Archbishop Sheen a step closer to being beatified

Some good news (for a change) out of the Vatican. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen has been declared “venerable” and may now be beatified if a miracle is attributed to his intercession.

On June 28th, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints announced the new honour as one of a series of decrees regarding candidates for beatification and canonization. The Congregation's statement says that Archbishop Sheen, whose television preaching made him one of America’s best-known public figures in the 1960s, had lived a life of “heroic virtue” and thus qualified for the title “venerable”.

As reported here almost 18 months ago, progress towards Archbishop Sheen's beatification had been slowed by a conflict between the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Peoria, with each claiming responsibility for the cause. The Peoria diocese finally completed a dossier on the prelate’s life and submitted it to the Vatican last year.

Walt has searched YouTube and came up with a talk by Archbishop Sheen on a subject dear to my heart: the Church's condemnation of Communism and the Message of Our Lady of Fatima. Here's the first of three parts.



And here's Part II.



The last part of Archbishop Sheen's talk contains an excerpt from the MGM movie "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima". If you haven't time to watch all three clips, this is the one you must see!



Archbishop Sheen was silenced by death. We can say that God was merciful to him, not allowing him to see how, in the wake of the "reforms" of Vatican II, the Church has not just forgotten about Fatima, but -- led by Cardinals Sodano and now Bertone -- has tried to suppress Our Lady's Message.

Is Benedict XVI himself part of the conspiracy? Is that the terrible secret Bertone is using to cling to power in the Vatican? Walt feels we are in the last times of which Our Lady spoke. She told us that in the end Her Immaculate Heart would prevail. We need to keep praying "So let it be."

Click here to see the complete MGM movie "The Miracle of Fatima" on YouTube. It's in colour, by the way; the only reason it's shown in black and white in the clip above is that Archbishop Sheen's TV show was in black and white.