John Paul II for sainthood

ON June 28 Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar to His Holiness for the diocese of Rome, officially, and with the authorisation of Pope Benedict XVI, opened the very important phase of the beatification process of the 'Servant of God, Pope John Paul II'. Three months have passed and the process is certainly gathering momentum.

Considering that Karol Wojtyla passed away on April 2, the process has therefore begun in earnest. In all probability this process may well lead to the canonization of Pope John Paul II within a few years.

Even if on the day of his funeral, April 8, many of those on St Peter's Square in Rome were spontaneously calling for his immediate canonisation, repeatedly chanting santo subito (make him a saint soon), this process has to pass through the proper channels.

The postulator of this cause has the duty to collect and assess all the evidence available. He is the Polish priest Slawomir Oder. Hardly was the news of his appointment made public and his e-mail address became known, that Fr Oder was literally deluged with around 80 to 100 e-mail messages daily from people from all walks of life claiming to have reliable evidence of John Paul II's intercession.

One was pleased to read Fr Oder's statement. "It is really quite moving," said the postulator, "to see the speed with which I immediately started receiving messages from all over the world, even from non-believers."

It has to be stressed that, apart from miracles, the postulator and the Church's ad hoc tribunal must also verify that the candidate for sainthood lived a life of extraordinary asceticism, self-denial, faith, good works, inspirational virtue, and helped the poor and the sick.

There is no doubt at all that in the case of Karol Wojtyla, the evidence is plentiful. He was a mystic who lived an ongoing dialogue of outstanding intimacy with the Lord. He really impressed everyone with this exceptional power of remaining kneeling in prayer for hours on end, even when he was seriously ill.

Obviously, the greatest proof of his heroic virtue was given on May 13, 1981, when he even had to shed his blood on St Peter's Square, and was so very close to joining the dead.

Definitely a most important witness in the process of his canonisation will be Pope Benedict XVI himself, who was his very close collaborator for 23 years as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In his famous homily in the funeral Mass for John Paul II, Cardinal Ratzinger professed openly: "The Holy Father was a priest to the last, for he offered his life to God for the flock and for the entire human family, in a daily self-oblation for the service of the Church, especially amid the sufferings of this final months...

"Thanks to his being profoundly rooted in Christ, he was able to bear a burden which transcends merely human abilities: that of being the shepherd of Christ's flock."