Editing Josemaría Escrivá (section)

==Beatification and canonization==
{{Main|Canonization of Josemaría Escrivá}}

After the death of Escrivá de Balaguer on 26 June 1975, the Postulation for the Cause of his beatification and canonization received many testimonies and postulatory letters from people all over the world. On the fifth anniversary of Escrivá's death, the Postulation solicited the initiation of the cause of [[beatification]] from the Vatican [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]]. One-third of the world's bishops (an unprecedented number) petitioned for Escrivá's beatification.<ref name="MESSORI"/>

His cause for beatification was introduced in Rome on 19 February 1981 on the strength of the apparently [[miracle|miraculous]] cure in 1976 of a rare [[disease]], [[lipomatosis]], suffered by Sister Concepción Boullón Rubio, whose family had prayed to Escrivá to help her. On 9 April 1990, [[Pope John Paul II]] declared that Escrivá possessed Christian virtues to a "heroic degree", and on 6 July 1991 the Board of Physicians for the Congregation of the Causes of Saints unanimously accepted the cure of Sister Rubio. He was beatified on 17 May 1992.

By way of a letter dated 15 March 1993, the Postulation for the Cause received news about the miraculous cure of Dr. Manuel Nevado Rey from cancerous chronic [[radiodermatitis]], an incurable disease, which took place in November 1992.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints|2001}}</ref> The reported miracle, apparently brought about by Escrivá's intervention, was ruled valid by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and approved by Pope John Paul II in December 2001, enabling the [[canonization]] of Escrivá. John Paul II, who frequently expressed public endorsement of Opus Dei and its work, canonized Escrivá on 6 October 2002.  The canonization Mass was attended by 42 cardinals and 470 bishops from around the world, general superiors of many orders and religious congregations, and representatives of various Catholic groups. During the days of the canonization event, church officials commented on the validity of the message of the founder, repeating John Paul II's decree ''Christifideles Omnes'' on Escrivá's virtues, which said that "by inviting Christians to be united to God through their daily work, which is something men will have to do and find their dignity in as long as the world lasts, the timeliness of this message is destined to endure as an inexhaustible source of spiritual light, regardless of changing epochs and situations." {{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

===Criticism of the process===
Various critics questioned the rapidity of [[Josemaría Escrivá: Canonisation#Criticism about process of canonization|Escrivá's canonization]]. On the eve of Escrivá's beatification in 1992, journalist William D. Montalbano, writing for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', described it as "perhaps the most contentious beatification in modern times."<ref name="LATimes">Montalbano, William D., [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-05-16-mn-1978-story.html "Pope to Beatify Controversial Spanish Priest"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', 16 May 1992.</ref> Critics have argued that the process was plagued by irregularities. However, endorsers refer to Rafael Pérez, an [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] priest who presided over the tribunal in Madrid for Escrivá's cause, as "one of the best experts" on canonization. Pérez stated that the process was fast because Escrivá's figure is "of the universal importance," the Postulators "knew what they were doing", and, in 1983, the procedures were simplified in order to present "models who lived in a world like ours." Flavio Capucci, the postulator, also reported that the 6,000 postulatory letters to the Vatican showed "earnestness".<ref>''Documentation Service'', '''V''', pg. 3, March 1992</ref>

Escrivá's canonization was one of the first to be processed after the [[1983 Code of Canon Law]] streamlined the procedures for canonization, and so it was processed more quickly than was typical before. [[Mother Teresa]] was canonized even more quickly, having been beatified just 6 years after her death (Escrivá was beatified in 17 years). According to journalist Kenneth L. Woodward, the 6,000-page long ''[[positio]]'' (the official document about the life and work of the candidate for sainthood prepared by the postulators) was declared confidential, but leaked to the press in 1992, after Escrivá's beatification. Woodward declared that, of 2,000 pages of testimonies, about 40% are by either [[Álvaro del Portillo]] or [[Javier Echevarría Rodríguez]] who, as successors of Escrivá at the head of Opus Dei, would have the most to gain from the Catholic Church recognizing that organization's founder as a saint. The only critical testimony quoted in the ''positio'' was by Alberto Moncada, a Spanish sociologist who had been a member of Opus Dei and whose testimony might have been easier for the church authorities to dismiss because he had had little personal contact with Escrivá and had left the Catholic Church altogether. This critical testimony covered a mere two pages.<ref name="Woodward-Book-positio">{{citation|last=Woodward|first=Kenneth L.|title=Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and Why|publisher=Touchstone|year=1996|isbn=978-0-684-81530-5|pages=9–12}}</ref>

Critics of the process also questioned the fact that some of the physicians involved in the authentication of the two "scientifically inexplicable cures" achieved through the posthumous intercession of Escrivá, such as Dr. Raffaello Cortesini (a heart surgeon), were themselves members of Opus Dei.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hutchison|2006|pp=14–15}}</ref> The Vatican has stated that the Medical Consultants for the Congregation affirmed unanimously that the miraculous cure of a cancerous state of chronic radiodermatitis in its third and irreversible stage in Dr. Manuel Nevado Rey (a country doctor in the village of [[Almendralejo]]) was "very quick, complete, lasting and scientifically inexplicable." After six months, the theological consultants, according to the Vatican, also unanimously attributed this cure to Escrivá.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/latest/documents/escriva_cronologia-causa_en.html|work=Vatican|author=Vatican Congregation for Causes of Saints|title=Chronology of the Cause for Canonization of Josemaria Escriva|access-date=2009-08-25}}</ref> On the year of his canonization, the Opus Dei prelate reported that the Postulation has gathered 48 reports of unexplained medical favors attributed to Escriva's intercession, as well as 100,000 ordinary favours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opusdei.it/art.php?p=4637%7cLuigi|title=Accattoli, Corriere della sera, 5 October 2002|access-date=20 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321071954/http://www.opusdei.it/art.php?p=4637%7CLuigi|archive-date=21 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Former Opus Dei members critical of Escrivá's character who say that they were refused a hearing during the beatification and canonization processes include [[Miguel Fisac]] (a well-known Spanish architect who was one of the earliest members of Opus Dei and remained an associate of Escrivá for nearly twenty years),<ref name="Fisac1" /><ref name="Fisac2">[[Miguel Fisac|Fisac, Miguel]] [http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/ESCRIVA_DE_BALAGUER/_JOSE_MARIA/OPUS_DEI/Mentiras/piadosa/caridad/cristiana/elpepisoc/19920420elpepisoc_20/Tes "Mentiras bajo la piadosa 'caridad cristiana'"], ''[[El País]]'' (Madrid), 20 April 1992</ref> Vladimir Felzmann (a Czech-born engineer and Catholic priest from the UK, who was Escrivá's personal assistant),<ref name="Woodward"/><ref name="Thompson"/> María del Carmen Tapia (who worked with Escrivá in Opus Dei's central offices in Rome and directed its printing press),<ref>Rafael Ruiz, [http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/ESCRIVa_DE_BALAGUER/_JOSE_MARiA/TAPIA/_MARiA_DEL_CARMEN/OPUS_DEI/Escriva/amenazo/deshonrarme/hablaba/mal/OPUS/dice/Carmen/Tapia/elpepisoc/19920508elpepisoc_1/Tes/ '"Escrivá amenazó con deshonrarme si hablaba mal del OPUS", dice Carmen Tapia'], ''[[El País]]'' (Madrid), 8 May 1992</ref> Carlos Albás (a Spanish lawyer who was also Escrivá's first cousin once removed),<ref>José Luis Barbería, [http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/ESCRIVa_DE_BALAGUER/_JOSE_MARiA/OPUS_DEI/sobrino/Escriva/Balaguer/cuestiona/proceso/beatificacion/tio/elpepisoc/19910711elpepisoc_9/Tes/ "Un sobrino de Escrivá de Balaguer cuestiona el proceso de beatificación de su tío"], ''[[El País]]'' (Madrid), 11 July 1991</ref> María Angustias Moreno (who was an official of the women's part of Opus Dei, during Escrivá's lifetime),<ref>{{Harvnb|Allen|2005|p=49}}</ref><ref>María Angustias Moreno, [http://opuslibros.org/nuevaweb/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=32 ''El Opus Dei: anexo a una historia''], (Madrid: Editorial Planeta, 1976); {{ISBN|84-320-0277-1}}</ref> and John Roche (an Irish physicist and historian of science who was a member of Opus Dei from 1959 to 1973, and managed one of its schools in Kenya).<ref>John Roche, [http://www.odan.org/tw_inner_world_of_opus_dei.htm "The Inner World of Opus Dei"], (1982).</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Hutchison|2006|pp=16–17}}</ref> Several groups critical of Escrivá and of Opus Dei emerged both before and after the canonization of Escrivá, including the Opus Dei Awareness Network (ODAN),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.odan.org/|title=ODAN|website=www.odan.org|access-date=20 November 2017}}</ref> and "OpusLibros",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opuslibros.org/inicio.htm|title=Opus Dei: Recursos para salir y para no entrar en el Opus Dei|website=www.opuslibros.org|access-date=20 November 2017}}</ref> both collaborations of former members who now oppose Opus Dei and its practices.

According to journalist Kenneth L. Woodward, before the official beatification he

{{quote|was able to interview six other men and women who had lived and/or worked closely with Escrivá.  The examples they gave of vanity, venality, temper tantrums, harshness toward subordinates, and criticism of popes and other churchmen were hardly the characteristics one expects to find in a Christian saint.  But their testimony was not allowed to be heard.  At least two of them were vilified in the ''positio'' by name, yet neither of them was permitted to defend their reputations.<ref name="Woodward-Book-critics">{{citation|last=Woodward|first=Kenneth L.|title=Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and Why|publisher=Touchstone|year=1996|isbn=978-0-684-81530-5|pages=10–11}}</ref>}}

Catholic theologian [[Richard McBrien]] termed Escrivá's sainthood "the most blatant example of a politicized [canonization] in modern times."<ref>Richard P. McBrien, [https://books.google.com/books?id=IuOlQJPbycwC&pg=PA52 ''Lives of the Saints: From Mary and St. Francis of Assisi to John XXIII and Mother Teresa''], (Harper Collins, New York, 2003), pg. 52; {{ISBN|978-0-06-123283-1}}</ref> According to Catholic writer and biographer John Allen such views are countered by many other ex-members, the present members, and the estimated 900,000 people who attend activities of Opus Dei. He says that the interpretation of the facts "seems to depend upon one's basic approach to spirituality, family life, and the implications of a religious vocation."  Allen's account of Opus Dei and its founder, however, was not accepted by all reviewers as impartial.<ref name="Thompson-Allen" />

===Reports of discord among judges===
Escrivá's canonization attracted an unusual amount of attention and criticism, both within the Catholic Church and by the press. Flavio Capucci, the [[postulator]] of Escrivá's cause for sainthood, summarized the main accusations against Escrivá: that "he had a bad temper, that he was cruel, that he was vain, that he was close to Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, that he was pro-[[Nazi]] and that he was so dismayed by the [[Second Vatican Council]] that he even travelled to [[Greece]] with the idea that he might convert to the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] religion".<ref name="Woodward"/><ref>Sylvia Poggioli: [https://www.npr.org/2002/10/06/1151196/opus-dei-saint ''Opus Dei Saint''], National Public Radio (NPR), 6 October 2002</ref>

A ''[[Newsweek]]'' article by Woodward stated that, of the nine judges of the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]] presiding over Escrivá's cause for beatification, two had requested a suspension of the proceedings. The dissenters were identified as [[Luigi De Magistris (cardinal)|Luigi De Magistris]], a prelate working in the Vatican's tribunal of the [[Apostolic Penitentiary]], and Justo Fernández Alonso, rector of the Spanish National Church in [[Rome]].  According to Woodward, one of the dissenters wrote that the beatification of Escrivá could cause the church "grave public scandal."<ref name="Woodward"/> The same article quoted Cardinal [[Silvio Oddi]] as declaring that many bishops were "very displeased" with the rush to canonize Escrivá so soon after his death.<ref name="Woodward"/> In interviews, [[José Saraiva Martins]], Cardinal Prefect of the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]], has denied being aware of that dissent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2897659813414712158|title=Politics, Religion, Democracy: Opus Dei and the Vatican|access-date=2009-08-25}}</ref>

The journal ''Il Regno'', published in [[Bologna]] by the congregation of the [[Leon Dehon|Priests of the Sacred Heart]] (the Dehonians), reproduced, in May 1992, the confidential vote of one of the judges in Escrivá's cause of beatification, in which the judge asked that the process be suspended.  The document questioned the haste of the proceedings, the near absence of testimony from critics in the documentation gathered by the postulators, the failure of the documentation to properly address issues about Escrivá's relations with the Franco regime and with other Catholic organizations, and suggestions from the official testimonies themselves that Escrivá lacked proper spiritual humility.<ref name="VoteSuspension">{{citation|last=Congregazione per le cause dei santi|title=Mons. Escrivá: l'eroicità delle virtù|language=it|journal=Il Regno|volume=37|pages=297–304|year=1992|url=http://www.ilregno.it/it/archivio_articolo.php?CODICE=4678|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722040030/http://www.ilregno.it/it/archivio_articolo.php?CODICE=4678|archive-date=2011-07-22}}. The text of the vote is available [http://www.opuslibros.org/libros/Causa_Escriva/Voto_suspensivo.pdf here].</ref>  This document does not identify the judge by name, but its author indicates that he met Escrivá only once, briefly, in 1966, while serving as a notary for the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith|Holy Office]], which implies that the judge in question was De Magistris.

As regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, at the time of the vote De Magistris's work was largely concerned with issues arising from confession and penance.  According to church law, a confessor has an absolute duty not to disclose anything that he might have learned from a penitent in the course of a confession (see [[Seal of the Confessional in the Catholic Church]]).  In his vote, which its own contents date to August 1989, De Magistris argued that the testimony from the main witness, [[Álvaro del Portillo]], should have been entirely excluded from the proceedings, since Portillo had been Escrivá's [[Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)|confessor]] for 31 years.<ref name="VoteSuspension" />

John Allen Jr. comments that, according to some observers within the Catholic Church, De Magistris was punished for his opposition to Escrivá's canonization. De Magistris was promoted in 2001 to the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, an important position in the Vatican bureaucracy usually occupied by a [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]].  However, Pope John Paul II did not make De Magistris a cardinal and replaced him as head of the Apostolic Penitentiary after less than two years, effectively forcing him into retirement.<ref>{{Harvnb|Allen|2005|p=249}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release | access-date = 22 October 2019 | language = it | date= 4 October 2003| url = http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2003/10/04/0486/01529.html | title = Rinunce e Nomine, 04.10.2003 | publisher = Holy See Press Office }}</ref>  The decision by [[Pope Francis]] to make De Magistris a cardinal at the consistory of 14 February 2015, when De Magistris was about to turn 89 and therefore could no longer participate in [[papal conclave]]s, was interpreted by some commentators as consolation for how De Magistris had been treated under John Paul II.<ref name=mcdermott>{{cite news | work = [[America (magazine)|America]] | access-date = 22 October 2019 | url = https://www.americamagazine.org/content/dispatches/feel-consolation-and-love-god-cardinal-luigi-de-magistris-cagliari-italy | title = 'Feel the Consolation and the Love of God,' Cardinal Luigi De Magistris; Cagliari, Italy | first = Jim | last = McDermott | date= 19 February 2015}}</ref>