Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Romero Canonization - Amber Alert



BEATIFICATION OF ARCHBISHOP ROMERO, MAY 23, 2015

Cathy Weinkam Wesseling photo (Flickr)

#BlessedRomero #MartyrOfMercy
Reviving the red-yellow-green code system used here in the years leading up to the beatification of Blessed Oscar Romero, we can say that the canonization cause now stands under a YELLOW advisory.  In this system, "green" denotes progress, "red" indicates stagnation and "amber/yellow" indicates moderate or slow forward motion.  The designation of the yellow or moderate level now is based, among other things, in comments by the postulator of the cause, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who told the site Tierras de América that he still expects Romero to be canonized, but not immediately.

All the challenges and controversies have been overcome.  “The only problem is the miracle,” Paglia told the Argentina-based website. “We have studied some cases of healing, but they cannot be put forward, and for that reason I have not even presented them [to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints]. We felt it was best to avoid rejections.”  In January of this year the Salvadoran Church sent information on three unexplained cures attributed to Romero, two cancers and a coma, to Rome. However, those were not deemed sufficient and officials were asked to seek new cases.  Information regarding three new cures was subsequently sent.

It seems that God wishes us to savor the distinct stages of Blessed Romero’s commemoration: his beatification last year, the centenary of his birth next year, and his canonization in a year to come. Perhaps, we need to spiritually prepare ourselves.  Perhaps, we need to make this a participatory and not a passive experience.  We can all contribute to the cause by praying for miracles, by praying for a successful conclusion of the cause.

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