Post by Mr. Jon Donnis on Apr 5, 2006 13:54:50 GMT
ROME - 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.
www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/14089142.htm
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.
www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/14089142.htm