An interview with Michele Di Ruberto, Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. The procedures whereby an extraordinary event is recognized as a miracle by the Church. And the reason why it is still necessary today in causes of beatification and canonization
by Stefania Falasca
The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen», said the
English writer G
Cardinal José Saraiva Martins finishes his pleading of the six causes of canonization in the ordinary public consistory held in the Sala Clementina of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, 19 February 2004
The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen», said the
English writer G. K. Chesterton. Of course. Pure gratia gratis data. Monsignor Michele Di Ruberto has no
doubts about that. On the contrary. About miracles, or rather, the checking of miracles,
he can consider himself an expert. An expert in civil and canon law, for
thirty-five years at the Congregation of the Causes of the Saints, where he is
currently Undersecretary, he has examined hundreds of extraordinary cases, in
the face of which science has had to yield. Since 1984 he has been in charge of the
miracles sector. Three hundred and forty-six cases examined and approved,
around ninety those still to be examined. For twenty years it has been his task
to sit on the Medical Council, to prepare and draft, with the postulators, the Positio
super miro, the set of acta
causae and acta
processus on miracles.
Yes, because not everyone perhaps knows that testing and checking the
authenticity of a prodigious event is the outcome of a careful method of
enquiry and of a rigid scientific and theological examination. Not just that.
The process for ascertaining a miracle, brought about through the intercession
of a candidate to the honors of the altars, is central to a cause for
canonization. We therefore decided to look closely with
Monsignor Di Ruberto at the historical experience of the Church in the subject,
clarifying some aspects about extraordinary events, and going into the details
of the course that leads to the approval of a miracle. We decided to begin from
the recognition of the prodigious event attributed to the intercession of
Blessed Gianna Beretta Molla, physician and mother of a family, who on 16 May
next will be proclaimed saint. Di Ruberto was, by pontifical appointment,
proposer of her cause. The canonization of Gianna Beretta
Molla is now imminent. The decree on the miracle, brought about through her
intercession, was promulgated last December. Can you first of all tell us what
this decree consists of? MICHELE DI RUBERTO: The decree is the last
step in the juridical course of the checking a miracle. It is a juridical act
of the Congregation of the Causes of the Saints, sanctioned by the pope,
whereby a prodigious event is defined as a true and proper miracle. In the Summa
theologica Saint Thomas
defines a miracle as «what is done by God outside the order of nature». A fact
that goes beyond the forces of nature, that is performed by God out of the
ordinary course of the whole of nature, brought about through the intercession
of a servant of God or of a blessed, is considered a miracle.
Monsignor Michele Di Ruberto
Without the approbation of miracles
brought about through the intercession of a servant of God or of a blessed, a
cause cannot be brought to a conclusion. DI RUBERTO: Currently for the
beatification of a non-martyr servant of God, the Church requires a miracle,
for the canonization (even of a martyr) it requires another one. Only the
presumed miracles attributed to the intercession post mortem of a servant of God or of a blessed can
be the object of verification. When the inquiry, which is a real trial, has
been set up it is conducted separately from that on the virtues or on
martyrdom. All the evidence on the prodigious event in itself, to ascertain the
miraculous event as such, and on the attribution of the event to the
intercession of a definite candidate to the honors of the altars, is collected
and checked. What are the juridical steps in
checking a miracle? DI RUBERTO: The juridical steps for the
recognition of the miracle follow the new rules laid down in 1983 by the
apostolic constitution Divinus perfectionis Magister. The new legislation establishes two
procedural stages: the diocesan one and that of what is known as the Roman
Congregation. The first takes place within the diocese where the prodigious
event happened. In the diocese of Franca, in the state of San Paolo in Brazil,
for example, in the case of that attributed to Gianna Beretta Molla. The bishop
opens the enquiry on the presumed miracle in which the depositions of the
eyewitnesses questioned by a duly constituted court are gathered, as well as
the complete clinical and instrumental documentation inherent to the case. In
the second, the Congregation examines the documents sent and eventual
supplementary documentation, pronouncing its judgment on the matter. But why are miracles necessary? Can’t
sanctity be declared on the basis of the evidence that demonstrates the
exercise of virtue to heroic degree? DI RUBERTO: Declaring the sanctity of
someone is not like conferring a noble or honorary title. Even if someone is in
heaven, it could be that he/she is not worthy, as seems, of a public cult. In
establishing the heroic nature of the exercise of virtue, through all the work
of gathering documentary evidence and that of witnesses, of historico-critical
investigation, of theological evaluation till moral certainty is reached and
the judgment of merit formulated, no matter how well-founded the claim, and the
work seriously and carefully done, it could still be subject to possible error.
We can always make a mistake, we can always deceive ourselves, whereas God
alone performs miracles, and God does not deceive. They are a gratuitous gift
of God, a certain sign of revelation, destined to glorify God, to stir and
strengthen our faith, and they are also, then, a confirmation of the sanctity
of the person implored. Their recognition thus enables the concession –
certainty - of a cult. Saints, in short, are made by miracles
and these, in a cause of canonization, also represent divine sanction of a human
judgment. . . DI RUBERTO: Exactly. It’s therefore of
capital importance to preserve their necessity in causes of canonization. And has the Church always attributed
the same importance to them? DI RUBERTO: Always. The miracles have
always had a central importance. From the early centuries, when the bishops had
to grant a cult to a non-martyr, before checking the excellentia vitae and the virtues, they considered the
evidence of the excellentia signorum. Then gradually over the centuries the methods of
investigation of miracles before proceeding to canonization were established
and refined. Urban II, in 1088, decreed that «saints cannot be set in the canon
unless there are witness who declare that they saw the miracles with their own
eyes and it is confirmed by the assent of the Synod». The medico-legal aspect
gained importance from the 13th century and, with the institution of the
Congregation of Rites in 1588, the matter was reorganized. Criteria were
suggested, such as the need to compare with reputable texts and medical
opinion, so that the judgment always be given on the basis of the medico-legal
examination and on the basis of eyewitness. Benedict XIV detailed the criteria
for evaluation and set up the register of doctors. All this centuries-long development
came together in the Code of Canon Law of 1917. But the procedure had a weak
point: the lack of distinction between the medico-scientific judgment and the
theological one. The theologians, in fact, had to give a binding opinion on the
medical conclusions without being competent in the subject. So in 1948 Pius XII
decided to constitute the Medical Commission, then Medical Council, as a
specific body for scientific evaluation, and from that moment onwards, until
today, the examination is a dual one: medical and theological. In what does the judgment of the
Medical Council consist? DI RUBERTO: Its examination and final
discussion conclude by establishing the exact diagnosis of the illness, the
prognosis, the therapy and its result. A cure, to be considered the object of a
possible miracle, must be judged by the experts as rapid, complete, lasting and
inexplicable according to current medico-scientific knowledge. Who is the Council composed of? Are
they all Catholic doctors? DI RUBERTO: It’s a collegial body formed
of five specialists plus two ex officio experts. The specialists taking part
vary according to the clinical cases presented. And consultation or the
convocation of other experts from abroad is not excluded. Their judgment is of
a purely scientific nature, they do not pronounce on the miracle, hence it
makes no matter whether they are atheists or of other religions. One of the
experts in the prodigious event attributed to Edith Stein who made his
contribution as qualified witness, was, I recall, a well-known doctor from
Boston of the Jewish religion. But there are more than a few examinations and
reports drawn up by doctors who are Moslem and of other religions. How are the features of a miracle
assessed? DI RUBERTO: The miracle may go beyond the
possibilities of nature either in the substance of the fact or in the subject,
or only in the way it occurs. So three degrees of miracle are to be
distinguished. The first degree is represented by resurrection from the dead (quoad
substantiam). The second
concerns the subject (quoad subiectum): the sickness of a person is judged incurable, in
its course it can even have destroyed bones or vital organs; in this case not
only is complete recovery noticed, but even wholesale reconstitution of the
organs (restitutio in integrum). There is then a third degree (quoad modum): recovery from an illness, that
treatment could only have achieved after a long period, happens
instantaneously. Conversions are also prodigious events.
But currently miracles of a moral order are not considered in causes. Why is
that? DI RUBERTO: Nobody can deny that the
sudden conversions of sinners or atheists, such as that of Saint Matthew, the
good thief, Saint Paul, are real miracles. But, while being real, such miracles
are not checkable, it would therefore be difficult for them to acquire
probative value, in so far as it would be extremely difficult to describe and
characterize similar events. Only those involving physical cures can
therefore be the object of checks. DI RUBERTO: No. Prodigious events of a
technical order also. Which means? DI RUBERTO: The Gospels describe such
miracles: the changing of the water into wine at the marriage feast of Cana, or
the multiplying of the loaves and fishes, for example. They are scientifically
and technically analyzable events, of which it is possible to demonstrate the
inexplicability. And do many such facts occur? DI RUBERTO: In restricted number. There
was the startling case, for example, of the multiplying of rice, a prodigious
event that occurred in a poor people’s canteen in Spain through the
intercession of Friar Juan Macias, canonized in 1975. But also in recent
beatifications and canonizations there have been cases of the kind. For example
that of the submarine “Pacocha”, sunk in Peruvian waters on 26 August 1988. At
a depth of 15 meters, with water pressure of 3. 8 tons, the captain, who had
invoked the help of the servant of God Maria Petkovic, managed to open the
hatch of the submarine with extreme ease, and so save the crew. In such cases
the enquiry is not conducted by doctors, but an ad hoc committee of technical
experts is brought together to examine every detail minutely. And if there are puzzles? DI RUBERTO: If puzzles come up, the
committee suspends enquiry and asks for further assessment and documentation.
Once a majority or unanimity is reached in the vote, the enquiry passes to the
council of theologians. What is the specific object of judgment
for the theologians? DI RUBERTO: The council of theologians, on
the basis of the conclusions of the medical council, are required to define the
causal nexus between the prayers to the servant of God and the recovery or
other inexplicable event of a technical order, and express their view that the
prodigious event is a real miracle. When the theologians also have expressed
and given their vote, evaluation passes to the Congregation of the bishops and
cardinals, who, after hearing the declaration of a “proposer”, discuss all the
elements in the miracle: each member gives a judgment, to be subjected to the
approval of the pope, who decides on the miracle, and arranges then for the
promulgation of the decree. Has it ever happened that after hearing
the conclusions the pope has pronounced otherwise? DI RUBERTO: It has happened, but not in
recent times, that a pontiff has postponed so as to enable review of the case.
Once upon a time techniques of scientific investigation were not as refined and
developed; diagnostic tools and instrumentation, such as we have today, able to
provide suitable guarantees, were not available. Furthermore the number of
miracles required for beatifications and canonizations was higher. The present rules don’t, however, fix
the number of miracles required. Do you think it might increase again? DI RUBERTO: The present number is a
practice established under Paul VI. I wouldn’t be in favour of adding another
miracle for canonization. It may happen that for a candidate there are more
prodigious events with such requisites as to be considered fit for a process. Two,
for which the proofs are such as to be absolutely incontestable, can suffice. The extraordinary event attributed to
Gianna Beretta Molla happened less than four years ago. Recognition of it has
been rapid. DI RUBERTO: Already by April of last year
the Medical Council had unanimously pronounced on its extraordinary and
scientifically inexplicable nature. The vote of the theologians was also
unanimous. You were the proposer of her cause for
canonization. . . DI RUBERTO: Her cause, of great ecclesial
consequence, was desired by Paul VI. He had been struck by this woman member of
Catholic Action, and had described the offering of her life as a «meditated
immolation». Since I belong to Catholic Action, I was named proposer ad
casum. Which aspect struck you most in
connection with the miracle attributed to Gianna Beretta Molla? DI RUBERTO: When a miracle happens, the
benefit goes not only to those directly interested but to all the faithful. The
prodigious event, of a baby girl who had formed in the maternal womb in the
total absence of amniotic fluid, was a miracle particularly close to the life
and work of Gianna Beretta Molla, mother and paediatrician. It was also
singular that this miracle, through her intercession, occurred, like the
previous one for beatification, in Brazil, where Gianna Beretta Molla had
wanted to go in youth as a volunteer doctor. Rightly Vatican Council II,
speaking of the intercession of the saints, decided to set it within the
framework of the vital union of charity that we must have with them. That vitale
consortium whereby we can
share in the benefits procured by their merits and, loving them with that
charity that aims at God, form a single body with them, a single family, a
single Church.
