Did Late Pope Cure Ohio Shooting Victim?(April 2) -- Four years after his death, Pope John Paul II is moving closer to being canonized. And the incredible recovery of an Ohio shooting victim may speed the late pontiff's path to sainthood.
The chaplain at a Cleveland hospital is crediting John Paul's intercession for the recovery of Jory Aebly, who was shot in the head execution-style during a mugging five weeks ago, ABC News reported on 'Good Morning America.'
Although doctors told Aebly's family his wound "non-survivable," the 26-year-old did survive. He was released from MetroHealth Medical Center on Tuesday, just two days before the fourth anniversary of John Paul’s death.
Hospital chaplain Father Art Snedeker said Aebly's condition began improving steadily after the priest gave him a rosary that had been blessed by John Paul.
"[Pope John Paul II] promised me that he would always pray for the patients at Metro and he blessed a dozen rosaries with special patients here," Snedeker told a news conference Tuesday. "The first night that Jory arrived and I performed the sacrament of the sick, I also asked Pope John Paul to pray for Jory and to protect him.
Our new toolbar integrates latest news into your Web browser and installs in seconds. Download it now! "I stand before you today and can say, to my mind, Jory is a miracle," Snedeker said.
Addressing media at the hospital before his release, Aebly thanked Cleveland police and hospital staff. He also attributed his recovery to the power of prayer.
"I truly believe that one of the reasons I am here today able to speak to you is the many prayers I’ve received from family, friends, co-workers, even people that I haven't met," Aebly said.
At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI marked the anniversary of his predecessor's death on Thursday with a memorial Mass and new prayers for the Polish pontiff's beatification. In the Roman Catholic Church, beatification is the step before canonization as a saint.
Benedict recalled how beloved John Paul was, especially among young Catholics. "How many priestly vocations … are linked to the testimony and preaching of my venerated predecessor!" the pope said in urging young people to continue joining the priesthood and religious life.
Normally, beatification cannot take place until at least five years after a person's death and a miracle must be attributed to his or her intercession. Benedict waived the time requirement just one month after John Paul's death in 2005. John Paul himself waived the time requirement for Mother Teresa after the nun's death in 1997.
The church also requires one miracle for beatification and a second for canonization. In March 2007, a French nun, Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, said she had been cured of Parkinson's disease after praying to John Paul. The late pope suffered from the same ailment.
Skip over this content Church officials are investigating the reported miracle but have not yet certified it.
In addition to Aebly's recovery, John Paul may have cured a 9-year-old Polish boy who had been unable to walk, said Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the personal secretary of the late pontiff.
Dziwisz -- who now heads John Paul’s old diocese of Krakow, Poland -- said the boy had been unable to walk because of a kidney ailment. But a few days ago, the youngster's parents brought him to John Paul's tomb in the grottoes of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
"He was brought in a wheelchair because he wasn't able to walk," Dziwisz said. After praying at the tomb, the cardinal said, the boy told his parents "'I want to walk.' He got up and started walking, healthy."
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