Pope John Paul II: One Step Closer to Beatification

JPII's possible future canonization has been moved forward today at a special Mass that ended the first step toward his beatification. The diocesan investigation is finished, and now the Congregation for the Causes of Saints begins its part.

CWNews writes:

-----SNIP-----

Cardinal Camillo Ruini ....... In his homily, reflecting on the late Pope's life, Cardinal Ruini said: "All those who knew him, from near or only from afar, were struck by the richness of his humanity, by his complete fulfillment as a man. But even more illuminating and important is the fact that such fullness of humanity coincided, in the end, with his relationship with God, in other words with his sanctity."

The diocesan investigation of Pope John Paul opened in June 2005, after Pope Benedict XVI waived the usual requirement for the passage of 5 years after a candidate's death before the start of a cause for beatification......

-----SNIP-----

In a recent television interview, Cardinal Camillo Ruini revealed that during the 2005 conclave, a number of cardinals signed a petition requesting that the future Pope, whoever he was, should immediately open the cause for the canonization of John Paul II-- as Pope Benedict did. But the president of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints said that the investigation should be careful and complete. Cardinal José Saraiva Martins said: “If I were John Paul II, I would want a most rigorous canonization process. I know that there are those who say: Make him a saint, right away, soon. But I think that John Paul II would want, instead, a very accurate process so that who wants to see in 10, 20, or 100 years who Pope John Paul II truly was can go to the archives, find all the necessary documents and fully understand his greatness.”

For the rest of the article, go here.