 Miracle
of John Paul II
January 31, 2006
The Vatican may have found the miracle they need to put the late
Pope John Paul II one step closer to sainthood.
There is a report now that a French nun with Parkinson’s
disease was cured after praying through John Paul II intercession
after the Pope died last April 2, 2005. Church investigators would
now start a more formal and detailed probe of the suspected miracle
cure.
Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the Catholic Church official in charge
of promoting the cause to declare the late Pope a saint of the Church,
said that an investigation into the healing had cleared an initial
probe by doctors. Oder said the "relatively young" nun,
whom he said he could not identify for now, was inexplicably cured
of Parkinson's after praying to John Paul after his death last April
2. He also said that he was moved after hearing the story. "To
think that this was the same illness that destroyed the Holy Father
and it also kept this poor nun from carrying out her work."
John Paul suffered from Parkinson's Disease during the last decade
of his life. His body trembled violently and he could not pronounce
his words or control his facial muscles.
The process that could lead to sainthood for John Paul began in
May when Rome archdiocese published an edict asking Catholics to
come forward with evidence "in favor or against" John
Paul's reputation of holiness. One proven miracle is required after
John Paul's death for the cause to lead to beatification. And another
miracle would be necessary between beatification and eventual sainthood.
The miracles must be the result of prayers asking the dead Pope
to intercede with God. Miracles are usually a physical healing that
doctors are at a loss to explain. Oder said his office had received
many messages from faithful around the world claiming that they
had got what they wanted after having prayed to John Paul after
he died.
He also said his office had also received many letters and emails
from people claiming they had been miraculously cured or otherwise
helped with a serious problem after praying to the Pope even while
he was alive. But under Church rules, only those miracles which
occurred after the Pope's death can be investigated and eventually
used as proof of holiness.
It can be remembered that the month after John Paul died; Pope
Benedict XVI dispensed with Church rules and put him on the fast
track to sainthood. Benedict waived rules that impose a five-year
waiting period after a candidate's death before the procedure that
leads to sainthood can start. This means John Paul could be beatified
and so declared a "blessed of the Church" within a few
years if a miracle can be attributed to his intercession with God.
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