Priest expels weeping statue man*
Western Australia's Rockingham parish priest, Fr Finbarr Walsh, has expelled a self-styled visionary who has a "weeping" statue of the Virgin and is reputed to have Christ's wounds, saying that the apparitions, wounds, and statues' tears may be fake.
PerthNow*reports that Fr Walsh, who is parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes, had previously been a backer of Ron Jakeman and consulted Archbishop Barry Hickey before deciding to order Mr Jakeman out.
"I told him to leave. The (reason) is my business," Fr Walsh told*The Sunday Times.
"But it was serious or I wouldn't have thrown him out. He (Mr Jakeman) was a nuisance to the place ... a huge embarrassment.*
"I told him to go back to Brisbane, but he might think he is entitled to come back. If he does we will see what happens.*
"It was never proved he had the apparitions. We relied on his word. There was no outward evidence. Most of the messages were vague and wordy - too many words and too little solid teaching in them.*
"These people say they have these things (messages) in their minds and write them down. Whether or not they come from Our Lady (Virgin Mary) is another matter. There is probably some doubt now.
"They (stigmata) could easily be faked. You just don't know. He could make them up before showing them (his hands) to us."
Mr Jakeman arrived in Rockingham from Brisbane about seven years ago when he teamed up with Patty Powell and her twin sister Eileen Giles to turn Ms Powell's house into the Family House of Prayer.*
SOURCE
Weeping Mary man expelled (Perth Now, 9/4/07)*
LINKS*(not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Rockingham Parish (Archdiocese of Perth)
Weeping Madonna of Rockingham
ARCHIVE
Parramatta wall weeps " miracle " oil (CathNews, 4/4/07)
Perth priest claims miracle (CathNews, 20/3/06)*
Archbishop says weeping statues were fraudulent (CathNews, 30/7/04)
Brisbane miracle investigation report still weeks away (CathNews, 9/7/04)
Weeping statue investigation progresses (CathNews 8/6/04)
Retired chemistry professor to examine weeping statues (CathNews 3/6/04)
Weeping Mary draws faithful (CathNews 31/5/04)
Archbishop Bathersby announces weeping statue investigation (CathNews 26/5/04)
Crowds flock to see 'weeping' religious icons (CathNews 24/5/04)
Perth Archbishop announces inquiry into weeping Madonna statue (CathNews, 25/11/02)
Tests on crying Madonna fail to show hoax (CathNews, 13/9/02)
10 Apr 2007*
