POPE JOHN PAUL IT'S SAINTHOOD RELICS REVIVE FEARS

Pope John Paul II's sainthood relics revive fears

Monika Scislowska, Associated Press

Sunday, April 10, 2011
The Associated PressApril 9, 2011 04:00 AMCopyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

(04-10) 04:00 PDT Warsaw --

Pope John Paul II is not yet a saint, but objects donated by his longtime secretary are already being venerated as relics in his staunchly Roman Catholic homeland.

Polish Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica keeps a medallion containing a fragment of the late pontiff's robe and a drop of John Paul's blood given to him by Krakow's Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz after Kubica was in a high-speed accident at a race in Italy.

At the Sanctuary of Our Lord's Divine Mercy church in Krakow, a new altar also will include a vial of the Polish pope's blood donated by his secretary and friend.

The relics are just one sign of Poles' devotion to their homegrown pope, who served 27 years, and was put on the fast track for sainthood after shouts of "Santo subito!" - or "Sainthood immediately!" - erupted during his funeral Mass at St. Peter's Square in Rome.

Though beatification, the last major step before possible sainthood, is six weeks away on May 1, many Polish Catholics already revere him for his religious devotion and as a national hero who helped bring down communism.

But some critics reject the veneration of relics, saying it smacks of medieval or pagan practices. Others say that by introducing relics into the public cult of John Paul, Dziwisz is reducing the memory of a complex and multidimensional figure to simplistic mementos.

"Relics were needed in times when people could not read or write," said Rev. Krzysztof Madel, a Jesuit priest in Nowy Sacz, near Krakow, who has spoken out against the promotion of the relics. By placing a vial of John Paul's blood in the altar of a church in Krakow, he argued, "we will return to the Middle Ages and magic-based Catholicism."

The veneration of relics goes back to the early days of Christianity, when gatherings were sometimes held secretly on graves of martyrs to avoid persecution. Once Christians were freer to worship churches were built inside cities, but the remains of martyrs were deemed indispensable and were brought to the churches.

Over time, objects like alleged pieces of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified, the bones of saints or even what was purported to be John the Baptist's head brought pilgrims to cathedrals in droves, providing an important source of revenue. And Poland already has its share, including the mummified head of a 17th century martyr, which is inside a glass coffin at Warsaw's St. Andrzej Bobola's church.

Recently, Warsaw resident Maria Michalczyk, 59, stopped by the church, named for the saint, to pray at the relic, saying she was asking him to intercede on her behalf with God.

"I have already experienced so many acts of mercy from him," she said.

Amid the outpouring of criticism, Dziwisz has defended his introduction of the relics.

"Unnecessary polemics have surrounded these relics, revealing a lack of knowledge of history and of church traditions," Dziwisz said in early March.

"The blood of the Holy Father is the greatest relic which has remained with us, an expression of his enormous love and attachment to us, as well as an opportunity to be united to the person that we loved. Our prayer to God is made easier through the blessed person," he said.

The blood that will be built into the altar in the Krakow church was drawn for medical tests at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic shortly before John Paul's death on April 2, 2005, and is now in Dziwisz's possession.

The blood is to be encased in the altar after the beatification, Sionko said.

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