Presides at Solemn Closing of Diocesan Investigation
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 2, 2007 -
Pope John Paul II's intense relationship with God was already profound
in his youth, said Cardinal Camillo Ruini at the close of the diocesan
phase of the Pontiff's beatification process.
Cardinal Ruini presided over the closing session of the diocesan
investigation today at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, on the second
anniversary of the death of John Paul II.
The solemn opening of the diocesan phase took place June 28, 2005, less than three months after the Pope's death.
The Vatican phase will now begin with the elaboration of a report
to be prepared by a collaborator of the postulator of the cause, under
the guidance of a relator of the Congregation for Saints' Causes.
In his homily during the closing ceremony, Cardinal Ruini, the
vicar of Benedict XVI for Rome, commented on John Paul II's intense
spiritual life.
Boyhood
The cardinal said that Karol Wojtyla's spiritual life was "already
strong, intimate and profound in his boyhood, and that [it] never
ceased to develop and grow stronger, producing fruits in all dimensions
of his life."
Cardinal Ruini added that God never sheltered Wojtyla from the
trials of life, but rather was constantly "associating him ever and
anew to the cross of his Son ... giving him the courage to love the
cross, and the spiritual intelligence to see, through the cross, the
face of the Father."
The cardinal continued: "In the certainty of being loved by God and
in the joy of returning this love, Karol Wojtyla found the meaning,
unity and aim of his own life.
"All those who knew him, from near or only from afar, were struck
by the richness of his humanity, by his complete fulfillment as a man.
"But even more illuminating and important is the fact that such
fullness of humanity coincided, in the end, with his relationship with
God, in other words with his sanctity."
Faith
Cardinal Ruini said that the faith of John Paul II was that "of a
man who, in a certain sense, had already seen the Lord, and who had
made the direct experience of the mysterious and salvific presence of
God in his spirit and in his life."
It is because of this faith, continued the cardinal, that Wojtyla
had felt "the necessity and the duty to offer and transmit to all the
truth that saves."
Cardinal Ruini also recalled the last moments of John Paul II.
With the help of those present in his apartment, John Paul II
prayed "all the daily prayers: adoration, meditation and he even
anticipated the office of the readings for Sunday," said the cardinal.
The cardinal continued: "Then, he said with an exceedingly weak
voice to Sister Tobiana Sobotka, his authentic guardian angel: 'Let the
Lord come.'
"Afterward, he entered into a coma, and in his room the vigil Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday was celebrated."
The cardinal said that Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, John Paul II's
personal secretary, managed to give the dying Pope "drops of the blood
of Christ."
Divine mercy
Cardinal Ruini said that divine mercy was the center of John Paul
II's spirituality: "From it he learned to overcome evil with good."
Numerous Poles attended today's ceremony, accompanied by
now-Cardinal Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow, who also presided over a
prayer vigil in the Vatican Grottoes.
Also present was Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, who was cured of
Parkinson's months after the death of John Paul II, close to
Aix-en-Provence, France.
The 46-year-old woman religious attributes her cure to the intercession of the Pontiff.
Next phase
The process of beatification passes now to the Vatican Congregation
for Saints' Causes, whose prefect is Cardinal José Saraiva Martins.
The cardinal told Vatican Radio today "that John Paul II was
dispensed from the five-year waiting period after death, prescribed by
canon law, to begin the cause of beatification, but was not dispensed
from the process."
Cardinal Saraiva Martins said: "Therefore, the Vatican dicastery
proceeds now to review all the documentation that has arrived to us,
following the paths indicated by the juridical prescripts.
"The prescripts of canon law must be respected."
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