Cases of cure must not include medical intervention, says Bishop Lobo
Even as the world is preparing itself for the celebration of Mother Teresa's birth centenary on August 26, the wait for her sainthood will be longer as the Church is yet to come across an “acceptable miracle” to be attributed to her, said Bishop Salvadore Lobo, who headed the inquiry team for her beatification, on Monday.
“There are reports from all over the world of favours being granted by Mother Teresa. However, according to the norms of the Catholic Church there are certain criteria to be met before it can be an acceptable miracle,” Bishop Lobo of the Diocese of Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district told The Hindu.
Without intervention
For something to be declared a miracle, it should be an instantaneous event that is beyond scientific explanation. Usually, instances of cures are reported as miracles, but in those cases it must not include any medical intervention, he added.
In 2003, Mother Teresa was beatified (she is now called Blessed Teresa of Calcutta) on the basis of the testimony of Monica Bersa and her doctor, who observed that she had been cured of cancer. But since then no miracle has been reported, Bishop Lobo said.
Bishop Lobo recalled the four years of work that had led to the collection of 37,000 pages of documents in support of her beatification. “I got a chance to meet diverse people, from the former Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla to people living on the streets, whose lives had been touched by Mother Teresa,” he said.
Special prayers
Special prayers were offered at the Cathedral of Immaculate Heart of Mary and Mother Teresa, the first cathedral to be dedicated to Mother Teresa.
Mother Teresa is the co-patron of the Baruipur church, the walls of which have been painted white with blue borders to reflect the iconic image of “the lady in the white sari with a blue border.”
Bishop Lobo, who led his diocese in offering the special prayers, emphasised “the philosophy of Mother Teresa of loving and becoming instruments of peace, which is valid today in the world torn apart by conflict.”
Keywords: Mother Teresa, Sainthood, Kolkata, birth centenary, celebration
Catholic Church and its proccess of declaring someone as a saint isnt known to a few of those who commented above! Before they do so, they should know who really a saint is! Church has been very wise in excersing certain of its holy duties, so it is with this!
When Mother Theresa lived she was called "living Saint" for her love towards the poorest of the poor. She is still widely spoken everywhere in the world. It will be fitting to give her "Sainthood" in this birth centenary year. Let us hope and pray that she be granted "Sainthood"
I think the idea behind this 'bureaucracy', is to establish a person's sainthood beyond all doubt. Prove that God personally worked through that individual. If someone comes around 20 years later, ridiculing a person's 'sainthood' with scientific detective work, think how cheated that saint's believers would feel. And by extension, all people who look to the church as a source of strength and truth. That's why this insistence on protocol. Till recently, there was a "Devil's Advocate" at the Vatican, a highly trained priest whose sole job was to mercilessly poke holes in any "Sainthood" claims. A rationalist, who would look for scientific/political/medical loopholes in every fairytale. Only when he and his team gave up completely and utterly, could a person's "Sainthood" claims move forward. I think that rigour is good, for everybody.
Let us continue to pray that she will get her sainthood soon. She is held in great esteem all over the world and among Catholics she is venerated highly. May this world move towards peace as we celebrate her birth Centenary and may our less fortunate brothers and sisters get assistance from all of us who venerate her.
This is ridiculous religious bureaucracy. Mother Theresa IS a saint. What is the need for her to be GIVEN a saintHOOD? As if there are a thousand competitors for one spot here!!! There is only ONE Mother Theresa and everybody who knows and cherishes her knows she is a saint. Let them keep this saintHOOD safely locked up for some miracle. Isn't she already one?
Who bothers about the confering of sainthood by Vatican on this appostel of love for humanity, esp. when masses already consider her a saint?
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