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Will Second Miracle Be
Still Needed For Canonisation Of Blessed Edmund Rice?
According to an article
that appeared on the London Times, 20 December 2004, “Saint-making
Pope is ready to ditch miracle clause”. Whether this is mere kite-flying by
the newspaper or a case of serious intent still remains to be seen! According to
the newspaper article:
 “The
Pope, 84, has created 482 saints in his 26 years as pontiff – more than all his
predecessors put together – and has beatified 1,337 people. He believes that
‘latter-day saints’ offer a much-needed example at a time when Christianity is
under threat from secularism and rival religions…. Already under fire from some
Roman Catholics for running a ‘saint factory’, the Pope is preparing to overturn
a centuries-old rule that that candidates for canonisation must have performed
‘medically inexplicable’ posthumous miracles… The Pope last streamlined the
beatification and canonisation process in 1983, when he decreed
that martyrs – those killed for their faith – could be beatified
without the need for a certifiable miracle…. At present, candidates for
beatification, which confers the title ‘Blessed’ and is the
penultimate step before sainthood, must be shown to have performed at least one
miracle after death by curing the terminally ill in response to prayer of
intercession. For sainthood, evidence of at least two miracles [i.e. the
one performed before beatification + one more performed since beatification] is
required. Claims of miraculous cures are examined by a panel of five medical
experts at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, a Vatican body…. Il Seculo
XIX,the Genoa newspaper, said the proposed ‘revolution in saint-making’ would
upset traditionalists who regarded miracles ‘one of the cornerstones of the
Catholic faith’.”
What is one to think of
this newspaper article?
According to people who work at the Congregation for Saints, the need for the
second miracle [i.e., the one performed after beatification] may
not now be needed for canonisation, and more emphasis may be placed on
whether or not the candidate for canonisation displayed ‘heroic virtue’ and led
an exemplary life. Monsignor Sarno, an American who works in Rome, also states
that to be a candidate for canonisation, one does not need to be fault-free for
all of one’s life or to be always ‘politically correct’ (this is
something that can change from age to age and from place to place!). There is
always room for the ‘power of conversion’ and the ‘grace of God’ in the life of
a candidate.
How might all this affect
Blessed Edmund’s chances for canonisation?
In my opinion, if the requirement for a second miracle is removed, then more
emphasis would, more than likely, be placed on providing evidence that various
groups of people displayed a devotion to Edmund and prayed to him at times of
various human crises – medical, spiritual, temporal. Again, the relevance and
energy that substantial numbers of people find in today’s world for what
Edmund demonstrated in his time would become even more vital to a
decision being made to proceed, or not to proceed, with the canonisation.
Note well:
It is important to bear in mind, of course, that no decision has yet been
made to abolish the need for a second miracle before canonisation – and
that decision may not be enacted for years, if at all. At present, then, it is
important that we continue to pray fervently for Blessed Edmund’s imminent
canonisation and that we continue to collect evidence of remarkable favours
received through his intercession, according to the following guidelines
recently published by the Vatican:
 Questionnaires
for an Allegedly Miraculous Cure
The inquiry
for an allegedly miraculous cure must establish three things:
1—that an
individual actually had the serious illness or injury;
2—that
prayers for the person’s cure were made through the intercession of the servant
of God or the blessed;
3—that the
person’s cure cannot be explained scientifically.
To prove that
a person was cured miraculously, first of all there must be evidence showing
that the individual really had the serious illness or injury. Today proof of
this can ordinarily be obtained through the professional diagnoses of medical
doctors, x-rays, pathological reports, CAT scans, etc. The questionnaires for
the treating physicians should be drafted in order to obtain from them the
analysis of the patient’s condition, prognosis, and cure. This should be backed
up by scientific medical evidence.
Witnesses
must be produced to prove that prayers were made interceding with the servant of
God or blessed for the individual’s cure. Such witnesses are the cured person,
his/her family, religious community, close associates, others that prayed for
the cure, e.g., members of a prayer group, a circle of friends, members of a
parish.
Proof of the
alleged cure is evidenced by medical records, professional diagnoses of medical
doctors and their testimony, x-rays, pathological reports, CAT scans, etc. Proof
that the cure cannot be explained scientifically can be presented by technical
studies published in medical journals, the testimony of medical specialists and
other experts.
With all of
this in mind distinct questionnaires should be prepared:
—for the
treating physicians, pathologists, radiologists, nurses, and other professionals
who can testify concerning the physical state of the person prior to the alleged
cure;
—the cured
individual and those participating in prayer for the cure;
—the
physicians, nurses, and other professionals who can testify concerning the
process of the cure;
—the two
physicians ab inspectione, appointed to examine the cured person if
he/she is still living concerning his/her present state of health, to ascertain
the completeness and permanence of the cure.
It would be wise to have
the assistance of the physician assisting the instructor of the case or another
physician in drawing up the questionnaires especially those for the physicians
and other health care professionals.
[Woestman OMI (2002),
Canonization – Theology, History, Process, p. 370]
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Thanks to the faithful
group who keep in touch with me via e-mail. It sustains my confidence that
there is a real audience out there!
A Happy New Year 2005 to
all promoters and clients of Blessed Edmund Rice.
May the priorities that
guide our activities during the coming year be ones of which Edmund would be
proud.
Blessed Edmund, pray for
us and for all who place their trust in you.
Donal S. Blake CFC,
Postulator/Cong. Historian,
00-39-06-360-8971
blake.d@tiscalinet.it
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