John Paul II being beatified for holiness, not his papacy, speakers say

cns ^ | April 1, 2011 | Cindy Wooden

[NYer]

Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, speaks at a conference about Pope John Paul II in Rome April 1. (CNS/Paul Haring)

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

ROME (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II is being beatified not because of his impact on history or on the Catholic Church, but because of the way he lived the Christian virtues of faith, hope and love, said Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes.

"Clearly his cause was put on the fast track, but the process was done carefully and meticulously, following the rules Pope John Paul himself issued in 1983," the cardinal said April 1, during a conference at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.

The cardinal said the church wanted to respond positively to many Catholics' hopes to have Pope John Paul beatified quickly, but it also wanted to be certain that the pope, who died in 2005, is in heaven.

Cardinal Amato said the sainthood process is one of the areas of church life where the consensus of church members, technically the "sensus fidelium" ("sense of the faithful"), really counts.

"From the day of his death on April 2, 2005, the people of God began proclaiming his holiness," and hundreds, if not thousands, visit his tomb each day, the cardinal said. A further sign is the number of biographies published about him and the number of his writings that are translated and re-published.

"In the course of a beatification cause, there is the vox populi," he said, which must be "accompanied by the vox dei (voice of God) -- the miracles -- and the vox ecclesiae (voice of the church)," which is the official judgment issued after interviewing eyewitnesses and consulting with historians, physicians, theologians and church leaders to verify the candidate's holiness.

Beatification and canonization are not recognitions of someone's superior understanding of theology, nor of the great works he or she accomplished, he said. Declaring someone a saint, the church attests to the fact that he or she lived the Christian virtues in a truly extraordinary way and is a model to be imitated by others, the cardinal said.

The candidate, he said, must be perceived "as an image of Christ."

Cardinal Amato said, "the pressure of the public and of the media did not disturb the process, but helped it" because it was a further sign of Pope John Paul's widespread reputation for holiness, which is something the church requires proof of before it moves to beatify someone.

Joaquin Navarro-Valls, who served as Vatican spokesman under Pope John Paul, told the conference that the late pope's voice, his pronunciation, his use of gestures and his presence at the altar or on a stage all contributed to his success as a communicator.

But the key to his effectiveness was that he firmly believed that each person was created in God's image and likeness, Navarro-Valls said. "I think this was what attracted people even more than the way he spoke."

People felt he was sincere in his recognition of their dignity and of their destiny to be with God, he said.

"He was a man profoundly convinced of the truth of those words in Genesis -- 'God made man and woman in his image and likeness.' This gave him optimism even when he could no longer walk, and then even when he could no longer speak," Navarro-Valls said.

The Spaniard, a member of Opus Dei, said he had the blessing of personally knowing three saints: Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, founder of Opus Dei; Blessed Teresa of Kolkata; and Pope John Paul.

What all three have in common, he said, was a good sense of humor, a ready smile and an ability to laugh.

As for those who question beatifying Pope John Paul only six years after his death and those who say the explosion of the clerical sex abuse scandal during his pontificate casts a dark shadow on his reign, Navarro-Valls said people must remember that beatification is not a judgment on a pontificate, but on the personal holiness of the candidate.

The key question, he said, is: "Can we be certain he lived the Christian virtues in a heroic way?"

[NYer]

Ping!

[NYer]

e passport of Karol Wojtyla, the late Pope John Paul II, is displayed at a mobile exhibition in Krakow, Poland, March 31. April 2 is the sixth anniversary of the death of the pontiff. He will be beatified May 1 by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI. (CNS/Agencja Gazeta via Reuters)

[Doulos1]

Beatified? Chapter and verse?

[armydoc]

Beatified? Chapter and verse?

Are you asking for a Scripture reference from a Catholic? How quaint. Bless your heart!

[Doulos1]

Bless you, I haven’t laughed like this for weeks! lolol

[Campion]

Sola scriptura? Chapter and verse?

[Doulos1]

Yes indeed, by Scripture alone! The answers are in The Book and not a man. Catholicism is to Christianity is what cataracts are to the eye.

[armydoc]

Right on! You don’t need no steenkin’ screepture!

[Tax-chick]

It’s a weird world out there. I often wish I didn’t know most of it existed, like my mother’s cousins who had never even been to Belfast.

[NELSON111]

Sola scriptura? Chapter and verse?

I have found 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17 work for me... "All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect (COMPLETE), thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

The word of God is what is needed for 1) Doctrine - that which is taught/instructed; 2) Reproof - to prove or test things; 3) Correction - To bring back to an upright state; 3) Instructions in Righteousness - Being taught what is right...

And it's God's Word that makes you complete and thoroughly furnishes (literally perfectly finishes) you for ALL good works.

[cothrige]

I have found 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17 work for me... "All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect (COMPLETE), thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

What does that say about sola scriptura? Saying that "all scripture" is inspired and authoritative doesn't mean that "only scripture" is. And St. Paul himself contradicts your interpretation when he instructs believers to "hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle." Interestingly, Catholics have never doubted the authority of "all scriptures" as St. Paul insists in your quoted verse. Rather, it is the Protestants who have rejected the inspiration of some of the scriptures.

This is the biggest problem with sola scriptura in my opinion. Without an inspired table of contents you will always fall back to something extra-scriptural. No matter what you say or do, you have to depend on some form of tradition not contained in the scriptures in order to achieve the most simple task of knowing what is scripture in the first place.

[johngrace]

Also scripture reads Faith comes by Hearing and Hearing the word of GOD. Not reading and reading the word of GOD. Someone has to have authority to read it to the Church. No where does it read to read scripture. First you have to Hear it before you can read it. Gee Since 7000 ways on sunday is not what God intended. Why maybe some one from a continous line since the begining of the Church? Hello! He started a Church then the Church produced the Bible. Not the bible first then a church. So now I can read it then mock you filled with my own pride. Oh, I am such a great christian I can throw a drive by verse then leave.

The New Testament has a beginning, middle and end.

Praise be to God his Church. Help us all. In His Holy Name Jesus!!

[johngrace]

Excellent!!

"This is the biggest problem with sola scriptura in my opinion. Without an inspired table of contents you will always fall back to something extra-scriptural. No matter what you say or do, you have to depend on some form of tradition not contained in the scriptures in order to achieve the most simple task of knowing what is scripture in the first place. "

The Extra- Scriptural is the books and people who told them what that scripture means per verse instead of claiming that they got the view from the bible only. First they read books that told them what this verse means then read that verse. Not read the scripture only like claimed. Otherwise where do you get the anti-catholic view. You are told this from books or people not scripture. I know the whole process I was once anti- catholic for a couple of years. I prayed to the Lord he showed me that it was outside scripture we get this view. It took little while from pure reading and balancing the verses from the beginning of the book to the end.

Praise Jesus and His Church. What Divine Mercy he has for all Christians even when we do not fully understand everything!! AMEN!!

[circlecity]

"And St. Paul himself contradicts your interpretation when he instructs believers to "hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle"

But Saint Paul also says: "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." which is much more applicable here and completely consistent with Jesus' condemnation of the Jewish scribes and pharisee's acts of putting their human traditions on par with scripture. ("You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!" Mk 7:9) In fact, Jesus makes this same point at least 4 times in chapter 7 of Mark alone! Jesus, however, never criticizes scripture. Jesus continual referances to scripture as authority for his words and deeds and his simultaneous rejections of traditions makes sola scripture decidedly Biblical.

[cothrige]

But Saint Paul also says: "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." which is much more applicable here and completely consistent with Jesus' condemnation of the Jewish scribes and pharisee's acts of putting their human traditions on par with scripture. ("You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!" Mk 7:9) In fact, Jesus makes this same point at least 4 times in chapter 7 of Mark alone! Jesus, however, never criticizes scripture. Jesus continual referances to scripture as authority for his words and deeds and his simultaneous rejections of traditions makes sola scripture decidedly Biblical.

But, that doesn't uphold sola scriptura. Our Lord promised the Spirit, and that it would teach all truth. He certainly never suggested that the Church, guarantor of the Spirit, would act against that Spirit. He promised to remain with the Church, to give His Spirit to the Church, and that the Church would withstand to the end. None of this fits with your suggestion that our Lord would equate His own promised Church which He would found with the pharisees. Further, your interpretation of St. Paul fails for the same reasons, and because the meaning you see there is a result of eisegesis, and not exegesis.

What you are overlooking is that St. Paul spoke directly, without need of interpretation, to the teaching authority which lies outside of the written scriptures. Further, you cannot even hold to sola scriptura without, both simultaneously and contradictorily, holding to tradition regarding, at minimum, the canon of scripture itself. People love to talk around this, but the impossibility is definitive. Sola scriptura is a fallacy; a myth that cannot even be presented without the use of extra-scriptural teaching. There is no inspired table of contents.

[antceecee]

Sorry for the haters on this thread... I have great respect for John Paul II.. as my Grandfather did as well (he passed away in 1996)... JPII was a holy man of God and inspired youth around the world to embrace their faith in God.

[circlecity]

"Our Lord promised the Spirit, and that it would teach all truth."

Which it teaches by enabling us to (1) originally recognize which writings were cannonical scripture and (2) giving us the ability to understand scripture. The Church is nothing more the the "called out" - the collection of all regenerated Christians, ie. those fileed with and directed by the Spirit. Now, just as the Pharisees perverted the concept of Israel with their man made traditions (as condemned by Jesus) so have false Christians created a false and perverted "Church' with their traditions. For pretty much the same reasons. This is the reason for Sola Scirpture and why Christ relied on scripture. He recognized that slavish obedience to non-scriptural traditions would always lead man away from God. ("You praiase me with your lips but your heart is far from me, you have traded the commands of God for the precepts of man"). Paul spoke from direct relevation of Christ - just as the prophets spoke, and even he used scripture as authority for many of his arguments but never tradition. Nor is it tradition, but the Spirit, which defines the cannon. It was this cannon which shaped the corporate nature of the Church not the other way around. To reject Sola Scriputra is to fall into idolatry every time. Every body that has placed tradition on the same level as scripture has fallen into apostasy just as the scribes and pharisees did. It is inevitable. Tradition is just the reign of the flesh.

[don-o]

Jesus, however, never criticizes scripture.

Wrong. Read Matthew 5:17 and following. "Ye have heard it...but, I say unto you..."

[circlecity]

That's not a criticism of scripture.