Catholic leaders are expressing caution over public calls for the Archbishop of Seoul to propose to the Vatican that the late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan be declared a saint.Proponents of the move, led by some devout Catholics, say the nation's first Roman Catholic cardinal Kim, who passed away last Monday, deserves such an honor.
They demanded Korean Catholic leaders to take procedures to elevate his status as such.
However, Korean Catholic circles say it's too early to discuss the matter.
Roman Catholicism has a ``Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints'' that oversees the entire canonization process. Once the deceased is proposed by particular churches for beatification or canonization, the congregation of the Roman Curia assesses them and the Pope makes the final decision.
``There are no talks going on inside the Archbishopric of Seoul as of yet. We might talk over whether to seek canonization only after some time, when stronger emotions have subsided,'' an official said.
Catholic sainthood requires that a miracle attributed to the candidate's intercession be confirmed for beatification, after which a second miracle is needed for sainthood. The process for the recognition of the miracle follows new rules laid down in 1983 by the apostolic constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister.
Mother Teresa was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in 2003, six years after her death. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, a Korean Catholic priest who was martyred in 1846, was canonized by Pope John Paul II, along with 103 other Korean Martyrs, in 1984.
In the meantime, the Korean ambassador to the Vatican said the prayer and support of the Korean Catholic community will help bring a new cardinal to South Korea following the nation's first ― Cardinal Kim ― and the second cardinal, Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk.
In an interview with local radio broadcaster PBC, Ambassador Kim Ji-young said that according to Vatican custom, there is no successor to a retired cardinal. But Kim said Pope Benedict XVI could appoint a new cardinal at a proper time if cardinal numbers decrease.
He said there is no fixed quota rule of appointing two cardinals for Korea but if the Catholic circle continues to appeal to the Holy See and if the pope approves it, another Korean could be appointed.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
(Source: RPCN)