P
PazzoGrande
Guest
In the last few years, there was a beatification scheduled for a French priest. It already had the approval of the previous Pope and was already planned, but the cause was abruptly suspended when some writings of this priest were found to have anti-semitic language.
Ideally, beatification causes have studied the candidates’ lives thoroughly enough where things like that aren’t supposed to happen. But evidently they do. I don’t doubt that the candidate is in heaven though because there was already an accepted miracle that came through his intercession.
But what about other cases? Isn’t it entirely possible that a beatification could be erroneous, especially in cases of, say, joint beatifications or beatifications of martyrs?
In the case of the former, where there is group of people being beatified, what if the miracle was worked through the intercession of one of the people in the group, rather than through the intercession of all of them? Couldn’t one of those beatified really not be worth beatifying?
In the case of the latter, no miracles are needed for the beatification in the first place. What if the cause studying the martyrdom got erroneous information? Couldn’t the person just not be in heaven?
Furthemore, I understand the reasoning that the ultimate sacrifice of one’s life for God is supposed to be basis enough for the person to get into heaven. But isn’t it possible that the person just isn’t in heaven? We have our belief in purgatory from the story in the Bible where people were fighting for God, but died with pagan idols on their bodies. So a martyrdom might not be as sanctified as might be presumed. We don’t completely know what was on a martyr’s mind. Since no miracle is needed as proof, isn’t it therefore possible that the person just isn’t in heaven?
Canonisations are a different story, since that is treated with Infallibility; but as I understand it, beatifications are not Infallible. So isn’t it possible that someone might be beatified by mistake?
Ideally, beatification causes have studied the candidates’ lives thoroughly enough where things like that aren’t supposed to happen. But evidently they do. I don’t doubt that the candidate is in heaven though because there was already an accepted miracle that came through his intercession.
But what about other cases? Isn’t it entirely possible that a beatification could be erroneous, especially in cases of, say, joint beatifications or beatifications of martyrs?
In the case of the former, where there is group of people being beatified, what if the miracle was worked through the intercession of one of the people in the group, rather than through the intercession of all of them? Couldn’t one of those beatified really not be worth beatifying?
In the case of the latter, no miracles are needed for the beatification in the first place. What if the cause studying the martyrdom got erroneous information? Couldn’t the person just not be in heaven?
Furthemore, I understand the reasoning that the ultimate sacrifice of one’s life for God is supposed to be basis enough for the person to get into heaven. But isn’t it possible that the person just isn’t in heaven? We have our belief in purgatory from the story in the Bible where people were fighting for God, but died with pagan idols on their bodies. So a martyrdom might not be as sanctified as might be presumed. We don’t completely know what was on a martyr’s mind. Since no miracle is needed as proof, isn’t it therefore possible that the person just isn’t in heaven?
Canonisations are a different story, since that is treated with Infallibility; but as I understand it, beatifications are not Infallible. So isn’t it possible that someone might be beatified by mistake?