Reflecting on
the many unusual events of 2016, the case surrounding the corpse of Venerable
Archbishop Fulton John Sheen may stand out as one of most bizarre of all.
Although
the good man died 37 years ago, his body hit the news again because his final
resting place couldn’t be decided upon outside of court.
Though he was born in
the Diocese of Peoria, Sheen’s public life ended in the Archdiocese of New
York, and these two episcopal districts have been duking it out, over who
should have his body, in grand style for the last few years.
It sounds a bit
macabre—and to be sure, battling over a body has a ghastly element.
Nonetheless, there is something marvelous to
the whole melodrama too, and something providentially timely.
We live in an age
in which “transgenders” and their advocates demand support for their neo-Gnostic hatred of the body and their
denial of the intrinsic goodness of material reality.
This is an age in which
vast numbers experience more virtual reality than real, physical presence.
Although
it was not the intention of the prelates involved in the dispute over Sheen’s
body to do so, they have inadvertently highlighted some of the most beautiful
and comforting elements of the Faith.
A dispute over the body of a saint
reminds us of the Incarnational world in which we live, and draws attention to deep
elements of the Catholic faith.
To quickly recap
the dispute between Peoria and New York: the Diocese of Peoria initiated the
cause for Fulton Sheen’s sainthood in 2002, at which point the late Cardinal
Edward Egan of the Archdiocese of New York confirmed that Peoria was “the ideal diocese” to undertake the process.
The
understanding was that when the time came for a beatification ceremony, New
York would hand over the body of the holy man to the diocese from whence he
sprang, and which had done the grunt work for promoting his cause.
When 2014
came along, with beatification around the corner, Peoria officially requested
the body so that it could be examined and be present for the beatification
ceremony in Peoria’s cathedral.
At this point, however, Cardinal Dolan of New
York, along with the trustees of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, hesitated over the
body’s departure. Before he died, Archbishop Sheen expressed his desire to be
buried in New York, and even purchased a burial plot there.
Therefore, the archdiocese
argued that Fulton Sheen’s body should remain, and be present for
beatification, in St. Patrick’s.
At
this point, Bishop Jenky of Peoria suspended the cause for beatification,
stalemating the entire process. New York cannot host the beatification without
cooperation from the initiators, and Peoria cannot beatify the man without New
York sending his remains.
The case went to New York’s Supreme Court in the
summer of 2016, with Joan Sheen Cunningham, Sheen’s great-niece, fighting for Peoria’s
right to the body.
Ms. Cunningham won the law suit in November of 2016, but the
Archdiocese of New York has appealed that court’s decision and the case
continues.
Strong arguments
have been made that the whole debacle brings shame and embarrassment upon the
Catholic Church in America. Author Thomas J. Craughwell wrote these scathing remarks for The
American Spectator: “The Archdiocese
of New York and the Diocese of Peoria are wrangling like spoiled children over
who gets a prized toy. In this case, however, the ‘toy’ in question is the body
of the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.”
Craughwell adds, “That custody of the
body of a potential saint is being fought over in a courtroom can only be
described as cringe-worthy. To be candid, I blame New York. After letting Peoria do all the heavy lifting
for twelve years, at the last minute they say, ‘Whoops! We’ve changed our
minds.’ It is an embarrassment for American Catholics. It disgraces the memory
of Archbishop Sheen. And it makes the Trustees of St. Patrick’s look like a
passel of spoiled brats.”
Perhaps
the issue could have been handled in some better way. However, though there may
be some truth in Mr. Craughwell’s analysis, on several points I beg to differ.
For
one thing, the dioceses are not arguing over a toy, but something of
immeasurable value—the body and future shrine of a saint. That’s actually
something worth fighting over, although at first glance the brawl seems petty
and even vulgar.
The Catholic Church has always held relics to be precious and
worthy of great reverence.
When the Council of Trent issued its “Decree on
Relics and Sacred Images” in 1563, it confirmed the importance of venerating
saints’ bodies: “The sacred
bodies of the holy martyrs and of the other saints living with Christ, which
have been living members of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit and which
are destined to be raised and gloried by him unto life eternal, should also be
venerated by the faithful. Through them many benefits are granted to men by
God.”
Veneration for
the saints, their bodies, and places their lives touched has always been common
and beloved practice among followers of Christ.
When St. Thérèse of Lisieux was
14, on pilgrimage to Rome and other holy cities with her father and sister
Celine, one of the highlights of their journey was visiting the relics of
saints, as well as places made holy by the saints.
Thérèse writes in her Story of a Soul: “After Venice, we went
on to Padua where we venerated the tongue of St. Anthony, and then on to
Bologna where we saw St. Catherine, who retains the imprint of the kiss of the
Infant Jesus.”
Thérèse and her sister both dared to defy rules limiting the
contact of visitors with holy places; among their bold exploits, Thérèse writes,
was the time she and her sister “slipped down together to the bottom of the
ancient tomb of St. Cecilia and took some earth which was sanctified by her
presence.
Before my trip to Rome I didn’t have any special devotion to this
saint, but when I visited her house transformed into a church, the site of her
martyrdom…I felt more than devotion for her; it was the real tenderness of a friend."
On a personal
note, I had a profoundly moving experience visiting Siena, the city hallowed by
that feisty counselor to the Avignon popes, St. Catherine of Siena, whose
earthly remains were rather gruesomely divvied up.
It was a great privilege to
visit her tiny room, as well as the Basilica of St. Dominic, where St.
Catherine experienced some of her beautiful mystical encounters with Jesus.
The
basilica also houses the severed head of the saint, which was taken from Rome
by her confessor Blessed Raymond of Capua, while her body remained in the heart
of the Church.
As the story of
St. Catherine illustrates, the scuffle over Fulton Sheen’s body hardly blazes
the trail, but rather, has many predecessors.
At least no one has stolen his
head—and yet, were they to do so, they could point to a man now a blessed as
exemplar! To enshrine a saint hallows one’s city, providing easy opportunity
for veneration by local devotees, including, in the case of Sheen, those who
promoted his cause from the beginning. Saints also draw pilgrims, which, on a
spiritual level, increases devotion and which, on a material level, increases
commerce.
As some have commented, the kerfuffle bears almost medieval
traits. There is a raw, physical element to it. Considering the incarnational
world in which we live, the raw, physical elements of the Faith may actually be
a good thing to bring to the public sphere of debate.
Man was created in God’s
image and likeness, with an immaterial soul and a material body that, united,
form the person. But since God is Being itself, unlimited by matter, the
resemblance man bears to him resides in the immaterial gifts which inform man’s
body: the intellect and will. Image and likeness has nothing to do with
physical appearance.
That is, until
Jesus. Jesus, the second Person of the most holy Trinity, entered human history
physically, taking to himself a human nature, and becoming true man while
remaining true God. In the words of St. Athanasius:
Thus,
taking a body like our own, because all our bodies were liable to the
corruption of death, He surrendered His body to death in place of all, and
offered it to the Father…. This He did that He might turn again to incorruption
men who had turned back to corruption, and make them alive through death by the
appropriation of His body and by the grace of His resurrection.
All of a sudden,
the human body itself bears a likeness to God! By his death and resurrection, Jesus
not only won salvation, but elevated the dignity of the human body. Now, the
human body can be the earthly temple of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus himself can truly
enter through Holy Communion. St. Paul champions this point when he exhorts the
faithful: “Do you not understand that you are
God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit has his dwelling in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16).
Further,
those who have died in the
friendship of Christ may look to Jesus’ resurrection, and expect the final
resurrection, when their bodies will join their souls for eternity in heaven. St.
Paul also confirms this hope in bodily resurrection: “In our baptism, we have been buried with him, died like him, that so,
just as Christ was raised up by his Father’s power from the dead, we too might
live and move in a new kind of existence” (Rom 6:4).
The Catechism of the
Catholic Church explains: “God, in his almighty power, will
definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our
souls, through the power of Jesus’ Resurrection” (par 997).
The human body
retains dignity even after death, because, although its union with the soul has
been severed, the essential bond between body and soul remains.
However, the
imperfection both soul and body bear due to separation will end at the final
resurrection when the bodies of the saints follow the example of that Body par
excellence and rise from death to live forever.
Therefore, by
dutiful care for the bodies of the saints, the Church draws attention to
Christ, for whose sake we honor saints in the first place. In his encyclical Cum Conventus Esset Pope John XV
clarifies: “…we so venerate and honor the relics of the martyrs and confessors
in order that we may venerate him whose martyrs and confessors they are: we
honor the servants so that honor may redound to the Lord, who said; ‘Whoever
receives you, receives me’ [Mt 10:40].” One does not venerate the saint simply
on the saint’s account, but because their lives glorified the Lord, and because
they will rise again on the last day.
One could argue
that the lack of charity shown between dioceses undermines any devotion
possessed by either to the saint in question. However, squabbling over the body
of a saint falls in the category of things at least worthy of fights, in which
multiple opinions could be correct.
This kind of a row seems significantly more
desirable than one on whether divorced and civilly remarried can receive the
Eucharist, whether women’s rights extend to abortion, or whether couples
practicing contraception may have good excuses. Certain things should be beyond
discussion, considering the Church has already answered those questions extensively
and lovingly.
But where Fulton Sheen’s body should end up?
Now there’s a great
issue. Get people talking about saints, relics, Jesus, the Incarnation, the
final resurrection, as well as the inherent dignity and goodness of the human
body.
Maybe people are even listening to Fulton Sheen’s old talks and watching
his old shows because Bishop Jenky and Cardinal Dolan brought him to the
headlines again.
Personal conduct could have been better, but Providence
brought out of the mess discussion material perfectly suited to answer current
confusion.