Vatican Diary / A new doctor of the Church. And seventeen more on hold http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1349083?eng=y Vatican Diary / A new doctor of the Church. And seventeen more on hold The new one is Saint John of Avila, a great preacher and spiritual master of the sixteenth century. Another, Bernardino of Siena, is close to the goal. The candidates include six women by *** VATICAN CITY, August 21, 2011 – Saint John of Avila (1499-1569) will be the 34th doctor proclaimed by the Catholic Church, the first under the pontificate of Benedict XVI. The pope made the announcement at the end of the Mass celebrated on the morning of Saturday, August 20, in the cathedral of Madrid, with the seminarians who had gone there for World Youth Day. So the title of doctor of the Church has once again been assigned to a man, after being granted consecutively to the first three women in history to bear it: Paul VI invested Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint Catherine of Siena with it in 1970; John Paul II gave it to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux in 1997. Currently, the practices regarding new doctors of the Church are being examined jointly by the congregation for the causes of saints and the congregation for the doctrine of the faith. 1 de 4 22/8/2011 11:11 Vatican Diary / A new doctor of the Church. And seventeen more on hold http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1349083?eng=y There is not much official information available on the subject. Some of it was provided by the Jesuit Giandomenico Mucci in the article "The title of doctor of the Church" published in the last issue of 1997 of "La Civiltà Cattolica." In it, Mucci, building on theses formulated by the Franciscan Umberto Betti (made a cardinal by Benedict XVI in 2007, and deceased two years later), spoke out in favor of granting the title of doctor to martyrs as well, but not to popes. "Because the title of doctor of the Church," he wrote, "is based specifically on the 'eminens doctrina,' it cannot be concealed under any gift of sanctity possessed by the candidate for the title of doctor. So even a martyr in whom the Church recognizes the 'eminens doctrina' (Ignatius, Irenaeus, Cyprian) can be elevated to the doctorate, despite the different historical practice." However, "it seems problematic," Mucci then added, "to grant the title of doctor of the universal Church to a saint who was a Roman pontiff. In fact, the documents of his magisterium are authoritative not because of the 'eminens doctrina' possessed as a personal gift of grace, but by virtue of the office that constituted him supreme pastor and doctor of all the faithful." In the same article, Mucci listed the saints and blesseds on the waiting list for the title of doctor. Six of them are women: Saint Veronica Giuliani, Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Saint Gertrude of Helfta, Saint Bridget of Sweden, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Blessed Julian of Norwich. And twelve are men: in addition to Saint John of Avila, Saint Gregory of Narek, Saint John Bosco, Saints Cyril and Methodius, Saint Lorenzo Giustiniani, Saint Antonino of Florence, Saint Thomas of Villanova, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Vincent de Paul, Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, Saint Bernardino of Siena. The last of these – Mucci emphasized – is lacking "only the final act reserved for the Holy Father. Which has not come so far. __________ The biographical profile of the new doctor of the Church in "L'Osservatore Romano" of August 21, 2011: > I suoi testi più importanti li scrisse in prigione __________ In 2010, Benedict XVI dedicated Wednesday audiences to five of the six saints and blesseds women waiting to be proclaimed doctors of the Church: > Veronica Giuliani 2 de 4 22/8/2011 11:11 Vatican Diary / A new doctor of the Church. And seventeen more on hold http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1349083?eng=y > Julian of Norwich > Bridget of Sweden > Gertrude of Helfta > Hildegard of Bingen 1 > Hildegard of Bingen 2 __________ English translation by Matthew Sherry , Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A. ______________ The three most recent articles from www.chiesa: 18.8.2011 > Sole a Madrid, tempesta a Damasco I pochi cristiani arabi presenti alla Giornata Mondiale della Gioventù chiedono di non essere dimenticati. In Libia e più ancora in Siria, temono che la caduta dei regimi porti loro più male che bene. La cautela della diplomazia vaticana 11.8.2011 > Diario Vaticano / I Focolarini battono Comunione e liberazione Nuove nomine in diplomazia e in curia. In segreteria di stato i seguaci di don Giussani salgono a tre. Ma ai figli spirituali di Chiara Lubich vanno le cariche di maggior peso 9.8.2011 > A Madrid risplende una stella Ma la star non sono io, avverte il papa: "Io sono solamente vicario. Rimando all’Altro che sta in mezzo a noi". Alla vigilia della Giornata Mondiale della Gioventù, Benedetto XVI spiega perché ci va _______________ 3 de 4 22/8/2011 11:11 Vatican Diary / A new doctor of the Church. And seventeen more on hold http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1349083?eng=y On the World Youth Day in Madrid, see the posts published on the blog that Sandro Magister maintains for readers of Italian: > SETTIMO CIELO MADRID 8 / "Questa è la missione del papa, successore di Pietro" MADRID 7 / "Non conservate Cristo per voi stessi!" MADRID 6 / Quello che il papa non ha detto MADRID 5 / "Dio non disdegna di fare suoi amici dei peccatori" MADRID 4 / La "sapienza misteriosa della croce" MADRID 3 / "Cerca la verità mentre sei giovane" MADRID 2 / "Edificate la vostra vita sulla roccia" MADRID 1 / "Non vergognatevi del Signore!" The complete texts, in multiple languages, of the speeches and homilies of Benedict XVI in Madrid are on the Vatican website: > JMJ 2011 Madrid __________ 21.8.2011 4 de 4 22/8/2011 11:11.