Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - In the Holy See Press Office this morning, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presented the Instruction "Sanctorum Mater" for conducting diocesan or eparchial enquiries in the causes of saints, as well as the supplement, “Index ac status causarum.”
In his remarks, the cardinal affirmed that the aim of the document "is to contribute to ensuring that current norms for the diocesan inquiry of a cause of beatification and canonisation are applied with ever greater care". The Instruction is divided into six sections and carefully describes all the steps that the Bishops should make from beginning to end in the diocesan phase of the process for beatification.
The cardinal then went on to consider the reasons for the publication of the document, pointing out that 25 years have passed since the promulgation by John Paul II of the Apostolic Constitution 'Divinus Perfectionis Magister', and of the 'Normae servandae' by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Since then, he said, "in some dioceses, certain provisions of the law have not always been understood and, consequently, not been put into practice with the necessary meticulousness, the which has sometimes made it necessary for the congregation to supply clarifications or to ask diocesan curias to correct errors". Furthermore, he added, "dioceses do not always have access to specialised individuals with practical experience of the various procedures involved in a cause of canonisation". For this reason, "it is evident that a practical document, such as this Instruction, was useful, indeed necessary.” “When the current legislation on causes of saints came into force", said the cardinal outlining another reason for the publication of the present document, "an unfounded idea became widespread that the traditional methodology ... had been substituted by some kind of historical-critical investigation". And the final reason was that, "in the move from the earlier legislation to that in force today, it was unclear to some people that a serious and rigorous verification of the fame of sanctity or martyrdom, undertaken in dioceses, is a prior requirement of absolute importance. Hence, a procedure must not be begin without irrefutable proof that the Servant of God ... is held to be a saint or martyr by a considerable number of faithful, who invoke him or her in their prayers and attribute graces and favours to his or her intercession."
Cardinal Saraiva Martins pointed out, as well, that the guidelines for the causes of beatification and canonisation are the same for the Latin Rite Church as for the Eastern Rite, always under the competence of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The press conference also released a statement on statistics of Beatifications and Canonisations during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. There have been 20 beatification ceremonies during which 563 Servants of God were beatified (36 confessors and 527 martyrs), including 48 diocesan priests, 485 male and female religious, and 30 lay people, for a total of 509 men and 54 women. The canonisation ceremonies celebrated thus far during the pontificate of Benedict XVI number four (three in Rome and one in Brazil), during which 14 people were canonised (two bishops, four priests, five male religious and three female religious). The current total of saints and blesseds of this pontificate is 577. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 18/2/2008; righe 44, parole 552)
