Masses want fast-track halo for Pope John Paul

VATICAN CITY - Sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church usually takes decades or even centuries to achieve. But for Pope John Paul, the popular verdict is in and many say they want him put straight on the fast track.

Church rules say the first step to sainthood, known as "opening a cause", cannot start until five years after a death.

The rule is meant, among other things, to allow emotions to settle down after a person dies and for documentation and witnesses supporting the sainthood cause to be prepared.

But many people are convinced that John Paul was a saint in his life, some comparing him to Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

"I pray the Holy Spirit will illuminate the next pope and help him to make a saint of John Paul as soon as possible," said Liliana Rosetti, 47, a Roman housewife who waited for hours to see the John Paul's body.

"He deserves to be made a saint tomorrow for all he did."

By some estimates, 3 million people will have seen the Pope's body in the five days before he is buried on Friday. By comparison, the shrine at Lourdes in France, where the Madonna is said to have appeared, receives 6 million pilgrims in an entire year.

Because the Pope was bishop of Rome, the cause must be started there but the Polish church is likely to press his successor to waive the five-year waiting period.

The precedent was set by John Paul himself.

In 1999, the Pope bent Vatican rules to grant a dispensation allowing Mother Teresa's sainthood cause to be started only two years after her death in 1997.

"The Pope was truly 'a Great' ... he led the way," said Dora Rubillo, 55, from Rome.

"He didn't only speak against communism but also against capitalism, the Mafia. He was John Paul the Great, some might already say Saint John Paul," she said.

The day after he died, Italy's Il Giornale newspaper seemed to encapsulate the feeling among many Catholics around the world with the headline "Our Pope who art in heaven."

Pope John Paul beatified 1,338 people and canonised 482 saints, more than all his predecessors combined since current procedures began in 1588. Now pilgrims and prelates say it is his turn.

"This Pope is on the road to sainthood. Our contact with him will be different but it is not finished," said Archbishop Jozef Michalik, head of the Polish Bishops' Conference.

The saint-making procedure is often long, bureaucratic and expensive and many Catholics say they want the red tape cut.

"For me he was another Christ. He truly lived the life of Jesus. He showed us how to live, how to suffer, how to love and even how to die," said Sister Simone from Austria, standing with fellow nuns from Mother Teresa's order to see the Pope's body.

When a sainthood cause is begun, in the Pope's case most likely by the Cardinal of Rome, the candidate gets the title "Servant of God".

A "postulator" is appointed to help gather information from people who knew the candidate, seeking evidence of holiness. In this case, the postulator might be someone who worked with the Pope in the Vatican.

A "relator" is then appointed to evaluate evidence and make a recommendation in the form of a "positio", or position paper.

Many of the people who knew or worked with the Pope are still alive. This could speed up the case significantly because witnesses would be readily available to testify.

His sainthood process would move more quickly because it will be classified as a "recent" rather than "ancient" cause, bypassing a Vatican historical commission and moving directly to a theological commission.

If an initial investigation ends positively, John Paul's successor can issue a decree recognising a person's "heroic virtues". The candidate then gets the title "venerable".

One miracle is required after the candidate's death for the cause to move on to beatification. The miracle must be the result of prayers asking the candidate to intercede with God.

Miracles are usually a physical healing which doctors are at a loss to explain.

A person who is beatified is declared a "blessed", allowing limited veneration. Another miracle is needed between beatification and canonisation, the conferring of sainthood.

One Italian paper commented on John Paul: "He has already performed a first miracle: all these people here for him."

- REUTERS