Vatican seeks to cut cost of canonizations

Vatican City, Jan 21, 2014 / 12:09 pm

In an effort to relieve inequalities among the causes of potential saints, steps are being taken to reduce the costs associated with the canonization process, according to a Vatican official.

According to the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, has said the cost-reduction is in response to a Holy See request to standardize and provide more public information on the costs associated with the canonization process.

The cost-cutting measures will also help provide assistance to dioceses and religious orders that are unable to raise the funding for their causes.

L'Osservatore Romano said Pope Francis wants the reforms at the congregation to include the creation of a preferential pathway for blessed and saints who are not well known, or who come from the poorest regions of the world. It would also benefit those who were victims of the Nazi and communist persecutions of the 20th century.

Cardinal Amato said the Holy Father has great interest in "valuing the holiness of priests and laypeople" and that he is "always willing" to meet with him to evaluate and sign decrees of beatification and canonization.

The prelate lamented that some causes in their final phases are delayed because their promoters, whether bishops, religious or laity, "seem to be absent," and he therefore encouraged them to have a more robust dialogue with his dicastery.