Posted on: Thursday, April 17, 2003
Damien tribunal's findings sealed, then sent to Vatican
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Staff Writer
A Roman Catholic Church investigation into a reported miracle wound up yesterday with officials expressing hope they had assembled enough evidence to propel Father Damien de Veuster into the legion of saints.
A prayer service marking the conclusion of a tribunal convened by Honolulu Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo was held yesterday afternoon at St. Stephen's Diocesan Center in Kane'ohe.
A 190-page sealed report was presented to a representative of Damien's order, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, who was scheduled to fly to Italy last night and hand it over to church officials in Rome.
The Belgian priest renowned for his service to the Hansen's disease patients of Kalaupapa in the 19th century is one step away from sainthood. The pope bestowed the title "blessed" on Damien in 1995 based on a miracle ascribed to him six years after his death in 1889.
While Honolulu Diocese officials wouldn't discuss details of the report or the closed-door proceedings, they did say they are hopeful it will lead to canonization.
"There didn't seem to be any doubts in anyone's mind that this was the real thing," said Patrick Downes, diocese spokesman.
DiLorenzo said he would pray for a positive outcome for Damien and urged others to pray likewise.
The Rev. Joseph Grimaldi, the diocese vicar general and tribunal chairman, said earlier that it's possible Damien could achieve sainthood within a year.
The tribunal began its work last month, examining all aspects of an O'ahu woman's story that her cancer was cured after she traveled to Moloka'i to pray at Damien's grave. The patient and her family members were among those who testified before the tribunal.
Also testifying was Dr. Walter Y.M. Chang, the Honolulu physician who wrote about the spontaneous regression of the woman's cancer in the October 2000 issue of Hawai'i Medical Journal. Chang wrote that a malignant tumor had developed in the patient's lung in September 1998 and then disappeared without the aid of therapy. The spontaneous regression of this type of cancer may be the first case report of its kind, according to the paper.
The tribubal also received testimony from other doctors who treated the woman.
Joining Grimaldi on the tribunal were Dr. Philip Jones, a physician who is not Catholic; the Rev. Robert Maher, a Capuchin priest; and diocesan chancellor John Ringrose.
The Rev. Emilio Vega Garcia is the Rome-based postulator who will present the evidence to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, a Vatican committee of cardinals, priests, nuns, lay people and canon lawyers that will make the final recommendation to the pope.
