What Are The Requirements To Become A Saint?

[Aaron]

Does anyone know what the requirements to become a saint are? And does anyone know why Saint Christopher is one?

[Mayabird]

I think two "verified" miracles are required. Is Saint Christopher the saint who didn't actually exist?

[General Zod]

this site has some interesting info, though i can't vouch for how accurate it is. apparently there's a patron saint of television. o.O

[Stravo]

IIRC you need to have 2 verified miracles that have been witnessed or attested to by others and I forget what the others are but there is a committe that essentially oversees sainthood and reviews candidates for the post. I'm wondering what miracles they're dredging up for Mother Therese as there has been a broadbased movement to have her sainted ASAP, in fact the Pope beatified her (one step removed from sainthood) faster than any other potential saint AFAIK.

[Wicked Pilot]

Inability to play football.



Oh wait, you were talking about Catholic saints, I thought you were refering to New Orleans Saints. I don't know then.

[Aaron]

I think two "verified" miracles are required. Is Saint Christopher the saint who didn't actually exist?

I'm not sure whether he actually existed or not. My medallion shows him carrying Christ accross a river, but if he carried Christ as a child than he may be a myth as many things in the Bible.

[Durandal]

If Mother Teresa's "Fast Track to Sainthood" is any indication, the requirements are reveling in the suffering of others, refusing to help non-terminally ill people and amassing tens of millions of dollars in donations made under the false pretense that the money would be used to help others and not build more nunneries.

[Aaron]

If Mother Teresa's "Fast Track to Sainthood" is any indication, the requirements are reveling in the suffering of others, refusing to help non-terminally ill people and amassing tens of millions of dollars in donations made under the false pretense that the money would be used to help others and not build more nunneries.

I though Mother Theresa was supposed to be the pinnicale of virtue though. More Catholic propoganda?

[Imperial Overlord]

Mother Teresa is the triumph of good PR. What she did was build hospices for the dying while preaching against birth control and amassing money for her order, which wasn't being spent on the dying. She viewed the poor as being around so she could demonstrate her piety by helping them. She had no problem with going the dinners with "Baby Doc" Duvailier or the Phalange (Lebanese Christian Extremists) if they would give her money. Her organization suffered from massive volunteer burnout as they quickly realized they weren't going to be doing anything to help the poor.

Christopher Hitchens did a great job of expossing the truth behind the myth.

[Aaron]

Hmm, I really should pay more attention to these things.

[Petrosjko]

Hmm, I really should pay more attention to these things.

I didn't have any idea myself, until I came here. I think Mike's got a rant on the topic laying around somewhere.

So many con artists in this world, it's hard to keep track of them.

[Melchior]

You must make "accredited" miracles both in life and after your death.
You also need to be politically convenient and/or to have an army of mindless followers.

[Aaron]

You must make "accredited" miracles both in life and after your death.
You also need to be politically convenient and/or to have an army of mindless followers.

So what were Theresa's "accredited" miracles then? How the fuck do you pull of a scam like that in this day and age?

[General Zod]

i wonder if it's possible to become the patron saint of pr0n. . .

[Melchior]

So what were Theresa's "accredited" miracles then? How the fuck do you pull of a scam like that in this day and age?

For example, a nun could feel magically "healed" while she was looking at at portrait of Theresa.

[Imperial Overlord]

The late Pope not only beafied more people than all the other 20th Century popes combined, he also axed the office (informaly known as the devil's advocate) which challenged the authenticity of potential saints.

[Mayabird]

You must make "accredited" miracles both in life and after your death.
You also need to be politically convenient and/or to have an army of mindless followers.

So what were Theresa's "accredited" miracles then? How the fuck do you pull of a scam like that in this day and age?

Usually nowadays it's when someone's cancer "miraculously" disappears for no reason. Since medical science can't say any more than "apparently rarely the immune system kicks in for some unknown reason and destroys the cancer" people declare it a verified miracle. Same with other not-totally (or rather, not yet) explained healings going on.

[Xisiqomelir]

Does anyone know what the requirements to become a saint are? And does anyone know why Saint Christopher is one?

1.

VATICAN CITY, SEP 12, 1997 (VIS) - Today the Holy See Press Office made public the following note on canonical procedure for causes of beatification and canonization:

"1. Canon norms regarding the procedure to be followed for causes of saints are contained in the Apostolic Constitution 'Divinus Perfectionis Magister,' promulgated by John Paul II on January 25, 1983.

"2. To begin a cause it is necessary for at least 5 years to have passed since the death of the candidate. This is to allow greater balance and objectivity in evaluating the case and to let the emotions of the moment dissipate.

"3. The bishop of the diocese in which the person whose beatification is being requested died is responsible for beginning the investigation. The promoter group ('Actor Causae'): diocese, parish, religious congregation, association, asks the bishop through the postulator for the opening of the investigation. The bishop, once the 'nulla osta' of the Holy See is obtained, forms a diocesan tribunal for this purpose. Witnesses are called before the tribunal to recount concrete facts on the exercise of Christian virtues considered heroic, that is, the theological virtues: faith, hope and charity, and the cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude, and others specific to his state in life. In addition, all documents regarding the candidate must be gathered. At this point he is entitled to the title of Servant of God.

"4. Once the diocesan investigation is finished, the acts and documentation are passed on to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The public copy used for further work is put together here. The postulator, resident in Rome, follows the preparation of the 'Positio', or summary of the documentation that proves the heroic exercise of virtue, under the direction of a relator of the Congregation. The 'Positio' undergoes an examination (theological) by nine theologians who give their vote. If the majority of the theologians are in favour, the cause is passed on for examination by cardinals and bishops who are members of the congregation. They hold meetings twice a month. If their judgment is favourable, the prefect of the congregation presents the results of the entire course of the cause to the Holy Father, who gives his approval and authorizes the congregation to draft the relative decree. The public reading and promulgation of the decree follows.

"5. For the beatification of a confessor a miracle attributed to the Servant of God, verified after his death, is necessary. The required miracle must be proven through the appropriate canonical investigation, following a procedure analogous to that for heroic virtues. This one too is concluded with the relative decree. Once the two decrees are promulgated (regarding the heroic virtues and the miracle) the Holy Father decides on beatification, which is the concession of public worship, limited to a particular sphere. With beatification the candidate receives the title of Blessed.

"6. For canonization another miracle is needed, attributed to the intercession of the Blessed and having occurred after his beatification. The methods for ascertainment of the affirmed miracle are the same as those followed for beatification. Canonization is understood as the concession of public worship in the Universal Church. Pontifical infallibility is involved. With canonization, the Blessed acquires the title of Saint."

2. St. Christopher was a martyr.

[Xisiqomelir]

God I wish we had an edit button

Divinus Perfectionis Magister

English Translation of Divinus Perfectionis Magister

[Civil War Man]

i wonder if it's possible to become the patron saint of pr0n. . .

There's already a patron saint of the internet. I'm guessing pr0n is under his pervue.

[xcr]

The Catholic church has rather rigorous standards for official medical miracles- just because many Catholics think something is a miracle does not mean that such is the official position- not that official miracles are anything more that occurrences for which there is not yet a good explanation.

As far as what constitutes a miracle- st. Thomas Aquinas' miracles were "the many miracles of his intellect" or something to that effect (St. Thomas was of the view that if biblical interpretation was contrary to valid reason then the interpretation needed reexamination (as opposed to trumping reason). My point is that the definition is flexible.

[Durandal]

If Mother Teresa's "Fast Track to Sainthood" is any indication, the requirements are reveling in the suffering of others, refusing to help non-terminally ill people and amassing tens of millions of dollars in donations made under the false pretense that the money would be used to help others and not build more nunneries.

I though Mother Theresa was supposed to be the pinnicale of virtue though. More Catholic propoganda?

She was an insane fundamentalist bitch who described human suffering as something "beautiful." She was a very sick woman.

So what were Theresa's "accredited" miracles then? How the fuck do you pull of a scam like that in this day and age?

What catapulted her on to the stage was some dumb-shit documentary filmmaker. His camera man had some new film from Kodak that was supposed to perform well under low-light conditions. The filmmaker was having the cameraman capture shots of some slums, and then the cameraman changed out his film to the new Kodak stuff and was able to capture better pictures. The filmmaker, upon reviewing the footage, saw that the shot of Mother Teresa was all bathed in light and concluded that it must've been a miracle.

In reality, it was Kodak's film. Everything else he was looking at up to that point was shot on the other kind of film. Since the cameraman generally doesn't stick around for the editing process, no one could set the lunatic straight for years. By then, the damage had been done. Mother Teresa exploded into fame almost overnight, and it's now become a horrifying trespass to even question her good name.

Here is an article written by one of Mother Teresa's former accountants.

Here is an interview with Christopher Hitchens, a British filmmaker who has tried (in vain, at least in the US) to expose Mother Teresa as the fraud she is.

[Pick]

Hmm, I really should pay more attention to these things.

I didn't have any idea myself, until I came here. I think Mike's got a rant on the topic laying around somewhere.

So many con artists in this world, it's hard to keep track of them.

If you find that rant, please link it. I must be too stupid to find it if it's on his site...

[Aaron]

That second article you posted was very interesting, she was clearly insane, and a hypocrite.

[Durandal]

Hmm, I really should pay more attention to these things.

I didn't have any idea myself, until I came here. I think Mike's got a rant on the topic laying around somewhere.

So many con artists in this world, it's hard to keep track of them.

If you find that rant, please link it. I must be too stupid to find it if it's on his site...

It's in one of the Johnny Boyd hate mail exchanges, if memory serves. Nothing there that isn't in the two links I posted. She's taken money, no scratch that, stolen money from con-men to plead on their behalf.