Posted on 07/08/2009 6:08:53 PM PDT by Coleus
Church officials in the Diocese of Metuchen are helping to oversee a church investigation into whether a nun who's being considered for sainthood is the cause of a medical miracle.
The probe, the first in the history of the Diocese of Metuchen, involves Mother Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory, who died in 1984 at age 91 and was founder of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm.
A unidentified married couple in New Jersey whose unborn baby was diagnosed with a genetic disorder is claiming that prayers to McCrory helped their child, who was born far healthier than expected, said Mother Mark Louis Randall, superior general of the Carmelite order, based in Germantown, N.Y.
She said another member of the order, who is related to the couple, had suggested they pray to McCrory.
The Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints would eventually decide whether a miracle can be attributed to McCrory's intercession and present her case to the pope.
McCrory's order began pushing her cause in 1989, five years after her death.
One issue to be explored is whether the parents prayed to multiple sources. If so, investigators will consider whether an existing saint rather than McCrory could have been responsible.
To be canonized, a person must be credited after death with interceding in two miracles. People credited with interceding with one are "beatified" and given the title "blessed." A second miracle is needed for canonization.
I’ve pondered this question for a long time. With all the existing, confirmed saints, why would a person pray to someone who isn’t a saint?
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