The cause for beatification of Pope John Paul II (bio - news) is advancing quickly, with three different reported miracles currently under investigation, the postulator for the cause has revealed.Msgr. Slawomir Oder said that while Church officials are carefully weighing the evidence of three healings attributed to the intercession of the late Pontiff, the Vatican is receiving dozens of messages every week reporting miracles.
“All the reports we receive are treated very respectfully, but only a few can form the basis for a full investigation,” Msgr. Oder said. Earlier this week, during a visit to Moscow, the postulator noted with interest that many of the reports of miracles were coming from Russia-- although the claims have reached Rome from all around the world.
If Vatican officials determine that one of these miracles is authentic, that finding would fulfill one of the requirements for beatification of John Paul II. Certification of a second miracle, taking place after the beatification, would clear the way for his canonization.
The other requirement for beatification is a finding that the candidate lived a life of “heroic virtue.”
That finding is reached after an exhaustive investigation of the candidate’s life and works. The first phase of that investigation in the cause of Pope John Paul II, conducted by officials of the Rome diocese, will end on April 2.
The findings will then be forwarded to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints for further study.
There is some public pressure for Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) to announce the move directly to the canonization of his predecessor, rather than beatification, when the process is fulfilled.
Pope Benedict - who has already dispensed with the usual rules to allow an early start to the cause for beatification - has given no indication that he would accept that recommendation.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce