One miracle short

The Vatican is poised to beatify John Newman the Anglican convert to Catholicism. But the New Statesman says there's some sand in the gears:

The Oratorians went through the lengthy and tedious process of verifying the miracle, and the Vatican was poised to approve. But then, much to the Oratorians’ chagrin, the miracle man walked in front of a bus and was killed. Theologically, the miracle was cancelled out. He may have had his cancer cured, but his sudden, unexpected and tragic death undid all the lobbying and verification.

As one priest at the Oratory put it: “It is almost impossible to have a miracle verified in this country.

In predominantly Catholic countries like Spain and Italy, and in South America, doctors have no hesitation in endorsing the sudden disappearance of potentially fatal conditions as miracles. Here, doctors describe them as being in remission. That is why the loss of our miracle was particularly galling.” It is notable that the single miracle on Cardinal Newman’s record came from abroad.

Still, Benedict seems determined to elevate Newman.

Posted by John B. Chilton on May 10, 2009 7:04 AM | |
Comments (2)

I've always considered Tract 90 to be a miracle...

Posted by Bill Carroll [TypeKey Profile Page] | May 10, 2009 1:06 PM

In predominantly Catholic countries like Spain and Italy, and in South America, doctors have no hesitation in endorsing the sudden disappearance of potentially fatal conditions as miracles. Here [in the UK], doctors describe them as being in remission.

So, what? God punishes Protestant nations (Vatican POV) like the UK, by withholding miracles?

Or just that, in the relentless effort of the last two papacies to "make saints", RC doctors have dumbed-down miracles?

To me, it always seemed a given---if one was going to truly play "Devil's Advocate" in process of canonization---that the one confirming the miracle absolutely had to NOT be a (prior) believer. Otherwise there's conflict-of-interest, and what's the point?

JC Fisher

Posted by tgflux [TypeKey Profile Page] | May 10, 2009 10:28 PM

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