VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Former Pope John Paul II will move a step closer to sainthood this week when his successor Pope Benedict approves the case for his beatification, Vatican sources said Wednesday. Crowds at John Paul's funeral on April 8, 2005 chanted "santo subito" ("make him a saint now"). Tuesday a Vatican commission of cardinals and bishops, members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, approved medical and theological evidence that John Paul had miraculously cured a nun with Parkinson's disease, paving the way for the beatification request to be presented. The church usually has a five-year "cooling-off" period following someone's death before they can be considered for sainthood – a sensible approach, given the emotions that surround someone's passing – but Pope Benedict waived this in the case of his predecessor.
– John Paul II's fast track to sainthood gets even faster this week. A Vatican panel has concluded that the former pontiff did indeed perform a miracle—a nun says her Parkinson's disappeared after she prayed to him—and will present its findings to Pope Benedict within days, reports Reuters. Benedict is expected to approve the miracle, then set a date for beatification later this year. That would bring John Paul one step from canonization, at which point he'll need either one more miracle or a waiver from Benedict. A Guardian columnist thinks the fast pace (it usually takes decades) is a mistake.