Beatification of Pius XII blocked by absence of approved miracle

Jun 05, 2014

VATICAN: The cause for beatification of Pope Pius XII has not moved forward because there has not been a miracle attributed to his intercession, Pope Francis told reporters during his May 26 news conference on his return trip from the Holy Land.

The cause for beatification of the World War II-era Pontiff remains active, Pope Francis said. “But there’s no miracle and at least one is required for beatification,” he said. He indicated that the cause could not move forward until a miracle is recognized.

In May 2007, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints reportedly voted to approve a decree affirming that Pope Pius XII had shown “heroic virtue” during his life. That decree would have cleared the way for the beatification of Pius XII if a miracle were attributed to his intercession. But the decree required the approval of Pope Benedict XVI, and that approval was evidently not given.

More recently, in 2011, an Italian woman claimed that she had been cured from cancer through the intercession of Pius XII. But some physicians said that chemotherapy might explain her recovery, and Vatican experts have not —at least to date — approved the authenticity of the miracle.-- CWN