Silver Jubilee of the Indian Visit of Pope John Paul the Second

Double Delight for Kerala Christians

His Holiness Pope John Paul II commenced his Kerala visit on the 7th of February
1986. The first public function of the day was at Trichur or more familiarly Th
rissur - the Cultural Capital of Kerala where the Pope enjoyed the “Pooram” with 15
caparisoned elephants and Muthukkudas (colourful parasols) staged by the Paramek
kavu Devaswom and the 25 cultural programmes arranged around the papal path at t
he St. Thomas Nagar - today’s Shakthan Thamburan Nagar. During his Kerala visit t
he Pope beatified Sr Alphonsa (who is now a Saint of the Church) and Fr Chavara
Kuriakose Elias at a great function in Kottayam.The whole of Kerala is commemora
ting this Silver Jubilee event with colourful functions and religious ceremonies
. This Silver Jubilee occasion has become memorable on account of another event
too viz. the beatification of the saintly pope on 1st May 2011, the first Sunday
after Easter, hardly four score days after the event, at the Vatican by the Rom
an Pontiff Benedict XVI.. It is a “first” in Church History since it is for the firs
t time that the Catholic Church is beatifying a person just after 6 years of hi
s death on 2nd April 2005.
Pope John Paul II, shard his world-view and vision with dozens of countries and
cultures during his long tenure of almost three decades as the Supreme Pontiff.
He was a Leader for All Seasons and was accepted by the tens of millions of peop
le who who thronged to have a glimpse of him in various continents as Guide, Phi
losopher, and Friend. H is leadership to liberate millions from the y
oke of unjust governments has been much appreciated, including his role in the l
iberation of his own country Poland from Commuism.
He was the most travelled pope ever, visiting more than 120 nations during the t
hird longest papacy in history covering it is said a distance equalling 1.5 trip
s to the moon.Pope John Paul II is also remembered for raising a record number o
f persons to SAINTHOOD. He was perhaps the only Pope who was shot at but he surv
ied the May 13 1981 attempt on his life and lived to forgive the would be assass
in. His voice resounded from all corners of the world exhoting people againt war
, abortions, and human rights violations.
He passed away on April 2, 2005. During the last ceremonies for the pope attende
d by millions the cry went up to cannonise him immediately and Pope Benedict XVI
waived the 5 year wait for the commencement of the process and now after just 5
years of his death he is being beatified - after the miraculous healing of a Fre
nch nun suffering from the Parkinson’s disease.
Reuters adds: During his 2005 funeral Mass, crowds at the Vatican shouted for Po
pe John Paul II to be made a saint immediately, chanting “Santo Subito!” for one of
the most important and beloved popes in history.
His successor heard their call and on Friday, in the fastest process on record,
set May 1 as the date for John Paul’s beatification — a key step toward Catholicism’s
highest honor and a major morale boost for a church reeling from the clerical se
x abuse scandal.
Pope Benedict XVI set the date after declaring that a French nun’s recovery from P
arkinson’s disease was the miracle needed for John Paul to be beatified. A second
miracle is needed for the Polish-born John Paul to be made a saint.
The May 1 ceremony — which Benedict himself will celebrate — is expected to draw hun
dreds of thousands of pilgrims to Rome for a precedent-setting Mass: never befor
e has a pope beatified his immediate predecessor.
Though the numbers aren’t expected to necessarily reach the 3 million who flocked
here for John Paul’s funeral, religious tour operators in John Paul’s native Poland
were already making preparations to bus and fly in the faithful to celebrate a m
an many considered a saint while alive.
“We have waited a long time and this is a great day for us,” said Mayor Ewa Filipiak
of John Paul’s hometown of Wadowice, Poland, where the faithful lit candles Frida
y and prayed at a chapel in the town church dedicated to John Paul.
Father Pawel Danek, who runs a museum in John Paul’s family home, said Benedict ha
d listened to the prayers of the faithful.
“The Holy Father has confirmed what we all felt somehow,” he said. “For us, John Paul
II’s holiness is obvious.”
Benedict put John Paul on the fast track to possible sainthood just weeks after
he died, waiving the typical five-year waiting period before the process could b
egin. But he insisted that the investigation into John Paul’s life be thorough to
avoid any doubts about his virtues.
The beatification will nevertheless be the fastest on record, coming just over s
ix years after his death and beating out Mother Teresa’s then-record beatification
in 2003 by a few days.
It is not without controversy, however. While John Paul himself was never accuse
d of improprieties, he has long been accused of responding slowly when the sex a
buse scandal erupted in the United States in 2002. Many of the thousands of case
s that emerged last year involved crimes and cover-ups that occurred on his 26-y
ear watch.
Critics have faulted John Paul’s overriding concern with preserving the rights of
accused priests, often at the expense of victims — a concern formed in part by his
experiences in Communist-controlled Poland where priests were often accused of
trumped up charges by the regime.
And here’s what the BBC had reported in 2005:
Pope seeks to beatify John Paul - pilgrims at the Pope’s funeral called for his im
mediate sainthood.
Pope Benedict XVI has begun the process of beatifying his predecessor John Paul
II, the first step to sainthood.
“The cause for the beatification of John Paul II is open,” the new Roman Catholic le
ader told priests meeting at Rome’s Basilica of St John in Lateran.
The Pope waived the usual rules which require a five-year wait before the Church
begins to make someone a saint.
John Paul II died on 2 April, leading to widespread calls from Catholics worldwi
de for him to be made a saint.
Standing ovation
BEATIFICATION PROCESS
Beatification requires that a miracle has occurred Group approaches local bishop
After Rome’s approval an investigation is launched Findings are sent to the Congr
egation for the Causes of Saints Case is presented to the Pope Blessed may be ac
corded a feast day Relics of the candidate may be venerated Canonisation (actual
sainthood) requires proof of a second miracle
REASONS FOR THE FAST TRACK
“And now I have a very joyous piece of news for you,” Pope Benedict XVI said in Ital
ian before making the announcement in Latin.
The Pope read out a letter from Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, the official in c
harge of sainthood, in which it said that Benedict XVI himself had authorised th
e start of the beatification process.
The news was met with a standing ovation from the priests attending the meeting.

It comes on the anniversary of an assassination attempt on John Paul II in 1981,

when he was shot in St Peter’s Square by a Turkish gunman.
Life Examined
Information will now be gathered on the former pope’s life and teachings, includin
g all private writings from the period before he became pope, and checked for or
thodoxy to ensure that he expressed no heretical views.
Pope John Paul II abandoned the five-year rule when he beatified Mother Teresa
A commission of historians will be appointed to gather all of the documents toge
ther, which will then be examined by panels of theologians, and cardinals and bi
shops.
If a two-thirds majority agree with John Paul II’s beatification Pope Benedict XVI
will then be called upon to give his own approval.
But Vatican expert Michael Walsh told the BBC that for the process to be complet
e the Vatican authorities will then have to establish that a miracle has been as
cribed to Pope John Paul II.
“They have to prove someone has been miraculously healed... by his intercession, b
y praying to John Paul II, he or she has recovered from cancer or something of t
hat sort,” he said.
Miracle needed
In the days following his death Italian media carried a number of reports of all
eged miracles attributed to Pope John Paul II, including one claim that an Ameri
can man suffering from a brain tumour was cured after receiving communion from t
he late pontiff.
But the alleged miracles occurred during the Pope’s lifetime, and the beatificatio
n process studies those occurring after the candidate’s death.
Beatification allows public veneration of the person and for the person to be kn
own as “Blessed”. For actual sainthood, proof of at least two miracles is required.
Beatification allows public veneration of the blessed person
In normal circumstances five years must pass between the death of the person pro
posed for beatification and the start of the procedure, to avoid emotion playing
a part.
However, John Paul II dispensed with this rule himself when in 2003 he beatified
Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
The entire process was completed just six years after her death.
On Friday Pope Benedict XVI also announced who would succeed him as head of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Sixty-eight-year-old William Levada, Archbishop of San Francisco, is the first A
merican to hold the post as the Vatican’s chief watchdog of orthodoxy.
VATICAN ADVENTURE AND ROMAN HOLIDAY www.indianchristianity.com
ELECTING A NEW POPE: THE CONCLAVE www.nazraney.com
ALL THAT LAST DAYS OF POPE JOHN PAUL II www.menachery.org