Alfred E. Zammit’s letter The Miracle Of Miracles (April 12) tells the story of the oldest son of a poor peasant family (somehow it’s always poor peasants); his “missing” limb “reportedly grew” or “made its way back” into place. All this was way back in 1637, Spain.

The first thing that amazed me about this story, which of course I did not believe but irrespective of whether it is true or not, is how the witnesses simply immediately decided, just like that, that the restoration of his leg was due to none other than the Virgin’s intercession. To them that was the obvious deity of choice, there was no questioning it. Such naïvety is on a par with a child believing that the tooth he placed under his pillow was replaced with money by the tooth fairy.

Mr Zammit’s letter tells of the parish vicar being the first to visit, followed by the justice of peace, the mayor, the royal notary... No mention of a doctor; was this not first and foremost a physical matter?

Furthermore, I’ll quote from Mr Zammit’s letter: “In Zaragoza, on June 5, 1640, the canonical process was officially opened. It was open to the public. More than 100 people of all classes testified. There was not a single conflicting voice”.

Apart from people believing what they want to believe, is Mr Zammit not aware that he is writing about Spain in the 1600s, the land of the Inquisition and who knows what consequences one might have suffered were he or she to say anything that might have, in any possible way, made the Church feel opposed?