Pope John Paul II is getting beatified. And, yes, that’s agood thing.
Beatification is the Catholic Church’s recognition that a deceased person isblessed for martyrdom or for performing a miracle. The late pope is beingvenerated for miraculously healing a French nun of Parkinson’s disease in 1982.Pope Benedict XVI approved the order in a Jan. 14 meeting at the Vatican.
Pope John Paul’s beatification is the quickest in history, barely edging outMother Teresa, who also received the recognition six years after her death.
The May 1 beatification ceremony will put Pope John Paul II one step closer tosainthood, which requires a second Vatican-validated miracle.
