Totus Tuus

Nun Links Cure to John Paul II's Intercession

French Religious' Case Is Being Studied

VATICAN CITY, MAY 16, 2006 (Zenit.org).- An account of an inexplicable cure that might facilitate Pope John Paul II's canonization has been published in the bulletin promoted by the postulation of his cause of beatification.

The document was written by a French nun, whose identity has not been made public, who says she was cured of Parkinson's with the Polish Pope's intercession. He suffered from the same disease.

"It seems to me that I have been reborn," wrote the nun, in the testimony that appeared in the bulletin Totus Tuus.

"Today I can say that the friend who left our earth is now very close to my heart," she added. "What the Lord has granted me to live through the intercession of John Paul II is a great mystery, difficult to explain with words ... but nothing is impossible for God."

The case of the French religious is the object of study by the postulator of the cause of John Paul II's beatification.

The nun recalled: "The disease was diagnosed in 2001 and the symptoms got progressively worse: accentuation of the tremors, rigidity, pain, and insomnia ... a constant worsening." Another "heavy blow" was the sense of a great void after John Paul II's death, she continued.

"I had lost the friend who understood me and gave me the courage to go forward. But I also had the certainty of his living presence," the woman religious remarked.

Prayer chain

Then, on May 13, 2005, the French religious heard Benedict XVI's announcement of the special dispensation for the opening of the cause of beatification and canonization of Karol Wojtyla.

The next day, a prayer chain was activated by all the French and African communities of the nun's religious congregation, praying for her cure.

At one point, when the nun was reflecting on a quotation from John 11:40: "if you believe you will see the glory of God," she had to struggle just to remain standing. She wrote John Paul II's name with difficulty. A few hours later, the account continues, she wrote again but with greater ease.

Two months after the Polish Pope's death, in the middle of the night, the nun got up and realized she had no pain or rigidity.

She felt an irresistible impulse to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, and engaged in long adoration with profound peace. She meditated on the rosary's luminous mysteries, introduced by the Pontiff. She felt an agility of movement that she had not had for four years.

On the feast day of the Sacred Heart, "as I came out from holy Mass, I felt certain that I was cured," wrote the French religious. "My hand no longer shook. The neurologist was surprised to see the disappearance of the symptoms. The congregation began a novena to John Paul II. Ten months have passed since then."

Totus Tuus is a monthly publication, promoted by the Postulation of the Vicariate of Rome, set up to document, analyze and report on the process of the cause of beatification and canonization of John Paul II, whose postulator is Monsignor Slawomir Oder, a Polish priest.

The Fatima Pope (Part 1)

Interview With Journalist Renzo Allegri

ROME, MAY 14, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Pope John Paul II survived an attempt on his life in 1981 and said a "maternal hand" had saved him.

A quarter-century after the attack, journalist and writer Renzo Allegri reconstructed the event in a book entitled "Il Papa di Fatima" (The Fatima Pope), published in Italian by Mondadori.

In this interview with ZENIT, Allegri explains the connection between John Paul II and Fatima. Part 2 of this interview will appear Monday.

Q: Why is John Paul II the Fatima Pope?

Allegri: First of all, because he himself recognized himself in that "bishop dressed in white" that the three children, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, "saw" during the July 17, 1917, apparition, when the Lady confided in them the so-called secret of Fatima.

And also because, after becoming aware of that mysterious event, Pope John Paul II lived determined to comply with the petitions and desires contained in the Fatima messages.

He gave himself to this mission with all his being, offering himself as victim for the salvation of the world, promoting a worldwide "crusade" of prayer, especially among young people, and obtaining the historic results that all know: the fall of Communism in Eastern countries, the return of religious freedom in those countries and, perhaps, he also contributed to avoid a tremendous nuclear conflict that, according to historians, was visible on the horizon.

The relationship between Fatima and Pope John Paul II is, in my opinion, very great and still remains to be discovered.

Q: In your book you state that, although Karol Wojtyla was still little known, Padre Pio had already realized that he would become a very important man. You know Padre Pio's life well; could you explain what the saint of Pietrelcina was referring to?

Allegri: In the biographies of saints, it often happens that they have strong and precise "channels" of communication, which escape the control of rationality. This phenomenon was also verified between Padre Pio and Karol Wojtyla, and there are two concrete episodes, related in themselves, that demonstrate it.

In 1948, the young priest Karol Wojtyla, a student in Rome, had heard talk of Padre Pio and wanted to meet him. He traveled to San Giovanni Rotondo during Easter vacation and stayed a week.

It was never known what they spoke about. It seems that the saint of Pietrelcina "saw" him dressed as Pope -- and with blood stains on his white cassock. Of this prophecy, spread rapidly after Wojtyla's election as Pope, there was never confirmation.

However, undeniable is the fact that that meeting marked Wojtyla profoundly, arousing in him a great veneration for Padre Pio.

In 1962, Wojtyla returned to Italy as a bishop to participate in the Second Vatican Council. In Rome, he received dramatic news that a collaborator of his, Wanda Poltawska, a doctor and psychiatrist, had a serious tumor.

The doctors decided to attempt an operation, but the hope of saving her was almost nothing. Wojtyla wrote a letter immediately to Padre Pio asking for his prayers for Poltawska. Padre Pio, in those years, was subjected to very serious accusations.

The Holy See decreed serious disciplinary restrictions against him, prohibiting priests and religious from contacting him. Wojtyla was certainly informed about this situation, but he paid no attention because, for reasons unknown to us, he had "knowledge" of Padre Pio.

He sent the letter urgently by hand to Padre Pio through Angelo Battisti, an employee of the Secretariat of State and collaborator of Padre Pio. Battisti told me the story, handing me a copy of that letter, which Padre Pio asked that he read to him and, at the end, after a moment of silence, said: "Angiolino, one cannot say no to this."

Knowing that every word of Padre Pio had a mysterious and concrete repercussion in reality, Battisti was very surprised by that phrase. "Who might this Wojtyla be?" he wondered. He asked for information but in the Vatican no one knew him, except the Poles for whom he was only a young bishop.

Eleven days later, Battisti was asked to take another letter of Wojtyla to Padre Pio.

And in this letter the Polish bishop thanked Padre Pio because Poltawska "had been suddenly cured before entering the operating room." These are the certain facts we know and that demonstrate that Padre Pio, as on many other occasions, "intuited" God's plans on Wojtyla with disconcerting precision.

Q: How does the third part of the secret of Fatima enter in Pope John Paul II's history?

Allegri: In a mysterious way, as always happens with events of the Spirit. In theory, Pope John Paul II formed part of that "secret" since he was born. The mission was entrusted to him before being born and the history of his existence developed freely attuned to the designs of providence.

But, in fact, perhaps, he became aware of his mission only after the 1981 attack. We do not have scientific proofs, explicit documents that demonstrate the relationship between Wojtyla and the secret of Fatima -- only the conviction of the Pope himself that, after the attack, reflecting on what happened and reading Sister Lucia's text on the third part of the famous secret, recognized himself in that account.

Sister Lucia wrote that, during the apparition of July 13, 1917, she, Francisco and Jacinta had seen a bishop dressed in white who, half trembling, with halting step, afflicted by pain and sorrow, crossed, together with other bishops, priests, men and women religious, a great city in ruins, praying for the souls of the dead that he found on the way and [he] climbed up a steep mountain, on whose summit was a cross at whose foot he was killed.

In the light of what happened, Wojtyla was convinced that the vision had the characteristics of an authentic prophecy. And, with the passing of time, his conviction was strengthened until it became a certainty.

It is licit to think that he had, from Sister Lucia, other information and clarifications that we do not know. In the year 2000, nineteen years after the attack, Pope John Paul II was so sure of his conviction that he wished to make it known to the whole world.

That became a reality in Fatima, at the end of the ceremony of beatification of Francisco and Jacinta, through an address of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, before more than 1 million pilgrims, and countless millions of faithful connected live on television.

Also Wojtyla's determination to make his conviction public is an argument full of significance.

The Fatima Pope (Part 2)

Interview With Author Renzo Allegri

ROME, MAY 15, 2006 (Zenit.org).- There is a mysterious link between Pope John Paul II and Our Lady of Fatima, says journalist Renzo Allegri.

And there is also a tie between the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the fall of Communist regimes, he contends.

Allegri, the author of "Il Papa di Fatima" (The Fatima Pope), published by Mondadori, shared some of his insights with ZENIT. Part 1 of this interview appeared Sunday.

On Saturday, the 25th anniversary of the assassination attempt on John Paul II, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was processed through St. Peter's Square, where the Polish Pope shed his blood.

Q: When did John Paul II understand that he was the Pope of Fatima, and what did he do after he became aware of it?

Allegri: As I already mentioned, it is thought that Pope Karol Wojtyla became aware of his own role in relation to the message of Fatima, after the attack, reflecting on what happened, the coincidence between the attack and the date of the apparitions of Fatima, and reading the text of the secret.

Since his youth, his Marian devotion was always very great. In his devotional practices, he gave priority to Polish Marian shrines, because they were part of his religious tradition, and also because he could not leave Poland.

But he knew the history of Fatima well and the part of the secret already revealed by Lucia, which speaks about Russia, Communism and the persecution of believers.

The attack made him "center" his attention on his own role in regard to Fatima. He was very impressed by the coincidence of the date of the attack, May 13 at 5:17 p.m., with that of the start of the apparitions on May 13, 1917.

He requested that a document be taken to him in hospital relative to the famous secret and he read it, discovering, in the still-unpublished part, details relative to his person that made quite an impression on him, to the point that he speaks about it three times in his testament.

And he began immediately, with ardor, to make the spirit of Fatima a reality. He reflected above all on the Virgin's request to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. And, despite infinite difficulties, he did so.

Q: You maintain in the book that there is a direct relationship between the Virgin's request to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Why?

Allegri: The connection is suggested by two events and two dates.

In 1917, the Virgin said that if things were not going well, she would come to request the consecration of Russia. She made the petition in 1919, in an apparition to Lucia, specifying that the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart should be carried out "by the Church," that is, by the Pope in union with all the bishops.

But 14 years passed before the Virgin's petition arrived. Pius XII took it into consideration personally and carried out the consecration twice, naming Russia explicitly. But it was a private initiative and not made in union with the bishops.

To involve the whole Church in this consecration, naming one country specifically, Russia, implied enormous ideological and political difficulties, which many bishops did not wish to address. In fact, neither Pius XII, nor John XXIII nor even Paul VI was able to carry out the consecration in the way the Lady requested it.

John Paul II addressed this obstacle. But he was forced to take recourse to complicated and indirect stratagems to be able to name Russia. He sent a letter to all the bishops of the Church, inviting them to join him in the solemn consecration of the world, which would be carried out on March 25, 1984.

He did not name Russia in the letter but quoted the consecration formula that he would read, based on that pronounced by Pius XII in 1952, which named Russia explicitly. On reading the letter and the formula of consecration, the bishops would understand that it was the consecration that corresponded to that requested by the Virgin to Sister Lucia and that, therefore, specifically included Russia.

The ceremony was held. As though by magic, in just six years, there was a drastic change in the world, with the end of the Cold War, the collapse of several Communist regimes, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dissolution of the Soviet empire and the return to religious freedom in Russia and in all the other countries of the former Communist empire.

All occurred without the shedding of blood; not only that, but there were very curious and enigmatic details, or signs.

Observing the dates of the most important events of this great change, one sees that they took place on the dates of Catholic solemnities. For example, the Soviet Union ceased to exist when, at the end of a meeting, the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Byelorussia announced its dissolution formally. This occurred on Dec. 8, 1991.

The 8th of December is the feast of the Immaculate Conception and it is easy to link it to the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The definitive sign that indicated the end and defeat of Soviet Communism occurred the day when the red flag was lowered which for many decades was raised in the Kremlin, and in its place the national Russian flag was raised. This occurred on December 25, 1991, one of the most important religious feasts of the Catholic Church: the Nativity of Jesus.

Coincidences? Of course, they probably are only coincidences, but they might also be signs.

An Al Jazeera Editor Lauds John Paul II

"He Seemed Very Human to My Eyes"

ROME, APRIL 9, 2006 (Zenit.org).- An editor with the Al Jazeera television station has praise for John Paul II, contending that he was "not only the Pope of Catholics."

Imad El Atrache, editor in chief of the Brussels' office of the Mideast-based Al Jazeera, made that comment at a congress entitled "John Paul II: Religious Event, Television Event."

The congress, which ended Friday, was organized by Italian Public Radio and Television at the Gregorian University.

"His embrace of all peoples, regardless of their creed, made his figure surpass the boundaries of his Church, making John Paul II, according to our Muslim journalistic language, no longer the Pope of Catholics but simply 'the Pope,'" explained El Atrache.

"He began his pontificate saying in Italian: 'If I make a mistake, you will correct me.' In this way, he seemed very human to my eyes," explained the journalist who previously worked in the Arab station's external relations.

"It was such an ingenuous and clever phrase that it reversed everything: The Pope who is the guide of the faithful was allowing himself to be led by them, solely and exclusively to guide them better," El Atrache observed.

Truth about man

"I, who am first a Muslim and then a journalist, was fascinated by this Pope, that is, by a Pope who respected profoundly the truth about man, which is expressed in the religious sense," the journalist continued.

"All men who accept and have something of the transcendent in their creed … honor the truth about man and, therefore, according to John Paul II, at the same time honor Jesus Christ, who is the truth about man," he added.

El Atrache added: "In Morocco [in 1985] in a stadium with 45,000 youths, the Pope said that Muslims and Christians can collaborate based on the same God of love. But at the same time he did not hide the great and profound difference that exists between them, regarding the person of Jesus and his role in the history of salvation."

John Paul II's Relation With TV in Focus

Congress Draws 60 Specialists

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 6, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Sixty international specialists are spending two days focusing on the television coverage of Pope John Paul II's pontificate.

"John Paul II: Religious Event, Television Event" is the title of the congress organized by Italian public radio and television (RAI), at the Gregorian University. Experts are addressing the most significant moments of his pontificate.

Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said: "The late Pope John Paul II knew how to use television and to open all of his public life to television coverage, but he never sought to manipulate television; he respected television professionals.

"On one occasion about 15 years ago, an American cardinal was presenting something to the late Holy Father and he asked if the television station from his city could record the event. The Holy Father replied: 'Of course! If it doesn't happen on television, it doesn't happen!'"

Alfredo Meocci, director general of RAI, said that John Paul II was not anxious to hide his suffering from the cameras, "to the point that he made television his cross."

Emilio Rossi, president of the Vatican Television Center, recalled John Paul II's words to journalists during the Jubilee Year 2000: "Your task is almost sacred."

Armando Fumagalli, professor of semiotics at the Catholic University of Milan, underlined how "John Paul II did not address the anonymous mass but the multitude, which is a community."

Monsignor Enrique Planas, delegate of the Vatican Film Library, revealed that "the Holy Father saw many films at our headquarters; so we saw the Holy Father in privacy, a Pope who wept in the face of certain scenes." The congress ends Friday.
ZE06040608

John Paul II, the Fatima Pope

Book Sees Telltale Signs in His Life

ROME, APRIL 6, 2006 (Zenit.org).- A new book on John Paul II, by Italian journalist Renzo Allegri, looks at a Marian angle of his life.

"Il papa di Fatima" (The Fatima Pope) was recently published in Italy by Mondadori.

Allegri's research reveals that Karol Wojtyla's life and pontificate seem to have been inscribed in a divine plan that makes of John Paul II that "bishop clothed in white" mentioned in the third part of the secret of Fatima. The Pope himself became aware of that possibility after the 1981 attempt on his life.

The attack took place on May 13, the same date of the first apparition of Fatima in 1917, and the doctors acknowledged that the bullet, shot from close range, followed a strange zigzagging trajectory, avoiding vital organs.

John Paul II interpreted this scientifically inexplicable fact as if a mysterious hand -- Mary's maternal hand -- had diverted the bullet's path, preventing the shot from being fatal.

In the third part of the secret, revealed to the three little shepherds in 1917 and made public in May 2000, mention is made of the persecutions that the Church would suffer in the 20th century.

Also mentioned is a mysterious attack against a man "clothed in white" who "will fall to the ground as though dead from gunshots."

Third secret

For this and other reasons reconstructed by the author, Fatima and the attack become central episodes for understanding John Paul II's life, especially his devotion to Mary and the role of the Pope as a decisive figure in the fall of the Communist regimes.

Allegri reconstructs Karol Wojtyla's path of life and deciphers the apparent signs of predestination from his childhood, including three years before he was born, in that third secret.

The author presents a relationship between historical events and supernatural plans. One of the key moments of the book is Russia's consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, carried out by John Paul II in 1984, as requested by Mary in 1929. The text relates this fact with the unforeseen fall of the Communist regimes.

The book states that John Paul II, after he realized that he was the man mentioned in the message of Fatima, was determined to visit all Marian shrines and renew in each of them the rite of consecration of Russia to Mary's Immaculate Heart.

According to Allegri, to achieve this objective John Paul II challenged the forces of evil and because of this, more than once his vocation ran the risk of being truncated. At least four times, Karol Wojtyla suffered serious accidents from which he was "miraculously" saved, Allegri contends.

Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, who had been John Paul II's longtime secretary, wrote to the author in connection with the book's thesis: "You have a good intuition in regard to the nexus that unites the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima and the attack on John Paul II, and especially the third secret, which continues to be a mystery of Divine Mercy."

Archbishop Mario Rizzi of Bagnoregio, a former apostolic nuncio, wrote to Allegri: "I think I can say that your book on John Paul II is, to my knowledge, the most beautiful and sincere.

"It is a well-documented book, with unknown details, which reveals a Pope theologian who has as possible competitors Leo and Gregory the Great. In addition to the theological dimension, an enchanting and captivating human dimension emerges."

Remembering Karol

John Paul II Gone But Hardly Forgotten

By Elizabeth Lev

ROME, APRIL 6, 2006 (Zenit.org).- On April 2, Rome celebrated the one-year anniversary of the death of its beloved Pope John Paul II. Putting aside electoral antics just one week before the vote, Romans joined with pilgrims to pay homage to the late Holy Father.

Biographical films of his life pre-empted televised debates while campaign posters were covered with large signs reading "Goodbye, Karol" -- reminders of the enduring love that Rome had for this great Pontiff.

Once again, as more than 100,000 people descended on the city, Romans remained unruffled, and seemed delighted to welcome visitors. Peaceful and prayerful days, much like the days after the death of John Paul II, were enhanced by the warm sun and newly flowering trees.

St. Peter's Basilica blossomed into its springtime guise, framed by blue sky and bustling with activity as workers prepared for Monday's memorial Mass.

On Saturday, April 1, the city swelled noticeably. Thousands of Polish pilgrims, some dressed in cheerful traditional costumes, roamed the streets along with young people of every nationality, many wearing T-shirts printed with one of the last things said by John Paul II, "I have looked for you, and now you have come to me, and I thank you."

The common destination for all was the tomb of John Paul II in the grottoes of St. Peter's Basilica. By Monday morning, the grave was inundated with flowers, candles and banners. Interspersed among these offerings were photographs of children brought by pilgrims hopeful for his intercession.

Sunday night saw 100,000 people in the square praying the rosary under the papal study, reminiscent of the rosary said exactly a year earlier, as Christians prayerfully accompanied John Paul II in his final moments on earth. Many of my students joined the crowd in the square, canceling weekend plans to be able to pay homage to the Pope they had known all their lives and to greet the new Pope who will guide them through their first adult years.

The Monday Mass was a celebration of all things John Paul II had loved in life. Multicolored flowers and lush plants surrounded the altar, recalling the man who loved long nature hikes, and music filled the square while dancers performed with the exuberant energy of youth.

As John Paul II's friend and successor, Benedict XVI celebrated the Mass with neo-Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz close by, it could only seem that the Pope looking down from heaven, must have been delighted with his day.

Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University's Italian campus. She can be reached at lizlev@zenit.org.
ZE06040625

1 Step for John Paul II's Cause Is Concluded

KRAKOW, Poland, APRIL 5, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Archdiocese of Krakow has concluded an investigative step into the life and heroic virtues of the Servant of God Pope John Paul II.

A Mass marking the conclusion of the rogation process last Saturday was held in Wawel Cathedral. Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow, presided at the event, which attracted cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and lay people.

Also present were Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, city and provincial authorities, and a group of Polish parliamentarians.

During the five months of the rogation process, a tribunal heard more than 100 witnesses on the period of Karol Wojtyla's life when he was a university student, laborer in Solvay, seminarian, priest, auxiliary bishop and archbishop of Krakow.

Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek, former rector of Krakow's Pontifical Academy of Theology, headed the tribunal.

The results of this process will be sent to the tribunal of the Diocese of Rome, in charge of the process of the cause of beatification.

During his homily, Cardinal Dziwisz said that the Mass was in thanksgiving for the work carried out by John Paul II, who "has left us an example of unbounded love of Christ, unto the shedding of blood."

"John Paul II Left the Church Stronger"

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor's Tribute to Polish Pope

LONDON, APRIL 4, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of a homily preached Monday by the archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, at a Requiem Mass celebrated at Westminster Cathedral on the anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

We are here today to commemorate the death and to celebrate the life of a man whom God made great, and to ask for his intercession from the heart of heaven. The millions who gathered in Rome this time last year knew where he was destined, and they cried: "Santo Subito!"

The process for his canonization is moving ahead swiftly, and for that we can be thankful; but the human, Church process of raising him to the universal altars does not prevent us, in the meantime, from imagining where he now is, welcomed into the bosom of the Father as a good and faithful servant who is receiving his reward. That is why we can turn to him confidently now, in prayer, and ask him to bless us. For we hear his words still: "Trwajcie mocni w wierze" -- "Stay strong in the faith."

I want to welcome especially any people of Poland present here. You have come to our city in increasing numbers, to work and to make new lives; and in growing numbers you are present in our congregations. We are grateful to you, because you carry in your hearts, along with the rest of the Polish people, something of the heart of Pope John Paul II.

When Karol Wojtyla was elected Pope in 1978, he said he had come from a far country; but he made that country near to us all. He knew that the experience of his homeland, and the remarkable witness of the Catholic Church there, had much to teach the world, and to teach the Church.

Along with the Polish nation, John Paul witnessed the worst of evils of which human beings are capable: totalitarian oppression, massacres, the desecration of nation and soul. An orphan by the age of 20, the young Wojtyla had also known, in his own family, the most searing experience of bereavement and loss; and he saw his Jewish friends being taken from him to the Holocaust.

Deprived, therefore, of what most of us take for granted -- security, family, hope and meaning -- John Paul II was thrown back, at an early age, on the only resources a human being can ever truly rely on: the irrefutable knowledge that we are divinely created; the unalterable fact that we were created in dignity and for dignity; and the reassurance that God is the Good Shepherd, who walks with us and guides us and heals us, calling us constantly to him.

States and powers come and go, and inflict what seem for a time horrendous evils; but in time they pass away, while human culture, and our capacity to love and to serve and to build, live on, like a candle that cannot be extinguished even by the most ferocious winds. That was his experience, and that was his faith.

For 26 years, his papacy tenaciously witnessed to the power of that faith: He saw Communism collapse, and Western leaders come and go, and when he came to leave this earth, in a long struggle with his failing body, the world gathered round him in a mixture of awe and affection, because they knew that here was a greatness that could only have one source.

You will all be awash with memories, as am I, of those days last year. This cathedral was the site of a remarkable vigil, which the television companies linked with other vigils in other cathedrals around the world. How extraordinary and precious were those days. How vividly we still see their fruits. Britain is not as confidently secular as it once seemed. Ideologies have collapsed. People have returned to the faith of their childhood, or have approached priests to make tentative enquiries, or sought out the sacrament of reconciliation to receive the forgiveness and healing which Our Lord constantly offers us.

Pope John Paul II invited us, after his election as Pope, to open wide the doors to Christ, to open our hearts and minds. And it is for this that he shall be remembered: for breaking down walls, for crossing borders, for opening new spaces in us where Christ could enter and speak to us.

Karol Wojtyla wrote an early book called "The Acting Person." He was theatrical in the best sense: He understood, as bishop of Krakow and later as Bishop of Rome, the power of symbols; and he knew that actions speak louder than words. As the world began to close behind defensive walls of fear and religious bigotry, he called the world's religious leaders together to pray for peace; he prayed at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and inside the mosque at Damascus; he asked for forgiveness for the sins of the Church's history.

Wherever there was fear and mistrust, he sought to bring strength and reassurance and the message of God's love. He invited people to the mountain, to the feast of rich food and well-aged wines of which the prophet Isaiah speaks; and wherever there was a shroud over humanity he sought to lift it. Whether it was the grinding poverty of economic injustice or the death penalty or war or the denigration of life at the beginning and the end of our existence, he was never afraid to speak out and to challenge received orthodoxies; and nor should we.

Dear friends, our Church is a fragile community which draws people to it when it depends on the graces of prayer, not when it becomes preoccupied with internal questions. Pope John Paul II left the Church stronger because he focused it on what matters: He wanted to free our energies for building God's kingdom and for drawing humanity into relationship with Christ.

But he was never afraid of argument; and his service of the Gospel through the power of reason is one of his great legacies. Never before has a Pope produced so much food for the Church's journey, and we shall be digesting his teaching for generations to come.

Jesus tells Peter, the first head of the Church, that a belt will be put round him and that he will be led where he did not want to go. From the very beginning, John Paul II welcomed that belt. As Pope Benedict said yesterday in Rome, his life can be summarized in the two words: "fidelity" and "commitment."

He did not hesitate when he was made a young bishop of Krakow, and he did not waver when the College of Cardinals elected him in 1978. What God asked of him, he accepted, and he placed his gifts at the disposal of each new mission. As a powerfully athletic younger man, he worked tirelessly in the service of others; as an enfeebled elderly Pope, barely able to speak, he allowed his suffering to comfort others who were suffering, and to speak on their behalf.

"Suffering is present in the world in order to release love," he wrote in his apostolic letter "Salvifici Doloris," "in order to give birth to works of love toward neighbor, in order to transform the whole of civilization into a civilization of love." This was his task in those final months. Up until his last, faint breath, he knew God had a mission for him, and would speak through him in sickness as much as in health. And in this way, Pope John Paul II became the free-est of human beings, because his will and God's were so closely tied together.

There is so much that we here today can learn from our late, great Pope. The courage to accept what God has in store for us. The tenacity to preach the Gospel, in season and out of season, wherever we find ourselves. The capacity for keeping our minds and hearts on what is essential.

Above all, we can be inspired by John Paul's remarkable reliance on prayer. He was a man of contemplation as much as action; he knew when to withdraw, to be silent, to offer everything over to Christ. He knew that his strength came from the only strength that is real and lasting in our world, namely the constant love of God. He lived that love in the core of his being and dedicated himself wholly to that love.

And now, a year after he left us, it is that love that lives on. We turn to God, therefore, in grateful thanks, for giving us a prophet, an evangelist and a leader for our times. And in grateful memory of Pope John Paul II, we pledge ourselves daily to open wide the doors of our hearts. Christ takes nothing from us, as he was fond of saying, and has everything to give us. Why, therefore, be afraid?

[Distributed by Archdiocese of Westminster; adapted]

Why John Paul II Proclaimed so Many Saints

Interview With Cardinal Saraiva Martins

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 4, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Quoting Pope John Paul II, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins insists that "there aren't too many saints."

ZENIT interviewed the prefect of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes to learn more about the workings of this Vatican dicastery. He also commented on the number of John Paul II's canonizations -- pegged at 480.

Q: How many causes of beatification and canonization have been introduced at present?

Cardinal Saraiva Martins: The number is very high. There are more than 2,200 causes.

Of these, more than 400 have completed the "positio" [a kind of report]; in other words, they are ready to be discussed, examined and studied further by the dicastery's different collegial bodies; and by historians when it is a question of a historical cause, theologians when it is a question of virtues, doctors when an alleged miracle must be studied and, finally, the cardinals of the congregation.

Q: Do you think there are too many or too few canonized saints?

Cardinal Saraiva Martins: Sometimes there is talk of a kind of inflation of saints. Some speak of there being many saints but I answer immediately that there aren't at all too many saints.

The number of saints and blessed increased in John Paul II's pontificate. He alone proclaimed more saints and blessed than all his predecessors together since 1588, the year this dicastery was founded.

John Paul II was very aware that there was talk of an inflation of saints and blessed, and he responded that it wasn't true.

The first reason the Pope gave was that he, by beatifying so many Servants of God, did no more than implement the Second Vatican Council, which vigorously reaffirmed that holiness is the essential note of the Church; that the Church is holy: one, holy, catholic, apostolic.

John Paul II also said that if the Church of Christ is not holy, it isn't the Church of Christ, the true Church of Christ, the one he desired and founded to continue his mission throughout the centuries.

Therefore, John Paul II said, holiness is what is most important in the Church, according to the Second Vatican Council. Then no one should be surprised by the fact that the Pope wished to propose so many models of holiness to Christians, to the People of God.

The second reason is the extraordinary ecumenical importance of holiness.

In "Novo Millennio Ineunte," the Pope said that the holiness of the saints, blessed and martyrs is perhaps the most convincing ecumenism, these are his words, because holiness, he said with even stronger words, has its ultimate foundation in Christ, in whom the Church is not divided.

Therefore, the ecumenism we all want calls for many saints, so that the convincing ecumenism of holiness is placed in the candelabrum of the holiness of the Church.

The Pope's third reason was that "the saints and blessed manifest the charity of a local Church," that is, today, the Holy Father said, local Churches are far more numerous than in the last 10 centuries.

Therefore, we shouldn't be surprised that there are also more saints, more blessed who express and manifest the holiness of these increased local Churches.

Q: What is the itinerary to attain to the honor of the altar, in other words, how does one become a Servant of God, venerable, blessed and saint?

Cardinal Saraiva Martins: According to juridical norms, every process of beatification and canonization consists of two fundamental phases: the diocesan "in loco" and the "Roman," namely, in the Holy See, in this dicastery.

In the diocesan phase, the bishop is the only juridical person who can decide if it is or is not a case of initiating a specific cause.

If a nun or layperson dies, the bishop must investigate if that person was really holy or not, according to the faithful.

Only if there is a reputation for holiness among the faithful, together with the local ecclesial community, can the bishop initiate the cause of beatification, once having obtained the sanction of this dicastery to begin the cause at the diocesan level.

If there is no reputation of holiness, if for the faithful that person has no reputation of holiness, the bishop cannot even initiate the cause.

This is very important, especially today, because there is much talk about the role of the laity in the Church.

Here we have a very important and fundamental case in which it is the laity that takes the first step in a cause of beatification. It is the laity that must say to the bishop, "In our opinion this person is (or is not) holy."

What must the bishop do specifically in the diocesan phase? First of all he must create a commission, a tribunal and collect all the documents relative to the person candidate to the cause of beatification, canonization, heroic virtues, martyrdom if it is a martyr, a miracle if there is an alleged miracle.

Once the bishop has collected all the documents relative to the person who has a reputation for holiness, he sends all the documentation to Rome, to the Holy See, to this dicastery.

Then the second phase begins, the Roman. When the documentation arrives here, the task of this dicastery and of the different collegial bodies within it is to examine and study it thoroughly.

For example, there is the historical consultation if it is about a historical cause, that is, old, of which there are no living witnesses.

There is the theological commission which must study, in the light of the documentation received by the diocese, if the real holiness of the person does or does not emerge.

If it is a question of a miracle, the medical consultation must study if the cure, the alleged miracle, is or is not really inexplicable in the light of medical science. For this objective, we have 70 medical specialists at our disposition. According to the nature of the cure presented by the dicastery as an alleged miracle, we can examine the case with the specialists of that branch of medicine.

If the doctors say that that cure has no scientific explanation, the question goes to the theologians who must study the problem of the relationship between the cure and the invocation and intercession of the candidate to sainthood. For example, if the sick person has prayed to Mother Teresa of Calcutta for his cure, that is, to intercede before God so that he will be healed, as the miracle is wrought by God.

One must analyze if there is a causal nexus between this inexplicable cure and the prayer that the sick person has made to God through the intercession of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Then the miracle can and must be attributed to the intercession of Mother Teresa. Therefore, the theologians must say if it is or is not a miracle.

Of course, once all these phases are completed, the process goes to the cardinals of the congregation. We have the so-called ordinary, made up of 30 cardinals, archbishops and bishops. They are the ones who have the last word.

The cardinals must or must not ratify, must or must not approve, the conclusions of the historians, doctors and theologians.

If the cardinals' ordinary approves the conclusions of the theologians, doctors and historians, the prefect of the dicastery takes it all to the Holy Father.

He speaks with him, discusses the different phases of the process; and he approves or does not approve, does or does not decide to beatify this person.

Therefore, it is quite a long process with a diocesan and Roman phase. They begin to be called Servants of God once the cause has been introduced at the diocesan level.

They become Venerable Servants of God once the Church has recognized their heroic virtues.