Vatican may have found Pope John Paul's
"miracle"
Mon Jan 30, 2006 9:43 AM ET
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY, Jan 30 (Reuter) - The Vatican may have found the
"miracle" they need to put the late Pope John Paul one step closer
to sainthood -- the medically inexplicable healing of a French nun
with the same Parkinson's disease that afflicted him.
Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the Catholic Church official in charge of
promoting the cause to declare the late Pope a saint of the Church,
told Reuters on Monday that an investigation into the healing had
cleared an initial probe by doctors.
Oder said the "relatively young" nun, whom he said he could not
identify for now, was inexplicably cured of Parkinson's after
praying to John Paul after his death last April 2.
"I was moved," Oder said in a telephone interview. "To think that
this was the same illness that destroyed the Holy Father and it
also kept this poor nun from carrying out her work."
John Paul suffered from Parkinson's Disease during the last decade
of his life. His body trembled violently and he could not pronounce
his words or control his facial muscles.
"To me, this is another sign of God's creativity," he said, adding
that the nun worked with children.
He said Church investigators would now start a more formal and
detailed probe of the suspected miracle cure.
The process that could lead to sainthood for John Paul began in May
when Rome archdiocese published an edict asking Catholics to come
forward with evidence "in favor or against" John Paul's reputation
of holiness.
One proven miracle is required after John Paul's death for the
cause to lead to beatification.
It must be the result of prayers asking the dead Pope to intercede
with God. Miracles are usually a physical healing that doctors are
at a loss to explain.
Another miracle would be necessary between beatification and
eventual sainthood.
Oder said his office had received many messages from faithful
around the world claiming that they had got what they wanted after
having prayed to John Paul after he died.
MANY MIRACLES
He said his office had also received many letters and e-mails from
people claiming they had been miraculously cured or otherwise
helped with a serious problem after praying to the Pope even while
he was alive.
But under Church rules, only those "miracles" which occurred after
the Pope's death can be investigated and eventually used as proof
of holiness.
The month after John Paul died, Pope Benedict dispensed with Church
rules and put him on the fast track to sainthood.
Benedict waived rules that impose a five-year waiting period after
a candidate's death before the procedure that leads to sainthood
can start.
The quick start means John Paul could be beatified and so declared
a "blessed of the Church" within a few years if a miracle can be
attributed to his intercession with God.
The crowds at John Paul's funeral on April 8 chanted "Santo Subito"
(Make him a saint now!).
Oder said he and other members of the investigating team were
convinced that John Paul "is already a saint" but he could not say
how long the bureaucratic procedure could take.
In past centuries, the saint-making procedure has often been long
and expensive but many Catholics believe that John Paul's life of
suffering and service was clear to all.
Many of the people who knew or worked with John Paul are alive.
This could speed up the case significantly because witnesses would
be readily available to testify.