Vatican may have found late pope's 'miracle'

CNN ^ | January 30, 2006 | Philip Pullella

[NYer]

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -- The Vatican may have found the "miracle" they need to put the late Pope John Paul II one step closer to sainthood -- the medically inexplicable healing of a French nun with the same Parkinson's disease that afflicted him.

Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the Catholic Church official in charge of promoting the cause to declare the late pope a saint of the Church, told Reuters on Monday that an investigation into the healing had cleared an initial probe by doctors.

Oder said the "relatively young" nun, whom he said he could not identify for now, was inexplicably cured of Parkinson's after praying to John Paul after his death last April 2.

"I was moved," Oder said in a telephone interview. "To think that this was the same illness that destroyed the Holy Father and it also kept this poor nun from carrying out her work."

John Paul suffered from Parkinson's Disease during the last decade of his life. His body trembled violently and he could not pronounce his words or control his facial muscles.

"To me, this is another sign of God's creativity," he said, adding that the nun worked with children.

He said Church investigators would now start a more formal and detailed probe of the suspected miracle cure.

The process that could lead to sainthood for John Paul began in May when Rome archdiocese published an edict asking Catholics to come forward with evidence "in favor or against" John Paul's reputation of holiness.

One proven miracle is required after John Paul's death for the cause to lead to beatification.

It must be the result of prayers asking the dead pope to intercede with God. Miracles are usually a physical healing that doctors are at a loss to explain.

Another miracle would be necessary between beatification and eventual sainthood.

[NYer]

John Paul II died at the age of 84 on April 2, 2005.

[NYer]

Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[Almondjoy]

Come on Catholics. Seriously....

If you are praying to anyone other than God you need to read up on your verses again.

[Theoden]

It is a miracle that nice threads like these, always attract fine examples of Christians, like you...

[trebb]

Men don't decide who is to be a saint. All of the faithful are saints in God's eyes and conferring sainthood on a person based on whether someone in the Catholic Church can X all the right boxes is a form of hubris that denigrates the religion.

[netmilsmom]

It took all the way to post 4 for the slam.

Let me direct you to a thread by Alouette, SJackson or Salem so that you can share your insight with the Jewish FReepers about how wrong their doctrine is.

See you there. NOT.

[Theoden]

Seriously, if going Sola Scripture works for you, keep going, otherwise, how Catholics pray is of no concern to you.

[netmilsmom]

Dig my tagline.
We've got bigger problems in this world.

[AgThorn]

So sainthood can be attributed to miracles 'after' one's death? Do people that perform miracles 'during' their life get through the process quicker or get some higher level of sainthood?

Sorry for sounding a bit cynical but this process just seems rather bureaucratic and nonsensical if a miracle is needed, before or after your death.

[Theoden]

The human man who decides whether or not someone is a saint, has the power of the keys, period. If your not Catholic, I guess it won't "denigrate your religion", so it should not bother you.

[marshmallow]

Were not praying to him. We're asking him to pray for us.

If I asked you to pray for me, would you do it??

Well, as Catholics, we believe that a) it's not only the living who can pray for us but also those who've gone before us in faith and b) the prayers of those who themselves led holy lives are particularly powerful in the sight of God.

That's all there is to it, really.

Nothing wrong with that is there?

[trebb]

I agree that we have bigger problems, but this is one of the reasons I switched to a nondenominational church that uses the Bible as it's basis for the teachings that go on. Our pastor makes no bones about anything the Bible says and will unashamedly teach it "as is" no matter how many might take offense. Faith in God and the Gospel of the New Testament and it's message of Grace through Jesus' supreme sacrifice of Love are the foundations of Christianity; the elevating of mortals, by other mortals seems to be putting the wrong sort of emphasis out there. I prefer that our spiritual leaders ask for God's blessings rather than thinking they can confer them.

God Bless.

[Pyro7480]

Men don't decide who is to be a saint. All of the faithful are saints in God's eyes and conferring sainthood on a person based on whether someone in the Catholic Church can X all the right boxes is a form of hubris that denigrates the religion.

We aren't "deciding" who the saints are. There are countless saints who aren't "canonized." The Church is giving recognition to those holy souls whose intercession has proved beneficial to the Church Militant on earth.

[Nihil Obstat]

It was a great privilege to have him as our pope. As President Bush said:

"Laura and I join people across the Earth in mourning the passing of Pope John Paul II. The Catholic Church has lost its shepherd, the world has lost a champion of human freedom, and a good and faithful servant of God has been called home.

Pope John Paul II left the throne of St. Peter in the same way he ascended to it -- as a witness to the dignity of human life. In his native Poland, that witness launched a democratic revolution that swept Eastern Europe and changed the course of history. Throughout the West, John Paul's witness reminded us of our obligation to build a culture of life in which the strong protect the weak. And during the Pope's final years, his witness was made even more powerful by his daily courage in the face of illness and great suffering.

All Popes belong to the world, but Americans had special reason to love the man from Krakow. In his visits to our country, the Pope spoke of our "providential" Constitution, the self-evident truths about human dignity in our Declaration, and the "blessings of liberty" that follow from them. It is these truths, he said, that have led people all over the world to look to America with hope and respect.

Pope John Paul II was, himself, an inspiration to millions of Americans, and to so many more throughout the world. We will always remember the humble, wise and fearless priest who became one of history's great moral leaders. We're grateful to God for sending such a man, a son of Poland, who became the Bishop of Rome, and a hero for the ages."

[babygene]

I'm catholic and do believe in miracles. However I have had 38 years of experience with Juvenal Parkinson's, and this one is going to be hard to "prove". There are a lot of things that can cause Parkinson's syndrome in a younger person, and usually it's not your classic Parkinson's disease. It can be a side effect to numerous medications and can go away when you stop taking the medication.

[trebb]

The human man who decides whether or not someone is a saint, has the power of the keys, period. If your not Catholic, I guess it won't "denigrate your religion", so it should not bother you.

It doesn't denigrate my religion (I was brought up Catholic). It assumes too much power and authority for mere mortals who should stick to glorifying God instead of trying to glorify men. Men may be deserving of wholesale love and respect, but not of reverence; reverence belongs to God.

[Rutles4Ever]

If you are praying to anyone other than God you need to read up on your verses again.

I see the entertainment showed up early on this thread.

[Rutles4Ever]

It assumes too much power and authority for mere mortals

Why?

[Rutles4Ever]

I prefer that our spiritual leaders ask for God's blessings rather than thinking they can confer them.

Sure about that?

Matthew 18:18

"Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven."