INTERVIEW WITH CARDINAL JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS, PREFECT OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE CAUSES OF SAINTS, AND THE REPRESENTATIVE OF BENEDICT XVI AT NOVARA ON !8 NOVEMBER 2007
"I am truly happy that Antonio Rosmini is finally going to be beatified. I am happy for the Church, and, if I may say so, I am personally happy. Since my time as professor at the Pontifical University "Urbaniana", I have always quoted from the enlightening writings of this great, sharp, prophetic thinker"
Cardinal Jose' Saraiva Martins is already preparing for the homily he will pronounce at Novara on the occasion of the beatification; he does not hide his personal joy for the approaching feast for the Church; it does not often happen that a thinker who has had some Propositions formally condemned by the holy See should be rehabilitated so fully.
Your Eminence, why are you so happy to preside over the beatification of Rosmini?
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: We are dealing with a most pure priestly person, who offered himself totally to Christ and to the Church, suffering greatly in the process, a model who became guide and comfort for many Christians who came after him, both "intellectual" Christians and ordinary faithful, who have been touched by the witness of the religious of the two Congregations founded by him. Rosmini is truly a Christian who has lived in the highest degree human and Christian virtues.
It was not easy for Rosmini to have his virtues acknowledged...
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: In effect, his cause for Beatification - I think you are referring to this - has not been easy, for various reasons.
First of all there were reasons about doctrines of the Chruch
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: In effect Rosmini's writings had been criticised by ecclesiastical circles, right up to the decree Post Obitum which condemned 40 Propositions taken from his writings. It was a condemnation "after his death", to which Rosmini had no chance of replying; moreover, the Propositions had been taken out of context and had been interpreted in an arbitrary way.
Among the "historic enemies" of Rosmini we find the Jesuits...
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: We are dealing with some members of the Company of Jesus of the time. The Jesuits, from some time now, have changed their views on Rosmini. Their present General, Kolvenbach, has written an article in the magazine Filosofia Oggi (1997) in which he sees Rosmini as a prophet of the third Millennium. Kolvenbach says, "During Rosmini's life, some Jesuits - not very prestigious - did write defamatory books against him. It is useful to remember that such Jesuits acted outside the religious rules and were reprimanded by the General of the time, Fr. Jan Roothaan". The Civilta' Cattolica, a prestigious Jesuit magazine, a few years ago allowed the publication of an article by the late rosminian bishop Clemente Riva, a most unusual occurrence since it normally publishes only articles written by Jesuits.
Fr. Cornelio Fabro, an unrepentant critic of Rosmini, has written that the change of opinion among the Jesuits is only due to an "exacerbated guilty complex"...
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: It is true that the now dead Fr. Fabro has maintained a negative opinion on Rosmini. We respect his views, but we know that it is the view of the minority of Jesuits.
The fact is that the decree Post Obitum has now been annulled
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: In effect, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, guided by Card. Ratzinger, has studied yet again the rosminian Question and it concluded that there were no obstacles to the beatification of Rosmini.
Another aspect which was detrimental to the cause of Rosmini was his political stand in favour of the unity and independence of Italy, against the interests of the Austrian Empire...
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: Political views usually do not interfere with the process of beatification. It is a fact that the Church has elevated to the altars Pope Pius IX who, after an initial convergence of views, took very different approaches from Rosmini in political matters. What can be noted is that the future political events in italian history comformed to Rosmini's views.
The rapport with Pius IX was very important in the life of Rosmini. At the beginning the Pope had wanted to make him a cardinal - then somehting happened which spoiled the relation between the two...
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: In effect there is much evidence that Pius IX had a great esteem for Rosmini, wanting to make him a cardinal and his secretary of State. But then, the political turmoil of 1849 took place and the institution of the Republic, and these resolutions came to nothing. As it has been proved by scholars, Rosmini suffered at the hands of Cardinals who were close to Austria, especially Giacomo Antonelli.
What was the general attitude of Popes in relation to Rosmini?
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: Generally, of great esteem. In the Positio we find quoted various documents and witnesses in relation to this. I would only mention the many times Paul VI mentioned Rosmini, and the fact that John Paul II acknowledges positively Rosmini in the encyclical Fides et Ratio. Peculiar is also the rapport with John Paul I.
In what sense?
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: The servant of God Albino Luciani, as a young priest, wrote a very critical thesis on Rosmini; the answer to it came from a young rosminian priest, Clemente Riva, who later became auxiliary bishop of Rome. In 1978, when Luciani became Pope, he decided to meet the Vicar Cardinal and the auxiliary bishops. When it was the turn of Riva, John Paul I said to Poletti, "I know him...", but he said this with a large smile. It was Riva himself who recounted this incident saying that his apprehension had been eased by the words of the Pope. We may add to this other witnesses who have testified to the desire of Pope Luciani to have Rosmini fully restored to the Church.
The most famous work of Rosmini is certainly the Five Wounds of the Church. It was placed in the Index of forbidden books, yet it was taken out before the abolition of the Index...
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: It is a prophetic book, in a sense, too prophetic for his time. It is the destiny of all prophets, in the bible and alas in the Church at times, to be misunderstood and persecuted.
One of the wounds is the appointment of bishops...
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: The appointment of bishops has always been and still is a very delicate matter, as I know well from experience. Rosmini wanted to eradicate the political interference in the nomination of the Shepherds, and his desire was to see the ancient tradition of bishops chosen by clergy and people restored.
Is it something we can still do?
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: The rules for the appointing of bishop are not of divine origin, therefore they can always be improved. But it seems to me that the idea of having clergy and people electing their bishop is today almost unthinkable, given the power of the media. At the time of Rosmini there was no television...
Another wounds mentioned by Rosmini concerns the liturgy
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: Rosmini was well aware of the dramatic situation of a liturgy no longer understood by the people and often by the celebrants. In this as in other things he anticipated the resolutions of Vatican II and particularly of the constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium.
Please allow me a question that comes to my mind now. What would Rosmini make of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum? [permitting the Latin and Tridentine Mass]
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: I do not think Rosmini would be against the motu proprio. He had a lofty view of freedom and would have appreciated the Pope's initiative to allow for a liturgy which many of the faithful want and find beneficial, and which has been for so long the official liturgy of the Church. Moreover, Rosmini wished to see people and clergy understand better and love the liturgy, not so much translating it into the vernacular.
What other aspects of Vatican II had been anticipated by Rosmini?
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: Certainly his teaching on Religious Freedom, taken up by Vatican II. His teaching was misunderstood, but the document Dignitatis Humanae owes much to Rosmini.
Rosmini died when he was not even 60. Is it possible that he may have been poisoned?
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: In effect in the Positio prepared by Fr. Claudio Papa there is some evidence that may lead one to think that he may have been the target of poisoning on more than one occasion. But there is no firm evidence, although it is of no surprise that someone would wish to get rid of him: he was certainly a thorn in the flesh for some centres of political power.
The Postulator of the Cause of Rosmini has said that the cost for the process of beatification and beatification itself is going to be very high. Forgive the impertinence of the question, but why should it cost so much to become a saint?
JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS: There is no fixed fee for beatification, it depends on the various commissions, studies, paperwork, salaries of experts, etc. I must add, however, that htere is special fund for causes that need financial help.
(Interview by Gianni Cardinale, in 30Giorni
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints, in conjunction with the Rosminian Postulator Fr. Claudio Papa, has announced today, 29th June and Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, that the Beatification of Fr. Antonio Rosmini will take place at Novara on 18th November 2007. Representing the Holy Father will be His eminence Cardinal JOSE' SARAIVA MARTINS.
New rules published 29 September 2005 establish that the Ritual of Beatification "will take place in the Diocese that has promoted the Cause of the new Blessed". For the Cause of Antonio Rosmini the Diocese that initiated and conducted the gathering and verification of all information related to him was the Diocese of Novara. Piedmont, and the Province of Novara in particular, was the "second home" for Rosmini after the difficulties created for him by the Austrian government in his native Province of Trent of which Rovereto was one of the main cities. He founded the Institute of Charity at Sacro Monte Calvario, Domodossola, with the approval of the local bishop of Novara. He then built the beautiful church and novitiate house at Stresa, where Rosmini was also given the splendid "Casa Bolongaro" which became his more permanent residence, the place of many meetings with important visitors, Manzoni in particular, and where he finally died on 1st July 1855. What is Beatification? Beatification is an act of the Pope by which permission is granted for public veneration and cult in a region, town, diocese, or religious Order of a Servant of God, after official acknowledgement of his heroic virtues and the attribution of one miracle due to his intercession. The rite of Beatification developed progressively in the Church, as a result of the long period taken by the process of Canonisation. The faithful people often manifested their intense desire to venerate publicly some Servants of God and to ask for their intercession, and put pressure so that they would be allowed to do so. From the 15th Century, Popes gave permission for a restricted cult to be given to some Servants of God in view of their Canonisation, and allowed for them the title "Blessed". Pope Sixtus IV (1471-1484) was the first to make an official distinction between the title Blessed and the title Saint, giving the former a juridical status that has continued ever since. Beatification as the first step towards Canonisation Beatification is not an end in itself, its completion is Canonisation. However, it is a fundamental step since the only real distinction between them is the fact that Beatification allows the faithful a restricted veneration and cult of the Blessed (within the religious Order, or town, or region, or diocese, or even nation), whereas Canonisation is the universal, dogmatic proclamation and veneration by the whole Church. The Beatification of Antonio Rosmini means that the Church approves his spirituality, his charism and solemnly declares that the way recommended by him is the way of the Gospel and leads one to Christ. The Church will establish whether the cult due to Rosmini will be a local one or a much wider one: usually permission of cult is granted to the Order or to the diocese in which the Order is based. What this means is that there will be a feast day for Blessed Rosmini, a special Mass written for him, and official prayers - not for the universal church yet, but for all Houses and Parishes of the Rosminian Order and the diocese of Novara, or perhaps even for the region Piedmont.
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The Holy Father's Decree on the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Antonio Rosmini
On 1st June 2007, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI authorised the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the Decree on the miraculous nature of the healing of Sr. Ludovica Noe' attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Antonio Rosmini, priest and Founder of the Institute of Charity and of the Sisters of Providence (Rosminians).
On the 26 June 2006 the Holy Father Benedict XVI had already authorised the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the Decree on the heroic Virtues of the Servant of God Antonio Rosmini. In it there is the recognition that Antonio Rosmini had constantly manifested in his life and writings all evangelical virtues to an extra-ordinary degree - hence he was being declared Venerable.
The long journey of complex and often very painful events that ensued from his death in 1855 to the threshold of Beatification has finally come to an end. He has left a most splendid example of moral perfection, of priestly virtues, both in his private and public life, which deserve careful reflection and prayer, as we anxiously await now for the solemn celebration during which he will be proclaimed "Blessed".
"I thank You, Father, for giving me always whatever I ask you in the name of your Son"
(Fr. Rosmini)
The miracle:
Sr. Ludovica Noe', born in 1879, was a Rosminian sister suffering from an acute form of tuberculosis which had spread to other parts of the body, causing persistent pain, fever, abdominal convulsions, and many other secondary effects. The illness had brought her to near death. She started a novena to Fr. Rosmini, begging him to bring her comfort and healing. The other sisters joined in the prayers and they got for her a relic of Fr. Rosmini with which she would bless herself daily.
When the Mother General came to visit her, she gave her two images of Fr. Rosmini. Sr. Noe' took the images and placed them in the parts of her body which were most affected by the terminal illness. On 6th January 1927, on the sixth day of the novena to Fr. Rosmini, at about midday she suddenly felt much better, she got up from the bed, began to walk in her room, she dressed up, all the time praying and thanking Fr. Rosmini. She knew that a miracle had taken place. She lived for another 31 years, and never had any complaint about her previous illness. She became mother superior in a number of houses of the Congregation, and was very much appreciated for her common sense and spirit of prayer. Her doctor, and the diocesan commission called immediately to investigate the case declared miraculous her recovery from her terminal illness.
On 12th October 2006, the Medical Commission of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, appointed to study and judge the case, proclaimed "miraculous" the sudden, unexplicable nature of the healing of Sr. Ludovica Noe' through the intercession of the Servant of God the Venerable Antonio Rosmini.
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