Posted on: Saturday, April 30, 2005
Nuns pushing sainthood cause
By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer
Despite the possible delay in beatification for Mother Marianne Cope, Hawai'i nuns eager to press the sainthood cause of their leader will be asking, "Isn't May a nice time to visit Rome, the Eternal City?"
Advertiser library photo • Jan. 31, 2005 "Well, at least the weather's nice," added Sister William Marie Eleniki of O'ahu, one of 18 nuns who had paid in full for the trip.
It's too late to get a refund, the nuns said.
When Pope John Paul II died earlier this month, the sisters had hoped beatification, another step in the move toward sainthood, would proceed on schedule. However, a conflict was discovered in the schedule of new Pope Benedict XVI: Ordinations were timed to take place at the same time as a slate of beatifications.
Other causes scheduled that day include a French priest who died in the Sahara, two founders of women's religious orders in Europe and a group of martyrs who died in Spain.
So a representative from the Vatican started making calls, asking all five groups pressing their own causes if they were ready to go ahead as planned. Four said they needed more time or would be able to wait.
"We're the only ones who said yes," said Hanley, praising the nuns in Hawai'i as well as Syracuse. "Yes, we are ready. We'd be over there tomorrow, if we could."
When the call came to say the cause would be delayed, Bishop James Moynihan of Syracuse drafted a letter to Rome asking for an immediate rescheduling.
The letter also outlined the hardships such a delay would have not only on the nuns in Syracuse but for the contingent from Hawai'i, who had moved ahead with their plans, Hanley said.
"It must have been an appealing letter, because they responded and said they're considering it," she said.
While Hanley is still holding out hope — "but I can't guarantee it" — she said the nuns will face a challenge if the beatification is rescheduled for later. Hanley worried that money and health concerns might keep people who are able to go now from also making a trip to Rome later.
"Hopefully, something can be done," said Eleniki. "Maybe (the beatification) can be the 16th instead of 15th."
The Hawai'i nun said it won't be a total loss, even if they aren't able to afford another trip to Rome.
"We're also going to Assisi, which is like going to the holy land for us," she said.
She estimates that about 40 lay people from Hawai'i were planning to make a special trip for the beatification.
"At least, we'll have a good time," the still-optimistic Eleniki said. "We'll have a better time if it works out."
Reach Mary Kaye Ritz at mritz@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8035.
Sister Mary Laurence Hanley, who heads the sainthood cause for the 19th-century Kalaupapa nun who cared for victims of Hansen's disease, said the nuns will not be able to cancel their trip, even after getting word that the May 15 beatification may be delayed.
Hundreds bid aloha to Mother Marianne Cope during Mass at Our Lady of Peace Cathedral. Her body, buried at Kalaupapa, was exhumed and returned to Syracuse, N.Y., where she became a nun.
Not the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, based in New York. They felt Mother Marianne had been waiting long enough.
Marianne Cope
