THE GOOD NEWS
ARCHBISHOP BELTRAN
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October 7, 2007 The Good News ...A Prayerful Beginning Canonization Opening Session My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: It is with great joy that I welcome all of you to Holy Trinity Church here in Okarche. We gather together to celebrate the Eucharist on a singular and historic occasion. We are here for the formal canonical opening of the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of Reverend Stanley F. Rother. This is the very first time in history that a canonization process has been initiated here in Oklahoma. It is my hope and my prayer that Almighty God will bring to a happy conclusion this good work which He has begun in us! As Catholic people we believe that human beings are created by God in His own Image and Likeness. God made us to receive His love and to love Him in return. Basically God made us to know, love and serve Him now so that someday we could rejoice in His Presence in heaven forever. To be in heaven with God means to be a saint. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines a saint as “one who is holy, who leads a life in union with God through the grace of Christ and receives the reward of eternal life in heaven.” Therefore, everyone in heaven is actually a saint. However, the only way we can be certain that a particular person is in heaven is by a Divine Revelation or by a solemn proclamation of the Church. Remember, the Church teaches in the Name of Jesus and on His authority. This proclamation of the Church comes only after a very thorough study of the person’s life and much prayer for God’s guidance and direction. Again, let us turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church which defines canonization as “the solemn declaration by the Pope that a deceased member of the faithful may be proposed as a model and intercessor to the Christian faithful and venerated as a saint on the basis of the fact that the person lived a life of heroic virtue or remained faithful to God through martyrdom.” As we all know, Father Rother, a priest of our Archdiocese, was born and raised here in Okarche. As a young man he heard the call of the Lord. He responded willingly but encountered difficulties with his seminary studies. Through the Grace of God, he was ordained a priest and after five years of priestly ministry here in Oklahoma, he was sent as a missionary to Micatokla, our parish in Santiago Atitlan in Guatemala. On July 28, 1981, he was ruthlessly beaten and shot to death in the Santiago Atitlan rectory. We here in Oklahoma, as well as the people of Santiago Atitlan, were convinced that this good and faithful missionary priest was a martyr. He gave up his life for the faith. He believed in Jesus. He responded to God’s call to be a priest. He celebrated the sacraments, thereby bringing God’s grace, love and forgiveness to countless people. He preached and shared the Good News of Jesus with others. He suffered and died at the hands of those who hated this Good News. We considered him a martyr then and began to hope and pray that he would soon be recognized and canonized a saint. Since Father Rother died in Santiago Atitlan, the local Diocese of Solola-Chimaltenango was the competent Tribunal to conduct his cause. However, after 25 years of inquiring and waiting, we concluded that the Church of the Diocese of Solola-Chimaltenango did not have the means, the resources and the personnel to successfully complete the Cause of Beatification and Canonization. During this past year, therefore, I have requested and received the agreement and permission of the bishop of Solola-Chimaltenango to seek a transfer of jurisdiction. The Guatemala Conference of Bishops concurred in that agreement. The Congregation for the Cause of Saints then authorized this transfer granting jurisdiction to the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. The Congregation also approved the Postulator I selected to represent us in Rome. Dr. Andrea Ambrosi is a trained Canonist who will personally represent our cause before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. He will give direction and guidance to our committee. Dr. Ambrosi lives and serves in Rome. He is assisted by Corylie Suarez, an American who works with him in Rome. This formal canonical opening session of the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of Father Stanley Rother is a reality today but it is only the beginning. The entire process will transpire over many, many years. The Sacred Congregation for the Cause of Saints will review all the evidence we gather in our archdiocesan effort to establish factually and clearly that Father Rother was indeed a man of heroic virtue. Once the Congregation is satisfied that we have done so, they will present His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, with a decree for his approval. If the Holy Father signs the decree of the Con-gregation, Father Rother will then be known by the title Venerable. If an authentic miracle can be attributed to his intercession and is so recognized by the Holy See, he will be called Blessed. If a second miracle occurs and is so approved, he will be canonized a saint. In the event that it can be clearly proven that Father Rother was indeed a martyr (in the strict sense), the miracles are not required for his canonization. In any event you can see that the entire process re-quires much work and a great deal of time and prayer. Most of us will not see this to its successful completion. The Church is slow in these matters because it is thorough and we are dealing here with the spiritual realm which is timeless. However, if we did not take the initiative to proceed now, the cause might never go forward. What is most important is that we all pray for the canonization of Father Rother and at the same time, live the fullness of our Catholic faith as we should, then we, too, will someday be saints of God. In accordance with requirements of the Church Law, I have established a Tribunal of 14 people to conduct this investigation. All the members of this special Tribunal are present here tonight for this opening session for the Cause of Beatification and Canon-ization of Father Stanley Rother. In just a few moments they will make a solemn oath before you and before Almighty God. Therefore, I now ask each of them to come forward as I call them forth. |