Pope launches swift sainthood for John Paul
The Pope’s decision to authorise the start of the process for sainthood for Pope John Paul II overrode the usual five-year waiting period following the death of a candidate before beatification procedures can begin.
The only other time the waiting period was waived was for Mother Teresa. The process was begun a year after her death.
The Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said yesterday that the holiness of Pope John Paul II was evident throughout his life and pontificate.
And he said the announcement from the Vatican was a reminder of John Paul’s dedication to the spirit of prayer and his extraordinary commitment to the spreading of the message of Jesus.
Benedict made the announcement in Latin during a meeting at the Basilica of St John Lateran with the Roman clergy.
Yesterday was the anniversary of a 1981 assassination attempt on John Paul in St Peter’s Square at the hands of a Turkish gunman.
In his other announcement, Benedict appointed his old friend San Francisco Archbishop William Levada, a 68-year-old conservative theologian, as prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, filling the job that he had held for nearly 24 years before being named Pope last month.
The position is one of the most powerful at the Vatican, responsible for ensuring the faithful follow Church doctrine and punishing those who don’t. During his term as prefect, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wielded enormous power in shaping Church policy, silencing dissident theologians and signing off on virtually every document that had to do with doctrine.
The announcement about John Paul II opens the way for the possible beatification and canonisation of John Paul, following an investigation into the late Pope’s life and approval of miracles attributed to him.
One miracle is required for John Paul to be beatified, a second one for him to be declared a saint.
John Paul himself lifted the five-year waiting period for the beatification procedures to begin for Mother Teresa, the nun who dedicated her life to caring for India’s poorest people. He launched the beatification process a year after her death in 1997. She was beatified in October 2003.
