Sunday will be a day of both praise and protest for Catholics in mid-Michigan.
The beatification of Pope John Paul II will take place in St. Peter's Square. It is the quickest beatification in modern times. He died April 2, 2005.
During the beatification ceremony aides to the late pope will speak about how he handled suffering during his long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, a French nun, will testify that Pope John Paul II cured her of an illness. The Vatican has deemed the healing a miracle. One more miracle is required for the late pope to be formally declared a saint.
At Saint Stanislaus Church in Bay City, folks plan to celebrate the occasion with a special mass and concert. The mass planned for 1:30p.m.will be in the Polish language. The concert will follow at 3:00 p.m.
“The concert in honor of Blessed Pope John Paul will present the story of his life, while highlighting excerpts from his writings,” said a press release from the Diocese of Saginaw
Meantime, a group of protesters say they will demonstrate outside Saint Brigid Parish Church in Midland at 6:00 p.m. It is just one of 70 protests planned by clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters. They will hand out fliers to church-goers.
The group wrote in a press release that Vatican officials are “deepening the suffering of so many, by elevating a man who did almost nothing to stop bishops from ignoring and concealing heinous crimes.”
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