{"id":1042,"date":"2008-03-20T09:45:37","date_gmt":"2008-03-20T09:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/2008\/03\/jim-martin-trials-of-the-saint.html"},"modified":"2008-03-20T09:45:37","modified_gmt":"2008-03-20T09:45:37","slug":"jim-martin-trials-of-the-saint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2008\/03\/jim-martin-trials-of-the-saint.html","title":{"rendered":"Jim Martin: Trials of the Saints"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"martin%20oped.gif\"
\nRelated to Jim Martin’s “America” article is his Op-Ed piece for the “New York Times,” in which he explains the Vatican’s canonization procedures.<\/a> Again, I’m impressed with how succinctly Jim is able to explain a very complicated subject. He is fast becoming the “saint guy” in our Catholic publishing\/media circles.
\nLAST month, while Americans celebrated the feast days of two secular saints, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, the Vatican issued a surprising new directive calling for greater rigor in its own saint-making process. Published by the Vatican\u2019s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the 45-page document called for \u201cstrict adherence\u201d to existing rules, in response to some concerns that the canonization procedures had been watered down over the last two decades.
\nSuch criticisms are only half correct: the Vatican\u2019s rules are actually far more rigorous than many may suspect. Still, the church could increase its credibility even further in this department with a few additional benchmarks.
\nDuring his long pontificate, Pope John Paul II beatified 1,340 people and canonized almost 500 \u2014 more than all his predecessors combined since the current procedures were introduced in 1588. John Paul also waived the traditional five-year waiting period required before the process, or \u201ccause,\u201d could begin for Mother Teresa, who died in 1997.
\nThe Vatican\u2019s new document says that some procedures had become \u201cproblematic.\u201d As a result, local bishops are now instructed to exercise \u201cgreater sobriety and rigor\u201d in determining which saints-to-be they send for approval to Rome. Candidates should not be promoted by small interest groups; rather, their reputation for holiness must be \u201cspontaneous and not artificially procured.\u201d Officials vetting the cases must be impartial, and not omit negative aspects of a person\u2019s life. And the examination of the miracles required for canonization must make use of \u201call clinical and technical means.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nWhile Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul may already be saints in the public mind, for example, the Vatican takes a longer view. Canonization has long been an arduous procedure, which includes gathering evidence for a life of heroic sanctity, interviewing contemporaries and examining a person\u2019s writings for any hint of unorthodoxy. One medically certifiable miracle is required for beatification (when the person is declared \u201cblessed\u201d), and one more for canonization. Only then will the pope declare a person a saint and worthy of \u201cpublic veneration.\u201d
\nEven the standard for verifying miracles, arguably the aspect of the process that causes the most eye-rolling among agnostics and atheists, is famously strict. The Congregation draws on teams of doctors (not all of them Catholic) who assiduously rule out any other cause for a healing. Typically, the person cured will have prayed for the saint\u2019s intercession. Any miracle must be instantaneous, permanent and medically verifiable. Those \u201ccured\u201d cannot simply have improved, cannot relapse and cannot have sought medical care (or at least must have given it up well before the miracle). Consequently, the verification process can take decades, as doctors monitor the stricken person\u2019s progress.
\nVatican standards for miracles are high not simply because the church is seeking irrefutable evidence of divine intervention, but because the church has much to lose if a miracle is later debunked. The Oxford historian Ruth Harris, for example, uncovered evidence of several early \u201chealings\u201d at the French shrine of Lourdes that were widely held to be miracles by the local populace, but which were rejected by exacting church officials worried about a rush to judgment.
\nThe Vatican understands that any canonization procedures that seem rushed, biased or faulty would invite not only public derision, but also the suspicion of the faithful today and in centuries to come. Any whiff of fast-tracking could decrease respect for a new saint. That may be one reason Pope Benedict XVI did not accede to the wishes of the crowds at John Paul\u2019s funeral in April 2005, who loudly called for \u201cSanto subito!\u201d \u2014 \u201cSainthood now!\u201d Benedict\u2019s implicit response was, \u201cNot yet.\u201d
\nBut to combat ingrained and increasing skepticism, the church could go even further.
\nFirst, officials could resolve that they will continue to adhere to the five-year waiting period, no matter how popular the candidate might be at death. Second, while the desire to recognize sanctity across the globe is laudable and serves as a reminder that holiness knows no boundaries, the church could avoid bumping up someone in line because the person hails from a country with relatively few saints.
\nFinally, the church could avoid favoring (or disfavoring) candidates out of any political implications. Archbishop \u00d3scar Romero of San Salvador, who was murdered while celebrating mass in 1980 and who spoke out in defense of the embattled poor, seems to fit the classic definition of a martyr. Yet for many years his cause seemed to have stalled, probably because of his affinity for left-leaning \u201cliberation theology,\u201d which is highly unpopular in Rome.
\nCatholics should welcome the Vatican\u2019s insistence on increased rigor in its saint-making guidelines. The redoubled commitment to an impartial judging of a saint\u2019s life demonstrates that the church does not \u201ccreate\u201d saints as much as it simply recognizes them. Likewise, its renewed reminders that, for the church, miracles are serious scientific business, may make it more difficult for agnostics and atheists to disbelieve.
\nAnd easier for believers to believe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Related to Jim Martin’s “America” article is his Op-Ed piece for the “New York Times,” in which he explains the Vatican’s canonization procedures. Again, I’m impressed with how succinctly Jim is able to explain a very complicated subject. He is fast becoming the “saint guy” in our Catholic publishing\/media circles. LAST month, while Americans celebrated…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration-and-prayer"],"yoast_head":"\nJim Martin: Trials of the Saints - Beyond Blue<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2008\/03\/jim-martin-trials-of-the-saint.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jim Martin: Trials of the Saints - Beyond Blue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Related to Jim Martin’s “America” article is his Op-Ed piece for the “New York Times,” in which he explains the Vatican’s canonization procedures. 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