Posted on: Saturday, January 8, 2005

Vatican reviews Damien miracle

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

The Vatican plans to re-examine the miracle that church officials believed would elevate Father Damien to sainthood, saying that the prayers leading to it may have been directed to someone else in addition to the 19th-century priest made famous for his selfless devotion to Hansen's disease patients on Moloka'i.

Sister Helene Wood, who serves as vice postulator in Hawai'i for the cause of Father Damien, explained on Thursday that Vatican officials have asked for further investigation in a case in which an O'ahu woman had a cancerous tumor miraculously regress after praying to Damien.

The problem? She may have also prayed for divine intervention from another source, so the miracle might not be able to be attributed just to Damien.

"I received a call from Emilio Vega Garcia, postulator for the cause of Father Damien, who said the Congregation for the Cause of Saints has further questions they want investigated," said Wood, who also serves as provincial superior for the order of nuns called Sisters of the Sacred Hearts. "We need to clarify some issues."

They will reopen the investigation in the next few months, re-interview witnesses and send it back to Rome, Wood said.

The woman in question is still alive, Wood said, but declined to give more particulars about her "until (the miracle is) approved by the Congregation for the Cause of Saints," she said.

It doesn't take away anything already achieved in the cause for Kalaupapa's missionary priest, who was beatified, or declared "blessed," in 1995.

"It's a delay that we weren't expecting," she said. "The cause is being suspended until further information can be forwarded."

If this miracle is found invalid, do they have any backup miracles to go forward with?

Wood laughed, then said: "Not only here, but all around the world, there have been people reporting miracles attributed to Damien. To investigate all of them is very time-consuming. If this particular (miracle) is not accepted — and we think it's a strong case — then we'd have to look for others."

Reach Mary Kaye Ritz at mritz@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8035.