Santo Subito! Report that Pope John Paul II Will Be Beatified

The process leading to the possible canonization of the Servant of God John Paul II may have taken a major step forward.

ROME (Catholic Online) - Andrea Tornielli is a frequently cited European Journalist whose reports have sometimes been later denied by the Vatican. He writes for Il Giornale and blogs on Giornale.it. His latest report is creating quite a stir globally, that Pope John Paul II will soon be beatified.

His claim was considered accurate by Catholic News Service (CNS) - and then picked up by other news sources - the "Congregation for the Causes of Saints" has recommended the late Servant of God John Paul II be declared "Blessed". The CNS report noted that "The Vatican did not deny or confirm that the vote took place because the process is supposed to be secret until Pope Benedict signs the decree recognizing the heroic virtue of his predecessor and declares him venerable".

The November 16, 2009 report which is the source for all of the other stories was entitled Pope John Paul II "Santo Subito" and was written by Andrea Tornielli in Italian. It is very roughly and very loosely translated below:

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"Today is a decisive day. They meet this morning in the Vatican, cardinals and bishops, members of the Congregation for the Cause of Saints, called to discuss and then to speak with a vote on the process of the beatification of John Paul II.

The outcome of these meetings can never be taken for granted and last-minute surprises are always possible, as has already happened before when the case was examined by theologians and experts. The need for a second examination was not because there were doubts about the sanctity of the Polish Pope, but because those investigating requested further documentation.

But everything suggests that the outcome will be positive and that the cardinals and bishops, members of what is called "the factory of saints" will make a decision after discussing this with each other. If so, the "Congregation for the Causes of Saints" will put its final approval on the process and recommend the proclamation of the 'heroic virtues "of Pope Wojtyla, which is the final step before the beatification itself.

Such a proclamation, to become effective, must be expressly approved and authorized by Pope Benedict XVI. It would be presented by the Prefect of the Congregation, Archbishop Angelo Amato to Pope Benedict XVI. The materials were prepared to submit for the decree in recent months and that meeting is expected to occur before the end of the year.

If, as expected, today's decision is positive, then by the end of 2009, Pope Benedict's signature will be placed upon the decree proclaiming the heroic virtues of his predecessor. At that point, there will needonly to be the approval of the miracle attributed to the intercession of Karol Wojtyla, one of the many miraculous healings reported after his death by people who turned to him.

The Polish-born prelate Msgr. Slawomir Oder, the postulator of the cause for beatification, has chosen the case of Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, stricken with Parkinson's disease that prevented her from working in the maternity ward of a French hospital. She was cured suddenly and inexplicably, after the nuns prayed to the recently deceased pontiff.

It is still premature to suggest dates for the beatification but it could occur in Rome in 2010, in either May or October. It is expected that hundreds of thousands of pilgrims will arrive in Rome, all devoted to Pope John Paul II. As you recall, Pope Benedict XVI, a few weeks after the election and upon the request being made by the Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, agreed to waive the waiting period of five years from the death that canon law establishes as necessary before starting the process of beatification. He thus made possible the immediate start of the case, as had happened a few years before to Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

The work was fast, as evidence and reports were collected and recorded testimonies submitted. Many documents have been cataloged. In recent months, theologians have examined the voluminous "positive" claims and gave a favorable opinion. After the summer, all documents passed into the hands of the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which now will decide on the merits."

A report submitted later that same day, after the meeting, was then reported by the same source and is also very loosely and very roughly translated as follows:

"(The meeting) of cardinals and bishops took place this morning at the "Congregation for the Causes of Saints". They put forth a determination of "Positive" in their deliberations in the process of the beatification of John Paul II. The meeting lasted until early afternoon and the outcome of the debate and the vote was not officially disclosed.

The Newspaper learned that the cardinals and bishops have found in favor of the recommendation and were unanimous in their determination of the heroic virtues of Pope Wojtyla. Now the promulgation of decree on heroic virtues is lacking only the signature of Pope Benedict XVI which could arrive before Christmas.

That is when the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Archbishop Angelo Amato, will submit the work of the cardinals. With papal approval, Pope John Paul II would be given the title of "venerable." Once officially promulgated in a decree, the Congregation would have to complete the process of confirming the miracle attributed to the intercession of John Paul II, the healing of a French nun from Parkinson's disease.

The claim would be examined first by the Medical Committee of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, then by theologians and finally by the cardinals. Only then, after a further and final confirmation of Benedict XVI would John Paul II be beatified."

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It seems like only yesterday that the Servant of God John Paul II stepped out on to the balcony in St. Peters Square and proclaimed: "Be Not Afraid! Open up, no; swing wide the gates to Christ. Open up to his saving power the confines of the State, open up economic and political systems, the vast empires of culture, civilization and development.... Be not afraid!"

He strode onto that platform - and onto the world stage - with strength and vitality. That mountain climbing Polish Pope was so filled with the love of God that it was contagious. The Church and the world into which she is sent to continue the redemptive mission of the Lord were both profoundly changed by his holy life and by his holy death.

He lived what he boldly proclaimed with extraordinary courage. Unafraid, he traversed the globe, proclaiming freedom to the captives and truth to the victims of failed false ideologies that had ravaged the people of the twentieth century, the bloodiest in all of human history. He passionately proclaimed the ever new yet unchanging, Christian message with a prophetic urgency, profound clarity and contemporary relevance.

Communism, atheism, secularism, false humanisms, were all exposed in their empty promises and the horrors that they unleashed in the wake of their false utopian claims were ended because he had the courage to stand up to the tyrants with the bold message of the God who came among us and makes us all new! He proclaimed the Gospel, that Jesus Christ is the path to authentic personal, social, cultural and universal freedom!

He was a profound and prophetic teacher. During his magisterium he authored more encyclical letters, apostolic exhortations, constitutions and letters than any Pope in the two thousand year history of the Christian Church. He was, as the Apostle Paul encouraged the Corinthians to become, a "living letter" for our age.

We will continue to follow this important story and update our readers on the process leading to the possible canonization of the Servant of God John Paul II. As for this Deacon and writer, I join my own voice to the chorus which has grown since that day when the world watched a man who lived for the Lord die in the Lord with a dignity and beauty that is the stuff of Saints, "Santo Subito!"

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