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Article: Pope Benedict delegates rites for beatification.(Main News)
- Article from:
- Manila Bulletin
- Article date:
- May 16, 2005
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VATICAN CITY (Reuters) Pope Benedict dropped Saturday his predecessors practice of presiding over beatification ceremonies and instead asked a senior cardinal to elevate two nuns to the ranks of the "Blessed of the Church."
Benedicts decision to delegate the first beatifications of his pontificate has raised speculation that he wants to downgrade the significance of the event, which became an important hallmark of John Paul IIs papacy.
Pope John Paul II often drew vast crowds during his 26-year reign to open-air beatifications that put 1,338 faithful on the road to sainthood more than all his predecessors combined.
Underscoring his new ...