October 20, 2003 - Reported in [Spirit Daily.com] online newspaper. From [SunStar.com] - Church wary about Carcar 'crying' icon CEBU - Even if local church officials have yet to receive an official report of the "crying" image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Carcar town, a Cebu Archdiocese official already warned the public against declaring the occurrence as a miracle. Archdiocesan media liaison officer Msgr. Achilles Dakay said any incident believed to be supernatural must be tested and proven in the natural way before it can be declared miraculous. Just like stories of apparitions and healing, the "crying" image of the Madonna in the Our Lady of Perpetual Help chapel in Poblacion II, Carcar should be examined by experts, Dakay added. "There is chemistry involved in the portrait so an expert should first find an explanation if it is natural or supernatural for it to produce moisture.

That has to be proven the natural way before it can be declared supernatural," he told SunStar. Although they have already heard talks about the "crying" Blessed Virgin Mary, Fr. Jasper Petralba of the St. Catherine of Alexandria parish in Carcar said the local church has not yet received any official communication from the chapel officials as of yesterday. Parish officials have also not paid the chapel a visit lest it be taken as an acknowledgment that something supernatural is going on in the community. "If it is indeed the work of God, it will persist, it will stand the test of time. Otherwise, it will just die a natural death," Petralba said in a separate interview. Devotees of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help flocked to the chapel in the past days after hearing talks that the embossed portrait of the Virgin Mary was moist, giving some devotees an impression that the Lady was crying.

Parishioners claimed that they noticed a brownish stain that formed on the Mother's right cheek just below the eye and down to her neck. A gleaming white substance, which looked like moisture, also covered the Holy Child's head and His red robes. The occurrence has drawn out various interpretations from the parishioners, with some saying that the Madonna wants to relay a message to the people, while others believe that the moisture was simply caused by the change of temperature. Others also believe that the Virgin Mary is saddened over the sale of the property beside the chapel. Once the chapel officials seek the assistance of the parish priests in resolving the mystery of the image of the Blessed Virgin, Petralba said they will help anytime.