No human explanation for Madonna statue's tears of blood

A study into a statue of the Madonna reported to have shed tears of blood a decade ago concluded that the event had no human explanation, an Italian newspaper reported.

Corriere della Sera said it viewed the document, ordered by the Civitavecchia diocese to review the case. It published what it said was a summary of its findings.

"Everything - they [the experts] say unanimously - indicates that in that corner of the earth at the gates of Rome an event took place that has no human explanation and points at the mystery of the supernatural," the newspaper reported.

The case of the Madonna of Civitavecchia, a small port city about 65km north of Rome, made headlines when a young girl claimed she saw the statue cry tears of blood. The city's bishop, Monsignor Girolamo Grillo, claimed the statue cried in his hands.

Investigators concluded that the red liquid on the statue was male human blood. An X-ray and CAT scan found no cavities that could house a device to squirt liquid.