VATICAN SET TO MAKE LATE POPES JOHN PAUL II AND JOHN XXIII SAINTS:
The Vatican on Monday said late popes
John Paul II and John XXIII would be made saints at an
unprecedented joint ceremony on April 27, 2014 in a bid to unite
Catholic conservatives and liberals.
Pope Francis made the historic announcement at a meeting of
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| Late Pope JohnPaul II |
cardinals known as a consistory.The canonisation of the two popes is expected to bring hundreds of
thousands of pilgrims to Rome.
The popular Polish pope John Paul and his Italian predecessor
known as “Good Pope John”, are two of modern-day Catholicism’s
most influential figures.
The double sainthood is seen by Vatican watchers as an attempt to
breach a traditional left-right divide in the Church.
“John XXIII is generally a hero to the church’s progressive wing
while John Paul II is typically lionized by Catholic conservatives,”
said John Allen, from the National Catholic Reporter, a US weekly.
Allen said the decision could be interpreted as “a statement that any
attempt to set them at odds is artificial, and that what they had in
common is more fundamental than any perceived differences”.
Sainthood normally requires two “confirmed” miracles, though
Francis has approved the canonisation of John XXIII (1958-1963) —
with whom he shares a common touch and reformist views — based
on just one.
John Paul II, who served as pontiff from 1978 to 2005, was credited
with his first miracle just six months after his death, when a French
nun said she had been cured, through prayer, of Parkinson’s — a
disease he had also suffered from.
His second miracle was reportedly carried out on a woman in Costa
Rica, who said she was healed from a serious brain condition by
praying for John Paul’s intercession on the same day he was
beatified in 2011.
The Polish pope was popular throughout his 27-year papacy and
helped topple Communism — although he alienated many with his
conservative views and was blamed for hushing up paedophile
priest scandals.
At his funeral in 2005, crowds of mourners cried “Santo Subito!” —
“Sainthood Now!” — prompting the Vatican to speed up the path to
sainthood, which normally begins five years after death.
John XXIII made his name by calling the historic Second Vatican
Council (1962-1965) which overhauled the Church’s rituals and
doctrines and reached out to other faiths.
Many compare the Italian pope, who died in 1963, with the current
head of the Roman Catholic Church for their similar pastoral
attitudes, humble, open manner and sense of humour.
The reportedly miraculous healing of an Italian nun who had severe
internal hemorrhages was attributed to John XXIII when he was
beatified in 2000.
Francis is believed to have waived the need for a second miracle
because his canonisation had been called for by the participants of
the Second Vatican Council in 1965, who wanted to pay homage to
the man who ushered the Church into modern times.
Francis also promises to be a reformist pope, planning an overhaul
of the Vatican bureaucracy and finances and promising a “poor
Church for the poor”.
On Tuesday, he will begin three days of talks with an advisory board
of eight cardinals he has appointed to help him clean up the
troubled Roman Curia — the intrigue-filled administration — and
improve communication between the Vatican and local churches.
Vatican experts say it is not clear whether details from the meetings
will be made public, but liberal Catholics hope that the conciliatory
tone adopted by Francis on many issues will translate into action.
Topics may include the role of women in the Church, whether priests
should be able to marry, if Catholics who remarry should receive the
Eucharist and the Church’s position on homosexuality and gay
clergy.
