The South African Council of Churches (SACC) on Tuesday said it doubted claims by an East Rand teenager that she had repeatedly seen the Virgin Mary.
”I doubt it very much … We know that people in desperate situations search for answers from God. The God that we know reveals himself in a meaningful manner,” said SACC general secretary Eddie Makue.
”Has this girl seen the Virgin Mary before? How did she know what she looks like?”
Francesca Zackey (17) from Benoni claimed she had repeatedly seen the Virgin Mary.
A number of devout Christians had visited her home for blessings.
On Tuesday, the Star newspaper reported that a woman had damaged her eyes after she gazed at the sun, hoping the Virgin Mary would appear.
Amal Nassif (37) had visited Zackey in Benoni. Nassif was told to look at the sun, and if she had faith, the Virgin Mary would appear.
Nassif stared at the sun for about a minute and lost her sight.
”I can’t see anything. There is a large dark blind spot,” she was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
Nassif said at least four people had damaged their eyes in same way.
Makue condemned the incident.
”It is disturbing when the vulnerability of people’s faith is exploited in a way that leads to any form of abuse.” Makue said.
Google lists about 350 000 entries for Virgin Mary sightings.
The most famous claim came from the village of Lourdes, France, where a peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed in 1858 that she had seen Jesus’s mother 18 times. The village has since become a global attraction for pilgrims.
Soubirous was beatified in 1925 and canonised in 1933 by Pope Pius XI. — Sapa