A Note to the Reader:
On 18 February 2008, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect
of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints, held a press conference to
present the document "Sanctorum Mater: Instruction on the Procedure of
Diocesan and Eparchial Inquiries on the Causes of Saints." Cardinal Saraiva
explained that the purpose of this new document is to ensure "that current
norms for the diocesan inquiry of a cause of beatification and canonization
are applied with ever greater care." The norms referred to are the Apostolic
Constitution Divinus perfectionis Magister, published on 25 January
1983, and the accompanying
Normae servandae published by the CCS with
pontifical approval the following 07 February. The pastoral necessity for
the publication of Sanctorum Mater is due to the problem that "in
some dioceses, certain provisions of the law have not always been understood
and, consequently, not been put into practice with the necessary
meticulousness, which has sometimes made it necessary for the congregation
to supply clarifications or to ask diocesan curias to correct errors."
Cardinal Saraiva made several important comments in the press
conference which needs to be underlined:
-
Sanctorum Mater only deals with the
diocesan phase of the beatification and canonization process;
-
Technically, the document qualifies as an
instruction, which according to Canon Law (can. 34 § 1) is a text
that clarifies the legal provisions on the causes of saints and
determines the procedure for their execution;
-
Formally, the publication of Sanctorum Mater
is an administrative act of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints
under its executive power.
Pope Benedict approved the document and ordered its
publication last year, 22 February 2007.
Currently, the document only appears in Italian. In the
following weeks, the Hagiography Circle will publish the original document
along with an unofficial English translation and commentaries to give further explanation and context
to its
provisions.
