A highly unusual and cosmic investigation has recently been completed in Denver.
For you cynics and nonbelievers – and I include myself in this group – please refrain from pessimistic snickers and jaded eye rolls.
The case is simple. Did Junipero Serra, an 18th-century missionary, use divine intervention to save Denver native Kayla Rebecca Kellog from severe birth defects 14 years ago?
If so, a Denver miracle would have taken place and Serra will be a saint.
Such claims have been made by the girl’s family. The Archdiocese of Denver was assigned the case and wrapped up its intense – and likely expensive – investigation into this potentially angelic occurrence just last month.
What does it take to spur such a saintly inquiry? Unearthing a potato chip that possesses a vague resemblance to the Virgin Mary isn’t going to cut it. There are three levels a person must attain for sainthood, according to Monsignor Edward Buelt, one of the officials assigned to the case in Denver.
The first level, Buelt tells me, is to affirm that the life was “virtuous” and “worthy of imitation.”
Well, I’m out.
You’re probably out too.
Then, once a miracle is verified, the person is given the title of Blessed. “A feast day in the Church and a model for all Christians in a particular area of life,” Buelt adds.
Serra has already chalked up one verified miracle. He is “Blessed” and his feast occurs every year on July 1.
If the Holy See confirms another miracle in the Kellog case, sainthood awaits.
But what is a miracle, exactly? That I still have my job? That you lost 10 pounds? A wonderful woman I know prays to Saint Anthony, Patron of Lost Things and Missing Persons, each time she misplaces an object. You know what? The item typically re-appears – sometimes years later, but it is found.
A miracle?
“It’s actually a fascinating process,” Buelt explains. “A miracle has to be a physical miracle – scientifically verifiable. It can’t be ‘I overcame a drinking problem.’ The norms, in fact, are so stringent that the Church solicits contrarians who are privy to the facts, so that all sides and angles can be heard.”
Buelt stresses, however, that his job as a canonical detective was only to collect the evidence – not to form any evaluations of the merits of the case. Sort of like the Order part of “Law & Order.”
“We collect information from the woman who had been pregnant, all the family members and medical-care providers and the ob-gyn and all of that,” Buelt says. “We’re supposed to gather all of the documentation. Turn it all over to independents who are experts in the field we’re dealing with. And then they give an independent evaluation.”
Well, not that independent.
A cynic (OK, me) may point out that this narrative is exceedingly convenient – meshing quite nicely with the teachings of the church.
Kayla’s mother was told that her daughter would be born with severe birth defects and an abortion was allegedly recommended. The mother, opposing abortion on moral grounds, chose to deliver the child. Kayla was born healthy.
Buelt contends that it’s “quite reasonable” to interpret this miracle – if it is a miracle – as intervention on the issue of abortion.
“Yes, if this is a miracle, it has to do with a fetus that was otherwise judged to be physically deformed and the woman who was advised to abort the fetus. Yet, the child was born perfectly.”
I wondered if others – those in the medical profession, for instance – might have had similar questions and hesitancy to take part in such an odd investigation.
“My experience in this case was wonderful,” Buelt says. “There was a healthy respect accorded the process and those involved by everyone.”
I’m not one who believes in divine intervention. Sometimes it makes me feel like a world-weary, untrusting soul. Other times I just feel sane.
In this case, I guess I’ll extend Junipero Serra a theoretical high-five and hope he wins one for Denver.
David Harsanyi’s column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at 303-954-1255 or dharsanyi@denverpost.com.
