Italy's favourite saint

Did Italy’s favourite saint faked his stigmata?
Historian Sergio Luzzatto’s book, The Other Christ: Padre Pio and 19th Century Italy reveals Padre Pio, who was made a saint in 2002, had used carbolic acid to get the Christ-like wounds in his...

hands.
ROME: Padre Pio, Italy’s most loved saint, faked his stigmata by pouring carbolic acid on his hands, according to a new book. The Other Christ: Padre Pio and 19th Century Italy, by the historian Sergio Luzzatto, draws on a document found in the Vatican’s archive. The document reveals the testimony of a pharmacist who said that the young Padre Pio bought four grams of carbolic acid in 1919.
“I was an admirer of Padre Pio and I met him for the first time on 31 July 1919”, wrote Maria De Vito. She claimed to have spent a month with the priest in the southern town of San Giovanni Rotondo, seeing him often. “Padre Pio called me to him in complete secrecy and telling me not to tell his fellow brothers, he gave me personally an empty bottle, and asked if I would act as a chauffeur to transport it back from Foggia to San Giovanni Rotondo with four grams of pure carbolic acid”. “He explained that the acid was for disinfecting syringes for injections. He also asked for other things, such as Valda pastilles.”
The testimony was originally presented to the Vatican by the Archbishop of Manfredonia, Pasquale Gagliardi, as proof that Padre Pio caused his own stigmata with acid. It was examined by the Holy See during the beatification process of Padre Pio and apparently dismissed.
Padre Pio, whose real name was Francesco Forgione, died in 1968. He was made a saint in 2002. A recent survey in Italy showed that more people prayed to him than to Jesus or the Virgin Mary. He exhibited stigmata throughout his life, starting in 1911.

aarthur001, please point me to one scientific acknowledgement of a miracle? Any miracle? If you can't then I stand by my contention.

And as far as padre pio, even many in the church, including popes, thought he was faking his stigmatta. The founder of Rome's Catholic university hospital said he was an ignorant and self-mutilating psychopath who exploited people's credulity. There were accusations of him having sex with women (in confessionals no less), embezzlement, and was actually banned for years from saying mass and dhearing conffessions,

It would not be the first time a religious figure claimed to be something he wasn't. Since there are no such things as miracles, it had to have happened some way. Fraud is a more believable explanation than any other.

This particular testimony does not necessarily convince me that Padre Pio inflicted his own wounds. The acid could have other legitmate uses such as the ones listed. As far as I am aware, his stigmata was not one of the miracles that led to his canonization, so I would be more concerned about finding the source of those.

It has been casually stated above that there are no such things as miracles. I must respectfully disagree. At the same time, I must encourage anyone who sees this post to investigate for himself/herself the miracles that have been attributed to Padre Pio throughout his life and after his death. Weigh the evidence for yourselves, and see if you think that there is sufficient evidence to convince you that miracles do, in fact, exist.

(By the by, if a person is convinced of the possibility that miracles do exist, then I think that they owe it to themselves to consider (at least consider) the possibility that the Gospels actually be what they say they are.)

There have been several investigations regarding the miracles at Lourdes, France including a permanent bureau for medical investigation. It has confirmed 67 miracles in connection with the water from the sping there. The details can be found on the official website for Lourdes.

http://www.lourdes-france.org/index.php?goto_centre=rucontexte=enid=491id_rubrique=491

http://www.lourdes-france.org/upload/pdf/gb_guerisons.pdf

Also, there have been Eucharistic miracles, the most famous and most notable is located in Lanciano, Italy. The host miraclulously turned into a bloody piece of cardiac tissue while the priest was saying mass. This happened in the 9th century, but the host is still in Lanciano, and there have been several scientific studies done on it to confirm its substance. There have been other Eucharistic miracles, but these are the most famous.

In addition to these, there have been multiple saints (or pieces of saints) who are incorrupt. The most notable are St. Bernadette of Lourdes, St. Sylvan (who died in the 4th or 5th century), and St. Anthony of Padua's tongue (St. Anthony died in 1231). As far as I know, all of these bodies are still on display. St. Bernadette died in the 19th century, but her skin is still supple, and you can see your reflection in her eyes which are still wet with tears.

*[Did Italy's favourite saint fake his stigmata?...]

***I don't know if he did or not...and I also don't know if he was a saint or not. All that I do know is...that it is NOT up to the Catholic church to decide who is a saint and who isn't...they do NOT have that AUTHORITY.

The Scriptures are very CLEAR as to who the SAINTS are...they are ALL of those (both LIVING and DEAD) who have placed their FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour and LORD...hear how Paul addresses the believers at the various churches in his epistles to them:
(1)To the Church at Rome: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be SAINTS... [Romans 1:7].
(2)To the Church at Corinth: Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be SAINTS... [1 Corinthians 1:2].
(3)To the Church at Ephesus: Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the SAINTS... [Ephesians 1:1].
(4)To the Church at Philippi: Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the SAINTS... [Philippians 1:1].
(5)To the Church at Colosse: To the SAINTS... [Colossians 1:2].

BOTTOM-LINE: Only those who have been REDEEMED by the BLOOD of the Lord Jesus Christ are SAINTS. No APOSTATE church has the AUTHORITY to call it's adherants Christians (I.e., SAINTS). ALL who have been REDEEMED by faith in the Son of God (Jesus) are SAINTS...whether LIVING or DEAD.

Avim