Canonization Of John Paul II
On April 27, 2014, Pope Francis canonized Pope John Paul II. As a principal character in the Third Secret, and a subject of the foregoing discussion, the canonization of Pope John Paul II bears on the subject of the authority of the popes, and their encroachment on the divine prerogative of final judgment. The canonization-event occurred after the publication of this Book and needed to be addressed.
For the canonization of John Paul II (as with other canonizations), two miracles were, necessarily, attributed to him: The first miracle involved a French nun, Marie Simon-Pierre, who testified that her symptoms of Parkinson’s disease disappeared after she petitioned John Paul II, three months after his death. And the second miracle was of a Costa Rican woman, Floribeth Mora Diaz, who said she was cured of her brain aneurysm after she prayed to John Paul II, following his death. The Church authorities regarded these cures as miracles, since the medical establishment could not explain their sudden cures.
Could there possibly be another reason for the cures? Placebo effect is a known medical phenomenon for which there is no explanation. A case in point: In 2004, a report was published of a double-blind clinical trial that was conducted on 40 (39) patients with Parkinson’s disease: It examined the effects of embryonic brain transplants on patients with Parkinson’s disease. (“Strong Placebo, Strong Parkinson’s Effect”—reported in the April 2004 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.)
Four holes were drilled in the skull of each of the 40 patients. Half of the patients received actual brain transplants, while the other half had bogus surgeries. Thirty of the patients signed on for a quality-of-life study, post-surgery. The opinion of each patient was sought as to whether he or she received the actual brain transplant or a placebo. The study showed that those who believed that they received the transplant did significantly better than those who doubted that they did, regardless of the type of surgery: real brain transplants or bogus transplants. Significantly, doctors who had no idea what type of surgery each patient received rated the “believers” as doing better, by objective measures. The study suggests that ‘belief’ in of itself—that is, independent of its subject—is a potential ‘elixir’; it clearly demonstrated placebo effect.
Since Church authorities relied on Divine signs (miracles) for the canonization of John Paul II, one would have expected that the judges would give consideration to all forms of Divine signs, not just their customary, medical sort, if the process was to have integrity. It so happened that there was an unusual Divine sign involving John Paul II: On April 24, 2014, a 98ft high wooden and concrete crucifix, dedicated to John Paul II, fell on a 21-year-old student, named Marco Gusmini*, killing him, in the Italian Alpine village of Cevo. This freak accident occurred just days before the canonization of John Paul II. So, an evil omen hung over the ceremony. The timing of the tragedy is, thus, notable.
Compare the findings from these two forms of “Divine signs”: The attribution of the miraculous cures to John Paul II and his resultant canonization were dubious (as demonstrated by the possibility of placebo effect on the cures). But, the death of Marco Gusmini, blamable, undoubtedly, on the crucifix dedicated to John Paul II, articulated a counter argument against his sainthood, as it involved the loss of life. And the finding in a section of this Book: “The Interpretation of The Third Part of The Secret of Fatima” (Appendix B—which predates the tragedy), that John Paul II was Lucifer incarnate, corroborates the argument against his sainthood. Indeed, the tragic death of Marco Gusmini—an evil omen—executed in the name of John Paul II, was Divine confirmation of that prior finding (a further validation of this Author); and it’s timing a rebuke of his canonization. Obviously, this tragedy, in the name of John Paul II, was never given consideration in the canonization process; the prevailing Church sentiment would not have allowed it. Moreover, the canonization train had already left the station.
Following the death of John Paul II, there was a near-universal demand in the Church for his canonization, as evidenced by public chants of “santo subito” (saint at once), at his funeral in Vatican City. In keeping with that sentiment, his canonization was put on the “fast track”. The odds of finding two patients who would exhibit placebo effect, under such heightened expectations, in a pool of nearly one billion believers were quite good. It should not be surprising, then, that Marie Simon-Pierre was declared cured of her Parkinson’s disease just three months after the death of John Paul II; more so, as she suffered from the same disease as the pope did.
This case—the canonization of Lucifer incarnate—exemplifies the folly of human beings engaging in the Divine act of final judgments (the canonization of saints) since they are incapable of reading the hearts of other people (1 Samuel 16:7): It confirms a prior observation in this Book articulated in Blog Post 14 on “Canonization and Adoration of Saints”: “Their judgments are not immune to ignorance, sentiments, and illusions”.
*Pope John XXIII was canonized on the same day as Pope John Paul II. Coincidentally, Marco Gusmini lived on a street named for Pope John XXIII. And so, his tragic death by a crucifix dedicated to Pope John Paul II linked the two popes in what was a common repudiation of the whole canonization-event.
(These and other updates are included in the latest version of this Book—available for download, free.)