Pope Benedict XVI announced on Friday, Jan. 14, 2011 that his immediate predecessor Pope John Paul II will be beatified on May 1 this year. The event figures as the fastest beatification in Church history.
Weeks after his death in 2005, John Paul's road toward sainthood was opened by Benedict XVI, who heeded to the call of the faithful who wanted the late pope to become a saint. The event became a special case since Benedict XVI waived the five-year waiting period before starting the process. However, he insisted that a thorough investigation on the life of John Paul should take place.
The announcement of the beatification followed after the approval of the miracle attributed to him--the immediate and unexplainable recovery of a French nun who had suffered from advanced Parkinson’s disease until totally being cured in 2005.
According to Rome Reports, a news agency reporting for the Vatican, the last weeks of 2010 saw doctors and theologians from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints gather in the “strictest of secrecy” to approve the attribution of the miracle. This has been one of the Church-related issues since January 4.
The miracle happened to Sr. Marie Simon-Pierre. She shares her story in the official website dedicated for the cause for beatification of the pope.
“I went to see the neurologist who had been caring for me for four years. He too was very surprised as he noted the sudden disappearance of all the symptoms,” Simon-Pierre relates. “[John Paul II] was surely present at that encounter that took place in such peace and serenity.”
In June 2001, the French nun was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. She worked in a hospital, which she had to give up due to the illness. However, with her constantly asking for the pope to intercede for her, she recovered so fast that even led her to be completely healed.
The decision was given by the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and was ratified by the incumbent pope.
Issues against the beatification of John Paul II
John Paul never had any direct accusation of misconduct against him. However, he has been critiqued for the delays on responding to sex abuse scandals that attacked the church during his incumbency. It was in the United States when the scandal erupted in 2002.
When Benedict XVI assumed papacy, more issues related to sex abuse before his time were discovered.
The worst case that has been associated with John Paul was the case of the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, Fr. Marciel Maciel. The scandal accused the founder to have had raped many seminarians in Poland. The damage intensified since the congregation was known as a conservative order, which drew special attention from John Paul because of its capacity to motivate men to become priests.
The issue was brought to the Vatican during the term of John Paul. However, the case was shelved.
Levine Lao - An editor and writer who has published articles in various academic journals and news dailies in and out of his home country.
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