Posted on 04/11/2005 5:58:51 AM PDT by NYer
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 10, 2005 (Zenit.org).- A cardinal who worked closely with John Paul II says that he was once cured of a serious throat condition after the Pope prayed for him and touched the affected area.
Cardinal Francesco Marchisano, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, revealed details of the incident on Saturday, the second day of the nine days of Masses celebrated for the Holy Father's eternal rest.
The Italian cardinal, a friend of Karol Wojtyla's since 1962, spoke of his previously unpublicized healing during the Mass he celebrated in the basilica with Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, the Pope's personal secretary.
The cardinal recalled that five years ago doctors operated on one of the main arteries in his neck that supply blood to the brain, "and by error of the doctors, my right vocal cord was paralyzed, obliging me to speak almost imperceptibly."
Referring to John Paul II, he said: "As a father, he came out to meet me and, for two or three minutes stroked the area where I had been operated.
"I was speechless. Meanwhile, he said to me: 'Don't be afraid, you'll see, you'll see. ... The Lord will give you back your voice. You'll see. I will pray for you. You'll see ...'"
"Soon after, I was cured," recalled Cardinal Marchisano.
He added during the homily: "Let us also thank the Lord for having given the Church a Pope like this, and let us ask the Lord for the grace to give to the Church other Popes who will follow this path."
It's in the Holy Father's perogatives to change things. I remember when I was growing up in Chicago,one of the nuns said that there would always be people who thought themselves holier than the Church.
Some lady called into a radio talk show (Schnitt, kinda conservative, not a Pope or Catholic fan by any means) and claims she was cured of Hepatitis C by the pope. She got all the documentation and sent it to the Vatican, as they requested. She sounded convincing to me.
Nuns in Chicago have said plenty of things, some saner than others. In this instance, I don't recall having said that the pope didn't have the authority to change the standards, or that I was holier than anyone. Just stating the fact that the standards had been changed, and intimating that I don't think it was a good idea. I have doubts about whether naming nearly as many saints as your 260+ predecessors combined is a good idea. That doesn't mean that I don't accept it as having been validly done.
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