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Rome, 11th March 2007 (CNA) - The Diocese of
Rome has concluded its examination of the life and virtues of the Servant of
God, Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar General for the
diocese, announced on Saturday that the important investigation had been
concluded and will be marked by a ceremony at Rome’s Cathedral, the Basilica
of St. John Lateran on April 2nd, the AP reports.
The study of those who are candidates for
being declared “Blesseds” and Saints usually begins at a diocesan level
before being passed on to a Vatican congregation which conducts its own
study.
Whereas all Popes serve as the Bishop of Rome,
the study of John Paul II’s life began both there and in Poland, where the
young Karol Wojtyla grew up and served as a priest and bishop before being
elected Pope. In January, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the late Pope’s
longtime secretary and current Archbishop of Krakow announced that the
Polish investigation was nearly complete.
Cardinal Ruini emphasized that diocesan
officials investigated “the life, virtues and reputation for holiness” of
the late Pope. During the diocesan inquiry, church officials interviewed
those who knew the Pope and examined documentation.
Although the conclusions of diocesan
investigations are only one step, they are an important one on the way to
the beloved Pope’s eventual Beatification and Canonization as a Saint. The
Congregation for the Causes of Saints must now conduct a similar
investigation and verify miracles attributed to the intercession of Pope
John Paul II.
Shortly after John Paul's death, with scores
of faithful clamoring for quick canonization, Pope Benedict XVI, the
Pontiff's successor, waived the customary five-year waiting period to open
the case for possible sainthood.
According to the AP, in addition to the
presentation of the Rome Diocese’s study at St. John Lateran, Pope Benedict
will preside at a Mass in memory of John Paul in the late afternoon of April
2nd in St. Peter's Basilica. The date marks the 2nd anniversary of Pope
John Paul’s death.
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