THE alleged shedding of bloody tears by the image of St. Veronica is fake, a Church official said Saturday.

Msgr. Carlito Pono, parish priest of the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Carcar City, told SunStar Cebu that they were able to apprehend a person who admitted to injecting red liquid into the eyes of the image to simulate tears of blood.

Pono said the person is detained at the city’s police station for questioning. Pono was one of those who inspected the image to determine if the blood was authentic.

Pono urged the faithful to not believed alleged “miracles” so quickly as such incidents often ruin one’s faith in God.

But Candice Acuña, Carcar City public information officer and one of those who witnessed the statue shedding tears, denied that someone admitted to faking the miracle. She said the image was brought to Cebu City for an assessment.