Vatican City, 1st April 2008 (CNA) - The postulator of Pope John Paul II’s
cause of beatification has announced that the report documenting the heroic
virtues of the Pope is nearly ready, according to a Monday announcement on
the official website for the cause of the Pope’s beatification.
The announcement comes just two days before the third anniversary of Pope
John Paul II’s death.
The report is a necessary step in the beatification process.
Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the postulator of the Pope’s beatification cause,
told Vatican Radio "In recent days, I have turned in a nearly definitive
draft of the 'positio,' the report that collects all of the documents
ordered in a systematic and organized way about his pontificate."
"We're dealing with some 2,000 pages that need to be edited, but that
overall can be considered completed," he said.
Monsignor Oder said the relator of the cause, Father Daniel Ols, OP, at the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints, now must approve the official
presentation after examining the material.
"For the time being, it's premature to announce a definitive date for the
final turning in," Monsignor Oder said.
Cardinal José Saraiva Martíns, the prefect of the Congregation for the
Causes of Saints, said on March 25 to Vatican radio that he guaranteed the
“positio” would be studied immediately “without losing a moment.”
“Obviously this dicastery desires that John Paul II arrives as soon as
possible to the altars,” Cardinal Martíns said. He said the quick reaction
to the report would be a response to the cries of “santo subito” from those
at the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
“Santo subito” means “sainthood now.”
“If that reputation for holiness did not exist, a cause for beatification
could not even begin,” the cardinal said.
If the document is approved, Pope Benedict XVI could then issue a decree
recognizing his predecessor’s heroic virtue. This would allow Pope John
Paul II to be proclaimed venerable. To be beatified, a miracle would need
to be attributed to his intercession.
Pope Benedict has already waived the five-year waiting period to consider a
person’s cause for sainthood. The last case this waiting period was waived
was that of Mother Theresa of Calcutta, whose cause was begun in 1999, only
two years after her death. She was beatified in October, 2003.
Pope Benedict will celebrate Mass on April 2 to commemorate the third
anniversary of Pope John Paul’s death.
