The SSPX, nor anyone else for that matter, have a right to take issue with this. The pope can ordain without an investigation, without miracles, without a beatification. A beatification is muffler.
I serves two purposes. It gives those who venerate the man an open forum to do so. However, by limiting the extent of the veneration to certain dioceses, religious communities, etc, it helps those who are not too comfortable ease into this cult.
When you look at this, you had an investigation that ruled that the late pope lived a life of heroic Christian virtue, Assisi or no Assisi. The pope approved those findings and close the investigation into his life. A miracle was presented and proven to be a miracle through his intercession alone, no one else’s. That’s the criteria for the miracle. It has to be a miracle and there can be no doubt in the mind of the pope about the person behind it.
At the end, the man is in heaven, because God does not work miracles through non-saints that are dead. If Pope Benedict wanted to wave the second miracle and canonize, what are Catholics going to say? Nothing. A decree of canonization is an Ex Cathedra decree. It requires our assent of faith and commands our silence on the matter.
I don’t believe that the SSPX leadership is dumb. I believe that it was not happy when Pope Benedict waved the waiting period. Once the verdict was in that Bl. John Paul lived a life of heroic virtue and that there was a real miracle through his intercession, the leadership of the SSPX, like any other Catholic, accepted the fact. You can’t contradict God.
I believe that there are some priests out there and some lay people, very few of each, who are still trying to speak for the SSPX on this matter, when the SSPX leadership seems to have accepted the fact that the man is a Blessed and that it was going to happen regardless.
I also believe that they understand the reasons for the Holy Father’s rush. It’s the same reason that Pope Gregory IX gave when he canonized Anthony of Padua and Francis of Assisi while he threw everyone else under the bus. The pope himself was a primary eye witness of the man’s holiness. Gregory did not need to be convinced. Pope Benedict is in the same situation. He knew this man for more than two decades and did not need to be convinced. He opened the process to convince the skeptics, not himself.
He also knew that due to his age, if he died before the investigation into Pope John Paul’s life took place, a key witness would be lost. All they would have to go on would be Pope Benedict’s writings about Pope John Paul. Whereas, this way, they have the real person in front of them to answer questions.
At the beatification, I don’t know how many remember it, but Pope Benedict did say, “Yes, I rushed this through and I’m not sorry or apologetic for it either. I wanted to see this beatification happen.” As one of the experts in the causes of saints said in an interview, that statement was a clear message to the rest of the Church that if they had not hurried up with this, Pope Benedict would have broken protocol and beatified regardless, because he wanted to see this happen before he dies.
Now, it looks like we may be celebrating the feast of Bl. John Paul in the USA. The bishops are going to ask for permission to include it in the American liturgical calendar. The Franciscans already have, all around the world. They even have the collects for the EF for Bl. John Paul. Other conferences of bishops have already asked and been given permission to include it in their calendars.
I don’t really think that this is a concern of the SSPX leadership. Once the miracle was proven, the rest was irrefutable. You can’t tell God that you’re going to pretend it never happened. That would be really strange.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
