ABC News
Process Begins for John Paul's Sainthood
Pope Benedict XVI Opens the Process for the Sainthood of Pope John Paul II
Pope Benedict XVI addresses clergy at the Basilica St John Lateran in the Vatican City, in this image taken from TV Friday May 13, 2005. Pope Benedict XVI said Friday while speaking to the clergy that he had authorized the start of the possible sainthood process for Pope John Paul II, overriding the usual five-year waiting period following the death of a candidate before beatification procedures can begin. (AP Photo/Vatican TV via APTN)
By DANIELA PETROFF Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
VATICAN CITY May 13, 2005  Pope Benedict XVI put his predecessor on the fast track for sainthood Friday and appointed San Francisco Archbishop William Levada as his successor as guardian of church doctrine, the highest Vatican office ever held by an American.
The pope's decision to authorize the start of the process for sainthood for Pope John Paul II overrode the usual five-year waiting period following the death of a candidate before beatification procedures can begin. The only other time the waiting period was waived was for Mother Teresa. The process was begun a year after her death.
Benedict made the announcement in Latin during a meeting at the Basilica of St. John Lateran with the Roman clergy. Friday is the anniversary of an 1981 assassination attempt on John Paul in St. Peter's Square at the hands of a Turkish gunman.
Also Friday, Benedict named the 68-year-old Levada as his successor the Vatican's chief watchdog of church doctrine.
Levada helped draft the Catechism of the Catholic Church essentially the handbook on everything you need to believe to be a Catholic, and one of the major accomplishments of Pope John Paul II's papacy.
Benedict and Levada are old friends, and Levada met with the pope on May 3, fueling speculation that he was on the short list for the job of leading the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
In anticipation of the appointment, the Rev. Jim Bretzke, co-chair of the University of San Francisco's theology department, described Levada as intelligent, careful and fair. "He has all the right credentials," Bretzke said. "The conservatives respect him and even the liberals respect him."
Levada has spoken out on some pressing doctrinal concerns, voicing opposition to same-sex marriages and saying priests should ask bishops for guidance on whether to refuse a Catholic politician communion if the politician supports abortion rights. He also has been involved in efforts aimed at Episcopal-Roman Catholic dialogue in the United States.
Levada joined the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1976 and served for six years, leaving shortly after when then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger took over as prefect in 1981. He returned as one of the five bishops on the congregation in 2000.
'''Background'''



 Wikipedia

 Wikipedia, Wikinews' sibling project, has in-depth background articles on:




* beatification
* intercession of saints
* canonization
* beatified people



Today Pope Benedict XVI announced, in a meeting with the Roman clergy at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, that the process for beatification of Pope John Paul II can be started soon. The process of beatification is the first step in the Catholic Church towards the proclamation of santification (canonization) of a person.

Usually there is a five year waiting period after the death of a candidate for beatification before the procedures may begin.  Pope Benedict XVI waived this period on May 9.  The only other case where the waiting period has been waived was Mother Teresa, whose beatification was begun in 1998, a year after her death, and completed in 2003.

John Paul II can not be styled a saint until he has been both formally beatified and canonized, processes that have no timetables and may take several years.

Since the process of beatification should be started in the diocese where the person died, the process should be started by the Cardinal Vicar, Camillo Ruini, who should instruct the process under the competent Court.