Non-Catholics Support John Paul II’s Cause
ANSA, March 29 — Protestants, non-Christians and agnostics support Pope John Paul II’s cause for canonization, the Italian news service reported.
Msgr. Slawomir Oder, postulator for John Paul’s cause for canonization, told the newspaper Corriere della Serra that two non-Catholics suggested that the late Pope had performed miracles on their behalf. An Anglican man reported that pain he had been feeling for a long time was relieved after he had a dream about John Paul, while an Orthodox Christian woman said that she believes his intercession cured her son’s depression.
Msgr. Oder is currently investigating one potential miracle, a French nun whose Parkinson’s symptoms were relieved after she prayed for John Paul’s intercession.
“[Reports have] come from people who say they are
agnostics, non-believers, even Muslims, Buddhists or Hindus,” Joaquin
Navarro-Valls, spokesman for the Vatican, said. “They say that they would like
their testimony to be officially recognized by the Church.”
Virgin Mary Saved Holy Father’s Life in St. Peter’s
AGI, March 25 — Pope Benedict said “everyone was quite aware of the presence of the Virgin Mary as Mother and Queen of the Church” during the papacy of John Paul II, the Italian news service reported.
In his closing remarks during the recent consistory that created 15 new cardinals, the Holy Father added, “This presence was most obvious during the attack on his life in St. Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981.”
The Pope added, “In memory of that tragic event, Pope John Paul II wanted a mosaic of the Virgin to be placed high above the Apostolic Palace, overlooking St. Peter’s Square. It would be there as a reminder of both the highlights and the more everyday moments of his long papacy, which entered its final phase precisely a year ago, a phase that was simultaneously painful and triumphant, in a way that is appropriate at Easter.”
Culture to Play a Role in Dialogue With Islam
REUTERS, March 26 — The new prefect of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue said culture will play a role in relations between the Church and Islam, Reuters reported.
Cardinal Paul Poupard, who is also the Vatican minister of culture, recalled that the Pope told Muslim leaders in Germany last August that Christian-Muslim dialogue was “a vital necessity on which in large measure our future depends.”
“When he put me in charge of both departments, Benedict XVI clearly told me we had to develop the dialogue of men of culture with representatives of non-Christian religions,” the French cardinal said. “Pope Benedict XVI, like his predecessor John Paul II, never ceases to say this and show it by his acts, such as opposition to armed intervention in Iraq and the nomination of three Asian cardinals at the consistory.”
He added, “The Church is not Western. It is catholic.”