[Apologetics] AP: Did Pope Perform Miracle After His Death?

[Art Kelly]

Did Pope Perform Miracle After His Death? 

Monday March 13, 2006 7:46 PM
By NICOLE WINFIELD 

Associated Press Writer 

ROME (AP) - The sudden recovery of a young French nun
suffering from Parkinson's disease is at the heart of
the sainthood case for Pope John Paul II, the Polish
priest who heads the inquiry said Monday. 

The Vatican needs to confirm a miracle after John
Paul's death for the pontiff to be beatified, the
first step toward his possible canonization. 

Monsignor Slawomir Oder told The Associated Press in
an interview that an official inquiry into the nun's
inexplicable recovery was beginning this week. 

Sitting in his office in the headquarters of the
Diocese of Rome, Oder said the nun had suffered from
premature onset of Parkinson's for many years and was
unable to do her work caring for newborns because her
hands shook so violently. 

John Paul himself suffered from the debilitating
disease. 

After John Paul died on April 2, the woman's
superior-general asked all the other sisters in their
community in France to pray to the late pope to
intervene to help the woman. On June 2, she was cured,
Oder said. 

``Exactly two months after the death of the pope, from
one minute to another, the nun didn't show the
symptoms of the illness any more,'' Oder said.
``According to the criteria of human science, the
doctor couldn't give an explanation of what
happened.'' 

Late last year, Oder traveled to France to interview
the nun, the superior-general and the woman's doctor
to determine if the case might be the miracle the
Vatican needs to beatify John Paul. 

He said when he saw the nun, she was ``perfectly able
to do her work without any symptom of what she had
before.'' 

Oder said he would send a formal request this week to
the French bishop in whose diocese the alleged miracle
occurred asking for an investigation. All testimony
and documentation are to sent to the Vatican. 

A team of doctors and other experts appointed by the
Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints will
then determine whether the nun's recovery was indeed
miraculous. 

Oder declined to identify the nun or give her age, her
community, the bishop or the location in France where
the alleged miracle occurred to protect her privacy. 

Besides the French case, Oder said he planned to
request two other investigations into reported
miracles, one in South America and the other in
Europe. 

``It's not a given that this (French) process will
succeed,'' he said. ``So it's clear we need to proceed
with attention in other cases. There are other
signs.'' 

However, he stressed that the case of the French nun
was particularly compelling. 

``I saw her. It was a very emotional meeting, but also
very calming and reassuring,'' he said, describing the
woman and her community as humble and simple and not
out to draw attention to themselves. 

``I didn't note anything that can sometimes be a risk
in these cases, of some desire to be a protagonist,
even unknowingly,'' he said. 

He said he first learned of the case when the nun's
superior sent him a letter describing what happened. 

``The description was made with this spirit of
simplicity and humility, but the facts described are
also very eloquent,'' he said. ``Together you combine
these elements, which are necessary and indispensable,
to begin to think that we may have a miracle.'' 

Pope Benedict XVI announced May 13 that he had waived
the traditional five-year waiting period and allowed
John Paul's beatification cause to begin immediately.
He was responding to popular calls, including chants
of ``Santo Subito!'' or ``Sainthood Immediately!''
that erupted during John Paul's funeral Mass. 

Since then, Oder has been compiling documentation sent
by people from around the world testifying about John
Paul's virtues - and investigating alleged miracles. 

--- 

On the Web: 

Beatification site,
www.beatificazionegiovannipaoloII.org 




                           
  ART KELLY, ATM-S
  13524 Brightfield Lane
  Herndon, Virginia 20171-3360
  (703) 904-3763 home
  (703) 396-6956 work
  arthurkelly at yahoo.com
  art.kelly at cox.net
  ArtK135 at Netscape.net
   
   















__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com