Uncle Fultie

For John, BLUF:  First there was Uncle Miltie [Milton Berle] and then there was Uncle Fultie.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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This news about the late Bishop Fulton J Sheen is a week old, but since most readers of this blog probably don't read The Pilot it may be new to them.  "Archbishop Sheen's sainthood cause suspended indefinitely."  I wasn't following the process closely, but am surprised by this turn of events.  The person I know (knew) who would be really shocked is my late Father, who while not a church goer, never missed an episode of Fulton Sheen's TV Program, Life is Worth Living.

The story in The Pilot suggests bureaucratic bungling and mismanagement surrounding the exhumation of Bishop Sheen's body for the purpose of acquiring relics.  It proved difficult to get agreement amongst the Diocese of Peoria, the Archdiocese of New York and Bishop Sheen's family.

A case for sainthood requires a miracle and here is the one for Bishop Fulton J Sheen:

Bonnie Engstrom, whose delivery of a stillborn baby in 2010 provided the basis for a possible miracle attributable to Archbishop Sheen, expressed sadness and confusion over the delay in the sainthood cause.

"We are very disappointed that the cause to canonize Venerable Fulton Sheen had to be closed, especially because it had been progressing so well," she told the Catholic Herald, a British Catholic newspaper.  "We are incredibly saddened and confused by the Archdiocese of New York's decision to not cooperate with the Sheen Foundation on the cause. We trust in the goodness of God."

Engstrom's son James had no recorded heartbeat for 61 minutes after delivery.  Then, as doctors were about to pronounce the child dead, James' heart started beating.  He has defied doctors' predictions that he would not survive, or that he would have severe physical and developmental limitations.  In March, a seven-member team of medical experts convoked by the Vatican reported there is no natural explanation for the boy's survival.

The fact is that God knows his own and the finally accounting of the Saints is in Heaven.  As for here on Earth, Bishop Sheen is still an inspiration for those of us who remember him from the 1950s.

Here is a bit of the Bishop's wisdom:

Unless souls are saved, nothing is saved; there can be no world peace unless there is soul peace.  World wars are only projections of the conflicts waged inside the souls of men and women, for nothing happens in the external world that has not first happened within a soul.

Regards  —  Cliff