Controversy Over 'Pinunmul Seongmo' Manipulation... Pope Says "It's Not Always Real"

"Seongmo Does Not Seek Attention for Herself"

Regarding the recent manipulation controversy surrounding the 'Bloody Tears Virgin Mary Statue,' Pope Francis stated, "Apparitions of the Virgin Mary are not always genuine."

On the 4th (local time), the Pope appeared as a special guest on the Italian public broadcaster RAI's religious program 'A Sua immagine' and made these remarks.

The Pope said, "The Virgin Mary never seeks attention for herself," adding, "I want to see the Virgin Mary pointing to Jesus with her finger."

He further added, "It is not good for the focus to be solely on Marian devotion itself."

In a village near Romi, Italy, a statue of the Virgin Mary known as the 'Virgin Weeping Blood Tears' has been suspected to actually be pig's blood.
[Photo source=Facebook capture]

In 2016, in the village of Trevignano by Lake Bracciano in northern Rome, Italy, a statue of the Virgin Mary shedding bloody tears was discovered, attracting attention.

Maria Giuseppe Scarpulla claimed to have witnessed an apparition of the Virgin Mary, saying that the statue was shedding bloody tears and delivering a message to her as she brought the statue from the pilgrimage site of Medjugorje in Bosnia back to Italy.

Hearing the rumors, believers flocked to the site for years on the 3rd of every month to see the Bloody Tears Virgin Mary statue and hear the Virgin's messages through Scarpulla.

Most pilgrims came with desperate hopes of curing serious illnesses. One husband, hoping for his wife's recovery, donated 123,000 euros (about 170 million KRW) in cash to the Bloody Tears Virgin Mary statue.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, recently, claims arose that the bloody tears were actually pig's blood, sparking a manipulation controversy.

Scarpulla, who had been receiving donations from pilgrims for years, suddenly disappeared when a prosecutor's investigation began.

Bishop Marco Salvi, who oversees the area, advised believers not to attend the monthly Virgin Mary apparition meetings and instructed priests not to mention the incident.

Scarpulla, who ran a pottery company until 2013 and was sentenced to two years of probation for bankruptcy fraud, has been organizing the Virgin Mary apparition events for the past five years.

Meanwhile, Marian apparitions refer to phenomena where the Virgin Mary appears supernaturally, and the Catholic Church recognizes apparitions that have occurred in various parts of the world.