In May 1902, a boy called Arthur Otto Moock was born in Germany. He was a Protestant all his life and irreligious for most of it. He became a merchant.
In his mid twenties, he had a dreadful car accident. The recovery was incomplete and painful and traumatic. His spinal cord was gravely damaged. He also lost his livelihood for he became unfit for his work.
In 1935, he found to his horror that nail marks appeared in his hands and feet and scratches and cuts seemingly from a crown of thorns on his forehead.
Another trauma, his being caught in a bomb attack during WW2, was followed by a new mark appearing. Now he had a bloody cross on his forehead. And a side wound corresponding to the one Jesus allegedly had manifested.
He had enough to deal with and sought the help of doctors and psychiatrists to get rid of the bleeding marks.
Years later Moock, began to have ecumenically minded visitations supposedly from Jesus. The apparitions started in 1949, and yet Moock went to specialists seeking for help to get rid of it all. Thorsen the Danish hypnotist thought that hypnosis might help and it didn’t.
From this very unusual case, terrible ill-luck and trauma, led to wounds appearing which further traumatised this man. A miracle didn’t do it. His stigmata was never recognised by any Church as a real sign from God. It is a fact that most stigmatics suffer something terrible before the wounds are inflicted. I suspect that many of them suffered rape and child molestation from Church officials.
People do punish themselves for suffering and being unhappy. Also, you may subconsciously want to suffer something that you are causing yourself for it distracts you from other sufferings you have that have nothing to do with you. You prefer to suffer at your own hand and be in control of it than not to be.
Many stigmatists report feeling an extreme sympathy for the sufferings of Jesus which they believe were offered for their redemption. Could that be partly or even fully the trauma that gives rise to stigmata marks?
Should we regard a religion that even tolerates stigmata claims as abusive?
Does a faith that ignores his case really care?
