores of Lake Bracciano north of Rome is expected to confirm that the events reported are not of supernatural origin, according to 'Il Segno di Giona ('The Sign of Jonah'), a website specialised in Satanism and the occult.
    The commission, set up by Civita Castellana Bishop Marco Salvi to investigate reports of tears of blood shed by the madonna statue in Trevignano Romano and apparitions, messages and stigmata received by the alleged seer and statue owner Gisella Cardia, is expected to issue its findings "in the coming days".
    Meanwhile, the Pontificia Accademia Mariana Internationalis (PAMI), a Catholic academic institution devoted to Marian science and worship in Catholic and Ecumenical circles, has created a special observatory devoted to the study and interpretation of Madonna-related apparitions and mystic phenomena throughout the world - of which there are thought to be thousands - pending an official pronouncement by the Church concerning their authenticity.
    "In Italy there are around a hundred ongoing phenomena that the Church is following closely," said Mariologist Father Gian Matteo Roggio, who is part of the new Observatory's Scientific Committee.
    "Many of these are local and restricted in scope, not all of them receive attention from the media and the general public," he said.
    On the Trevignano case, he said at least a few months are needed for "a serious investigation", and that the local Church has been present "from the beginning".
    "The Commission will give its opinion to the bishop and he will then be the one to decide.
    "However, if you want a serious investigation, and not just bar-room chatter, it takes time," Father Roggio concluded.
    (ANSA).