The fame of Feijoo as an extremely rigorous writer who bitterly criticized superstition and frauds was such that it has been argued that the story could somehow be true, as it seems unlikely Feijoo would have backed it without having good reasons to do so.
Given Feijoo's reputation for rigorously examining superstitions and falsehoods, there is reason to believe that if a particular story exists, it likely contains substantial truths, as it’s unlikely he would have supported it without good reasons.