An American Jew cured of a brain tumour after attending Mass with Pope John Paul II. A Mexican boy stricken with leukemia who recovered after a papal kiss. Even a cardinal who regained his ability to speak after John Paul touched his throat.
Italian newspapers have been rife with reports of alleged miracles attributed to Pope John Paul II, fuelling speculation he may soon be put on the path to sainthood.
Vatican rules, though, are clear: For a miracle to be considered in the saint-making process, it has to have occurred after John Paul's death.
But that hasn't stopped the frenzy surrounding popular calls for John Paul to be put on the fast-track to sainthood.
Archbishop Edward Nowak, secretary in the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, added to the speculation after he was quoted as saying a decision on starting the saint-making process could come as early as October, when bishops from around the world meet in Rome.
Nowak concurred that all the letters the Vatican had received so far of supposed miraculous cures wouldn't count toward John Paul's saintliness.
"But since you only need one for beatification and one for canonisation, if there are so many of these 'signs' that you hear about, it shouldn't be difficult to have new ones," he told the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Some of the old "miracles" have been given prominent play in Italian newspapers, including the case of an unidentified American Jewish millionaire afflicted with a brain tumo...
The Pope has agreed to help defend the Byzantine Empire! After being appealed to by Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, in 1095, Pope Urban II assembled the Council of Clermont. In order to help the Byzantine Empire and ensure his power over the church he has decided to call for a military expedition to get back the Holy Land.
It is amazing how much political and military supremacy the papacy position gained when the Crusades began. The First Crusade (1096-1099) was a military expedition initiated by Pope Urban the II to regain the Holy Lands in Jerusalem from the Muslim conquest. The Pope gave a speech requesting military action against Muslim takeover to the French people of Clermont. The speech eventually propagated to other nations for further recruitment. Urban’s political and military involvement helped regain the Holy Lands and save the Christian Crusaders souls. His famous speech changed the course of history in part because its dissemination was overly successful, and assembled over 40,000 Crusaders to do the will of God. Why was Pope Urban II so victorious in recruiting people for the First Crusade, and why was his influence so important?
Josephus, a non-Christian contemporary writer of the apostles, attests that, ‘at that time there was a wise man named Jesus, a teacher, who performed wonderful works among the Jews and Gentiles.’ (Powell/Attridge:P.492). The Jewish Talmud, C5thC.E., attributes Jesus' miracles to sorcery. Opponents of the Gospels do not deny Jesus performed miracles, they just give different explanations. (Twelftree:P.50).
I am about to talk about the life of Pope John Paul II, and how he was the first non-Italian pope in over four hundred years. He has been declared a Saint some people say. He was also one of the vocal advocates for human rights. He spoke for the people he loved and the God he loved.
Pope Francis, the 266th pope, spreads his kindness throughout the world through his humility and approachability. He travels the world, supporting the poor and unfortunate. Pope Francis has served as both archbishop and cardinal for more than 12 years. This definitely shows his dedication to follow God's teachings and spread it everywhere he can.
I think Archbishop Fulton Sheen should become a saint because he was a major role in the spread of Catholicism and anti-Communism. He has some official miracles that are credited to him, but others are still undergoing investigation. He played a major part in spreading Catholicism through his missions, but also on his radio and television shows. He also had the gift of prophecy and was able to see what was coming in the world. It almost seemed like he had a direct connection to God, and everything that he said seemed like God was saying it through him. Without him, all those little children would not be alive today if it were not for him praying for them. Archbishop Sheen seemed to touch a lot of people's lives during his own lifetime, and also after his death. I can tell that he had a deep influence on Father Apostali because of the way that he talked about him.
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
on October 11, 1962, and the last on December 8, 1965. Of 2908 bishops and
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian monk who founded the monastic order of the Franciscans. He was from a wealthy family and spent most of his youth carousing the streets of Assisi with other young nobles. After fighting in the war between Assisi and Perugia, he contracted an illness and had his first mystical experience. After he was healed, Francis had another mystical experience while praying in a neglected church: “After a period of prayer and meditation, Francis heard the voice of Jesus coming from a nearby crucifix: ‘Francis go, repair my house, which, as you see, is falling completely to ruin’.” It was this call that inspired Francis to leave Assisi, determined to live more simply with his fellow monks.
Only at times when man is faced with great difficulties you can see his or her true nature. Karol: A Man Who Became Pope starts its story during the period of the Germans reigning terror over the Polish and Jews and it is in these time when each good and bad side of human nature is manifested. Karol, who had witnessed the slow uprising and the imminent downfall of the Nazis, had also seen what their actions have caused them to question and doubt the existence of God. As the Germans have complete power and control over Germany and Poland since their supposed protectors have betrayed them for the Soviet Union, they now see polish and Jews as scum of the earth and should be removed from its roots.
Weigel, George. Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II. New York: Cliff Street, 1999. Web.
In other words, it is a gap between faith and scientific reasoning. In modern medicine, a miracle is described as any occurrence where a higher power, God, for example, takes over and intervenes benevolently in the fate of the patient.3 The doctor, along with everyone else, can only marvel. As a generality, it can be said that miracles are modern examples of the continuing contradiction between faith and reason.
There are five steps to sainthood. First, the person’s local bishop investigates their life by gathering information from witnesses of their life and any writings they may have written. If the bishop finds them to be worthy of being a saint, then he submits the
In the short story “The Quest for Saint Aquin” by Anthony Boucher, the author writes about the religious beliefs regarding the “never-decaying” saint, Saint Aquin. The Pope is extremely poor and has lost most of the power to
Conventional scientific evidence does not support claims that faith healing can cure serious diseases such as cancer. Some scientists even posit that the number of people claiming to have been cured by some manner of faith is far lower than might be expected statistically, based on the actual percentage of spontaneous remissions occurring in people with serious diseases such as cancer or AIDs. Nevertheless, faith healing may provide peace of mind and reduce stress, pain and anxiety, thus strengthening the will to live.