Angelik Caruana, the man who allegedly experiences apparitions from the Virgin Mary, has disassociated himself from a Facebook post which quoted him as saying that last week’s thunderstorm was God’s punishment on Malta for electing the Labour Party.

In a statement issued to the media this afternoon, reference was made to the Facebook post, written by a certain ‘Charles Qasma.’

Caruana denied having stated that: “Angelik states that he had another divine vision that said that the thunderstorm was only the first of a series of punishments that God would be inflicting on the Maltese population.”

He also highlighted that he is “not aware of any suggested divine apparition.”

“It is very evident that this has been orchestrated and fabricated with the intention of doing him harm. Mr Caruana is making it very clear that this invented communication was done in very poor taste and suggests that more respect and reverence should be shown to matters of a religious nature rather than try and politicise them with untruths,” the statement said.

Angelik Caruana has been the subject of religious controversy going back several years. Over the years he has gathered a strong following, with many people accompanying him to Borg in-Nadur in Birzebbuga, where the alleged apparitions take place.

Last year the Church had said that the so-called apparitions were not divine or supernatural.