The Italian news agencies carried this news today, which it turns out, was reported yesterday by ROME REPORTS, but I didn't see it. Sorry...
Benedict XVI to declare
John Paul II 'Venerable' tomorrow
December 17, 2009 - The late Pope John Paul II is one step closer to getting a spot on the altars, now that Benedict XVI will name him venerable.
Benedict XVI is expected to sign the decree Saturday December 19th.
When the Pope gives a candidate to the altars, the title "venerable" that means he recognizes that they lived the Christian virtues as heroes.
To beatify a candidate, the commission of cardinals and Vatican theologians must certify that God has performed a miracle through his intercession.
In the case of John Paul II, just two months after his death, several medical teams have classified the cure of a French nun with Parkinson's, as “scientifically inexplicable”. The nun says, with much difficulty, she wrote John Paul II name on a piece of paper and a couple of hours later she was 100% cured.
To name John Paul II 'Venerable', Pope Benedict XVI analyzed the documentation collected during the last 5 years by the postulator of the Cause of beatification, Father Slawomir Oder. Thousands of pages with specific facts and that show what many proclaimed the day of his funeral: that John Paul was a saint.
John Paul II road to sainthood, is perhaps one of the shortest on record. It started just one month after he died. And lasted only 5 years. The traditional road to sainthood usually takes 10 times as long.
An earlier report from Australian news agencies citing sources at the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Sainthood anticipate that the major decree to be announced by the Pope before Christmas will the canonization of Mother Mary McKillop, who would become the first Australian saint.
The same reports said that both John Paul II and Pius XII were to be declared 'Venerable'. And an Italian report today says that also to be declared 'Venerable' is a protege of John Paul II, the Polish priest Jerzy Popieluszko, believed martyred by the Communists for his role in rallying the Polish people against the regime at the Solidarity rallies of the 1970s.