Cardinal Amato:
'John Paul II beatified
for his personal holiness,
not for his Papacy'
By Cindy Wooden
ROME, April 5 (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". [Did he really express himself that way????]
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?"
The above report carries the message in Cardinal Amato's article in the OR today, and makes a point that the Church can never stress or repeat enough: the honors of the altar for Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II is for his personal holiness throughout his life, and not for his Papacy, which is for history to judge.
This is something ignored by all those who criticize the beatification because of specific shortocmings or failings in his Papacy, which do not reflect on his personal holiness, but on other factors that went into his administrative actions and judgments.
Surely not even his most bitter critics can think he approved of the actions of pedophile priests or the cover-up of these actions by their bishops, nor that he knew of Marcial Maciel's perversions when he praised him on the last public occasion they were seen together.
To insist that the Church must establish 'what he knew and when he knew it' about these unpleasant facts before going on with his sainthood cause is to be as perverse and sanctimonious as Pius XII's most hostile opponents who condemn him for his 'silence' about the Holocaust while completely ignoring the thousands he rescued and all his other actions he performed in their behalf.
This is all that the AP has reported so far from the news conference today at the Vatican on the 3-day program (April 30-May 2) surrounding the beatification of John Paul II on May 1. There's lots more material but right now, it's all in Italian...
Miracle nun and JPII's closest aides
will 'star' in prayer vigil
for the May 1 beatification
VATICAN CITY, April 5 (AP) - A French nun whose inexplicable cure from Parkinson's disease was the miracle needed to beatify Pope John Paul II will have a starring role in the Vatican's three-day beatification extravaganza.
Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, as well as John Paul's closest aide Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz and longtime spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls will all speak about their experiences with the beloved pope at a prayer vigil at Rome's Circus Maximus on the eve of the May 1 beatification.
The Vatican on Tuesday released details about the event, which is expected to draw some 300,000 people to the Eternal City.
Organizers said the €1.2 million ($1.7 million) price tag is being paid for by private sponsors, who are also donating water, chips, sandwiches and fruit for pilgrims.
The story omits to say that Benedict XVIO will take part in the main prayer vigil with a videmessage.
RV's Engl;ish service has now conveniently summarized the important points from today's news conference:
The Diocese of Rome:
Details of 3-day
beatification program
April 5, 2011
With less than one month to go until the beatification of the Venerable John Paul II, those in charge of organising the mammoth event revealed the final program for the three days of celebration, which includes the testimony of Sr. Marie Simon-Pierre, whose miraculous healing opened the way for the late Pope’s beatification and a live link up with five Marian shrines around the world.
Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Vicar-General for the diocese of Rome, was joined by Msgr. Marco Frisina, Director of the Diocesan liturgical Office, and Vatican Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. in a news conference at teh Vatican Tuesday morning..
Cardinal Vallini said that the Diocese of Rome, as the diocese promoting the sainthood cause for John Paul II, has asked Benedict XVI to declare “universal veneration” for the new Blessed.
This is a prerogative for saints, whereas Blesseds are generally endorsed by the Church for 'local veneration' only until they are canonized. He said that the request was part of the original petition presented by then Cardinal Vicar Camillo Ruini to Benedict XVI when the Diocese of Rome first opened the late Pope's cause of beatification.
The full program for the beatification celebrations presented today is "strongly characterised by particular elements intended to emphasise the richness of John Paul II's personality, and the impact of his pontificate on the life of the diocese of Rome and on the whole world".
The Vigil
Saturday, April 30
Circus Maximus (20.00 to 22.30)
The celebration will be divided into two parts, the first part dedicated to remembering the words and actions of John Paul II.
A solemn procession by representatives of all the parishes and chaplaincies of the diocese will accompany the icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani from Santa Maria Maggiore, to be enthroned for teh Prayer Vigil.
Personal testimonies will then be given by two of John Paul II’s closest collaborators, Joaquin Navarro-Valls and Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, and by Sr. Marie Simon-Pierre, whose miraculous recovery opened the way for the beatification process.
This first part of the celebrations will be concluded with the hymn "Totus tuus", composed for the 50th anniversary of John Paul's priestly ordination.
The second part will focus on the recitation of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, which were introduced by John Paul II.
After the hymn "Open the doors to Christ", Cardinal Vallini will give an introduction summarising the spiritual and pastoral character of John Paul II.
The Rosary will then be recited, with a live connection to five Marian sanctuaries around the world. Each of the five Mysteries of the Rosary shall be linked to a prayer intention of importance to John Paul II.
In the Sanctuary of Lagniewniki, Krakow, the prayer intention will take the theme of youth; in the Sanctuary of Kawekamo, Bugando, Tanzania, the family; in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lebanon, Harissa, evangelisation; in the Basilica of Sancta Maria de Guadalupe, Mexico City, hope and peace among peoples; and in the Sanctuary of Fatima, the Church.
To conclude the vigil, Pope Benedict XVI will recite the final oration and impart his apostolic blessing to all participants, in a live link up from the Apostolic Palace.
That night, across Rome, the following churches shall remain open for prayer: Sant' Agnese in Agone, Piazza Navona; San Marco al Campidoglio; Santa Anastasia; Santissimo Nome di Gesù all'Argentina; Santa Maria in Vallicella; San Giovanni dei Fiorentini; San Andrea della Valle; and San Bartolomeo all'Isola.
Mass of Beatification,
May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday
St. Peter's Square
The solemn liturgy of beatification will be preceded by an hour of prayerful preparation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, a devotion introduced by Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska and dear to the soon-to- be-Blessed John Paul II.
The preparation will conclude with an Invocation to Mercy in the world, with the hymn "Jezu ufam tobie".
This will be followed by Mass, with the texts for the First Sunday after Easter. At the end of the rite of beatification, a tapestry depicting the newly Blessed will be unveiled to the notes of the Hymn to the Blessed in Latin.
Mass of thanksgiving
Monday, May 2 May
St. Peter's Square
Officiated by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, this will be the first Mass celebrated in honour of the newly Blessed John Paul II, with texts toe be called the Mass of the Blessed John Paul II.
Music during the celebrations shall be provided by the Choir of the Diocese of Rome, with the participation of the Choir of Warsaw and the Wadowice Symphony Orchestra, Poland.
Other details
Fr. Lombardi said that in the evening of Friday, April 29, the tomb of the Blessed Pope Innocent XI - currently in the Chapel of St. Sebastian in St. Peter's Basilica - shall be transferred to the Altar of Transfiguration, to make way for the body of John Paul II.
That morning, the coffin of John Paul II - which shall not be opened - will be exhumed and transferred from its tomb in the Vatican grottoes to rest before the tomb of St. Peter.
On the morning of 1 May, it will be brought before the Altar of Confession in the Basilica.
Following the beatification ceremony, the Pope and the concelebrating cardinals will make their way to the Altar of Confession in the Basilica and will before the coffin.
In the afternoon after the Beatification Mass, the Basilica will be opened to the faithful who wish to venerate the new Blessed and will stay open for as long as there are people seeking to do so.
The Diocese of Rome has now renovated their site
www.karol-wojtyla.org/En/Home%20Page.aspx
for the cause of John Paul II's sainthood which has been up since May 2005:
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 06/04/2011 00:57]