Cathal BarryHis cause for canonisation as a saint was officially opened in 2002.
The suspension of Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s cause for sainthood has been “a blow” to Irish devotees, a prominent supporter of his cause has said.
Fr John Hogan told The Irish Catholic this week that Archbishop Sheen “was one of the great modern evangelists and a major catechist for younger generations.
“A lot of young people in Ireland and those who are involved in renewal of Church here will be very aware of him. They listen to his tapes and watch him on video clips. They know him as one of first to teach through the medium of television,” he said.
Fr Hogan said the news was “quite a blow, because up to this point, his cause had gone very well. It was with great anticipation that followers of his cause had expected his beatification soon. So people have obviously been left very disappointed by the news,” he said.
Fr Hogan, however, is optimistic that the halt in proceedings may only be temporary.
“I am personally very disappointed of course, but I think this is just going to be a short-term thing. We pray that his cause can move forward,” he said.
Archbishop Sheen, after his years in the TV limelight, retained a high profile by running the Society for the Propagation of the Faith out of New York City.
His cause for canonisation as a saint was officially opened in 2002.
In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially recognised a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that Archbishop Sheen lived a life of “heroic virtue” – a major step towards beatification – and he is now referred to as “Venerable”.
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