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I
POLL RESULT
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Are
saints important for your faith?
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YES 62%
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NO 38%
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I
POLL
The iPoll is a synergy between MaltaToday, the Internet and you
the readers.
The results of this Internet poll will then be published in MaltaToday
the following Sunday, along with two opinion articles arguing both
sides of the case.
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Today we are tackling a ‘saintly’ issue. The Catholic
Church’s process to declare a devotee a saint is a lengthy
one. But what relevance do saints have for Catholics? Are they important
for their faith?
We asked two opinionists to give their views on the issue.
Are
we putting saints on a pedestal?
 By
Bishop Nicholas J. Cauchi
In this context, the word ‘saints’ stands for those men
and women who have led an outstanding life of holiness and are given
public and official worship within the Church.
However nowadays, it is canonisation that sanctions the glorious
trademark of sainthood. This procedure is a late medieval development
which began in 1234, but there are a great number of Christians
who have been named ‘saints’ before that date, without
being yet canonised.
When we refer to our faith we mean not only belief in the Catholic
dogmas, but also the style of life of those who "follow the
poor Christ, the humble Christ, the cross bearing Christ in order
to be worthy of being shares in his glory" (Lumen Gentium,
41).
Nothing can give our Mother, the Catholic Church, greater fulfilment
than seeing her faithful achieve sainthood by an authentic fellowship
to the life of their Saviour Jesus Christ. These are the saints
of the present and the past. They are witnesses of Christ and models
of his sanctity. They are an invitation to the other members of
the church to follow in their footsteps. In this way they are of
great help to those who want to live the Christian ideals fully
and a valid support for their endeavour.
In the Catholic Church the practice of venerating saints has been
everywhere and always upheld. Devotion includes not only a recourse
to their intercession and extolling their virtues but also and above
all a faithful imitation of their moral perfections.
From a very early date, the Eastern Churches celebrated in their
liturgies, the memory of all the saints in one feast on 1 November.
At a later date, this custom spread to the west. This feast is meant
to honour the whole Triumphant Church united to Christ, the Head,
in the beatific vision.
Mons.
Cauchi is Bishop of Gozo
Are we putting saints on a pedestal?
 By
Reuben Sciberras
Canonisation is the process the Catholic Church uses to name a saint.
It has only been used since the tenth century. Prior to that, for
hundreds of years saints were chosen by public acclaim. This led
to some saints' stories being distorted by legend and some even,
never existed. Gradually, the bishops and finally the Vatican took
over authority for approving saints.
In 1983, Pope John Paul II made sweeping changes in the canonisation
procedure. The process begins after the death of a Catholic whom
people regard as holy. The local bishop investigates the candidate's
life and writings for heroic virtue or martyrdom. A panel of theologians
at the Vatican evaluates the candidate. After approval, the Pope
proclaims the candidate ‘venerable’.
The next step is beatification. This requires evidence of one miracle
(except in the case of martyrs). Since the Catholic Church considers
miracles to be proof that the person is ‘in heaven’ and
can intercede for the faithful, the miracle must take place after
the candidate's death and as a result of a specific petition to
the candidate.
Only after one more miracle will the pope canonise the saint. For
the Catholic Church, the title of saint means that the person lived
a holy life, is ‘in heaven’, and is to be honoured by
the universal Church. Canonisation does not "make" a person
a saint; it recognises who is already one.
This is the principle. In reality I wonder if those who are active
members in the Catholic Church look at saints in the same way.
In Malta in particular, as a culture, we have grown to mix up idolatry
with veneration. Just have a look at our festas and the incredible
pagan rites taking place. What is happening is surely not what the
Catholic Church has in mind when talking about saints. On the other
hand I don’t think that the local church authorities have really
endeavoured to abolish these practices. It was only lately that
we witnessed attempts by the local church to try and halt the wave
of increasing paganism.
As for my personal faith, saints are only important in so far as
to the teachings and the real life experiences they left for posterity.
The way these ‘saints’ led their life does not mean that
they are special, but that whatever they achieved during their lifetime
is achievable by others, including us, today.
Mr
Sciberras is a graduate in BA Theology & Human Studies
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