Were rules bent for Pope John Paul II?

by Michael Shackleton · March 6, 2011

Pope John Paul II died only in 2005 yet he is to be beatified this year, barely six years later. Is this not what one might call unusual haste? Has the present pope done his homework and ensured that all the correct rules and procedures have been followed in letting his immediate predecessor �jump the queue�? – Feeny

Your question is one that has been asked by so many others that Cardinal Angelo Amato, the prefect of the Congregation for Causes of the Saints, agreed to explain the matter in an interview published in L�Osservatore Romano, the Holy See�s newspaper.

He admitted that the cause for the late pope�s beatification had proceeded quickly. This was due, he said, to Benedict XVI�s granting a dispensation from the prescribed five years of waiting. With no waiting list to hinder its progress, Pope John Paul�s cause could proceed smoothly (as Pope John Paul had done for the cause of Bl Mother Teresa).

The cardinal felt that this was appropriate, because there was a wave of sympathy and love for John Paul that swelled within the Church. People acknowledged the pontiff�s patently exceptional virtues, and Pope Benedict decided that this �fame of holiness� was enough to waive the waiting period. According to Cardinal Amato it also made his own task a lot easier.

The cardinal stressed that no exceptions to the procedures governing the beatification process were made. Because the cause was not on a waiting list for attention, it could be �fast tracked� without sacrificing the normal scrupulous investigation into the life and works of the late pope. In fact, said the cardinal, because of the pressure from the media, doctors and theologians worked with extra-special attention to detail.

Another thing to note is the reported miracle in which a French nun who had been suffering from Parkinson�s disease since 2001 was abruptly cured. When Sr Marie Simon Pierre heard of John Paul�s death in 2005, she and her community prayed to God, requesting him to give healing to Sr Marie through the prayers of John Paul.

She was restored to complete health almost at once. Medical experts did an independent investigation and concluded that the event was medically inexplicable. The Church therefore accepted this as a miraculous cure, which is a requirement before anyone can be put forward for beatification.

The Church will not take the next step towards canonisation of the beatified person until at least a second miracle can also be attributed to that person.