02-18-2007, 12:52 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-18-2007, 01:12 PM by Faith Hope Charity.)
In the Name of the Father & of the Son & of the Holy Spirit - One God now & forever. Amen.
Assalam Alaykum Dan!
What a relief... I finally got to the bottom of this investigation (you can call me MacGyver) ;)
The process for canonization can begin only five years after a person leaves this world. This Church Law was introduced by the Vatican in 1983, before then, the time frame was longer. The magesterium has the power to override this rule under special circumstances because it's (known as) ecclesial tradition not Apostolic.
JP2 waived the five-year waiting period and allowed the beatification process of Mother Teresa to begin two years after her death. Pope Benedict followed suit by opening the cause for his predecessor just three months after he passed away.
Setting aside the normal duration does not do away with mandatory requirements including lengthy examinations and approval of miracles. The procedure remains exactly the same.
If you ask me, they were both living saints anyways! (that's my fallible opinion) :D
As a former Catholic, you're probably familiar with all this lingo but for the non-Catholics reading, I apologize for the jargon.
One more thing - don't believe everything you hear in the secular world. If there's one thing the media hates more than Islam it's the Catholic Church :(
God bless.