Reports that the woman who is said to have experienced the stigmata at Easter time has died are false.
Toaipuapuaga Opapo and her father Reverend Opapo Oeti have used the mainstream media in Samoa to dispel rumors circulating on social media that she is dead.
Oeti appeared at a press conference with his daughter at his side.
She showed her hands still with the marks to prove that she is well.
Her family have also dismissed numerous other reports going around about her.
Oeti said there are so many stories being spread on social media about his daughter but none of them are true.
“People have been saying on social media that she has been in hospital for two weeks and that our family is looking for blood because she has lost so much blood,” he said.
“None of these reports is true, my daughter is well and she is nowhere near the hospital.”
“The more they say things about me, the stronger I am in preaching Jesus message,” said Toaipuapuaga.
“It is up to the individual whether to believe the message I was told to deliver or not, as my role is to ensure that the message reaches everyone.”
A week after she went public, a huge crowd gathered at a special Mass at the Immaculate of Mary Cathedral to hear her testimony that she was taken by the Lord to see Heaven and Hell so she can reveal the message to the public to make the right choice.
Oeti, a pastor for 21 years at the Congregational Christian Church at Siufaga, Falelatai, said negative comments are not important, as long as the message is delivered to everyone.
One reason for the split in opinion may be that many Samoans are Protestant Christians, while stigmata has been a mostly Catholic phenomenon.
Toaipuapuaga is a Protestant.
Merita Huch, a news editor with TV1 Samoa, told the BBC: “This is a huge thing, it’s dividing the whole country across the faiths.”
“The Catholic Church has since been taking care of her, they have held a Mass for her.
There have been villages who have invited her as they want to meet and touch her.
“But there are other churches who are warning people not to believe it, saying it is the work of the devil… Some people say she was possessed by an old boyfriend’s spirit.”
Watch interview (in Samoan Language)
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News category: Asia Pacific.
