Pope Francis has given provisional approval to a new series
of norms governing the establishment and management of funds for the
advancement of investigations into the lives of people proposed for sainthood.
Given by Papal rescript, the approval ad experimentum for a period
of three years governs the way funds for the Causes of Saints are established
and managed, especially at the so-called “Roman phase” of the process, which follows
initial evidence collection at the diocesan level and the preparation of a
position paper – often thousands of pages long and containing painstakingly
assembled intimate details of the proposed saint’s earthly life and career – to
the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome, which forms the basis of the
Roman phase proper.
All of this can prove extremely costly and time-consuming.
The new norms seek to increase transparency in the process and assist in
cost containment by requiring regular and detailed accounting, creating
disciplinary procedures in case of misuse, and providing for the liquidation of
funds established for causes, once the process reaches its conclusion.
In addition, the new norms provide for the creation of a “solidarity fund” that
is supplied by freely given donations from the promoters of causes or any other
source.
In the case of real and genuinely documented need, appeals for
assistance from the Solidarity Fund are to be made by the promoters of causes,
through the local bishop. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints will
evaluate case by case.
Source: Vatican Radio
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