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Source: jrbooksonline.com/HTML-docs/The
Bull Beatus Andreas.htm
[by the advocate of maintaining the beatification of
Andreas.]
[NOTE THIS
COMMENTARY IS NOT PART OF THE ORIGINAL BULL]
An Important Preliminary Remark
Cardinal Stickler in Rome presented the original Latin text of the
Bull at that time to Professor Maximilian Baumgartner of Salzburg
with the finding that the beatification of the child martyr Andreas
of Rinn had taken place properly.
Cardinal Stickler was for a long time Prefect of the Vatican Library
and of the Vatican Archives. The complete original text of the Bull
(photocopy from the Bulls of Benedict XIV, Volume III, p. 213, etc.)
can be ordered from the publisher of this work..
Benedict XIV was definitely an expert in questions of beatification
and canonization. In the Bull Beatus Andreas, he often refers
to the work De Canonisatione Sanctorum [Concerning the
Canonization of Saints] which he composed. No one can raise the
objection in respect to this pious Pope, who is numbered among the
most learned successors of St. Peter, that he did not perform the
beatification of the child Andreas in the proper manner..
Three points which must be
considered
1) The martyr-child Andreas of Rinn is continually called beatus
(blessed) by the Pope in his Bull. This is already the case in the
first two words of the Bull. When, therefore, the Pope designates
this child as "blessed" and when tradition venerates this child as
[the] "Holy Child," how, then, can a bishop (the former Bishop of
Innsbruck, Dr. Reinhold Stecher, is meant) take upon himself the
right of contesting the two titles of honor, "blessed" and "martyr"
for this blessed martyr of the Catholic Church?
2) Benedict XIV has the public cult, existing since old times, of
the martyr-child Andreas of Rinn, on the 15th of December 1752 by
means of approval of an individual Mass [in his name] and of his own
Office. This corresponds to a so-called "beatificatio
aequipollens," that is, of an actual [de facto]
beatification through the confirmation of the cult. This
beatification has the same effect as a formal beatification, and is
therefore in relation to a [formal beatification], "aequipollent,'
i.e., "equally valid." Bishop Stecher is presenting the erroneous
notion that only a formal beatification has validity.
3) Benedict XIV recommends to the faithful the veneration of the
Blessed Andreas of Rinn, in that on the 15th of December 1752 he
granted a plenary indulgence to those who, after receiving the
Sacrament on the 12th of July of any year at all, visit the church
in Judenstein at Rinn, where the relics of this Blessed [child]
rest. This indulgence can also be gained on the Sunday following
[the 12 of July] according to the usual conditions.
The above-named indulgence is still valid today, since it has never
been taken out of effect by any later Pope. Thus the recommendation
of the Church, of visiting the relics of the Blessed Andreas of Rinn
and the Blessed [child] there in his church, still exists even
today.
[END OF COMMENTARY BY FATHER
MELZER]
from the Bull Beatus Andreas
of Benedict XIV
of 22 February 1755
Preliminary Remarks of the
editor of the Latin text of the Bull
It is examined whether it be beneficial to canonize children who
have been killed out of hatred toward Christ. To this end, many
things are thoroughly set out concerning the martyrdom of these
children and the public veneration which has been given them in the
Church, and especially concerning the martyrdom and the
veneration of the Blessed Andreas of Rinn, whose initiated
canonization trial has provided the occasion for the letter to
be composed.
To our beloved son Benedict Veterani, advocate of the Holy
Consistory and Promotor Fidei [promoter of the Faith].
from Benedict XIVV
Beloved Son, Greeting and Apostolic Blessing!
S.1. Request of the monastery of
Wilten for the granting of an individual Mass [in his name] and his
own Office, to the honor of the Blessed Andreas of Rinn
The Blessed Andreas from the region of the village of Rinn in the
Diocese of Brixen, was butchered in the cruellest fashion before the
completion of the third year of [his] life in the year 1462 by Jews
out of hatred toward the Christian Faith. His public veneration
began a few years after his martyrdom, when his bones were raised in
the year 1475, and namely, to a place on the wall, elevated from the
earth, of the church of the afore-named town, which is consecrated to
God, to the honor of the holy Apostle Andreas. But since the pious
inclination of the people, together with the news of the effects of
miracles has grown all the more here, and in particular, the relics
of the child have been treated with a constant and uninterrupted
public reverence with the knowledge and approval of the bishops of
the area, all of this in recent years has so moved Our venerable
Brother, the Bishop of Brixen, (and) Our beloved son, the Abbot of
the monastery of Wilten, that they have petitioned, for an approval
[as subjects] of the Holy See, for an individual Mass [in his name]
and his own Office with corresponding lessons, to be read to the
honor of the Blessed [child] on the day of his martyrdom, the 12th
of July, by the clergy of the world and by those in orders of both
sexes in the city and in the entire Diocese of Brixen.
But on 27 September of the year 1751, We responded to this request,
that a trial concerning the repute of the martyrdom and of the
miraculous acts as well as concerning the veneration, since time
immemorial, should first be carried out by the Bishop of the place,
about which We have prayed for a legally valid confirmation, before
[We grant] the permission for his own Mass and his own Office.
S.2. Desire of the petitioners for
the granting of his own Mass and Office without protracted and
costly proceedings
This letter of response from Us has found no great favor with you.
It has been pointed out to Us, that for the performance of all of
that which is prescribed in it, lengthy time, much work, and high
expenses would be required, since indeed now in Brixen two trials
were being conducted under the auspices of the local Bishop. And We
Ourselves , of course, [it was also pointed out] had dealt with
several examples in Our work De Caninisatione, Book 4, Part
2, chapter 5, from which is clearly emerges that now and then
individual Masses and individual Offices to the honor of a blessed
[person] had been granted only upon the basis of that which
important authors had written about him and what had been published
concerning his public veneration, without any sort of proceedings
carried out by the local Bishop concerning the repute of the
virtues, the martyrdom, the miraculous acts, or production of [a
history of] veneration since time immemorial, having had to procede
it. That [would be] on this account, because a trial of this sort
would then absolutely have to be foreseen, if anyone desired to
pursue this matter further, beyond the granting of his own Mass and
his own Office, and to advance to the formal canonization, but not
if one, after the permission for his own Mass and his own Office had
been attained, did not have anything in mind concerning a formal
canonization, but wished to be satisfied with what had been
achieved.
We have decided on this, to abandon the path prescribed by Us and to
follow another [path], which We Ourselves have shown and have
confirmed with many examples as above (in Our book) in Chapter 5.
S.3. Benedict XIV names the
authors who have written about the Blessed Andreas of Rinn
The name of the Blessed Andreas is not unknown to Us, and his
martyrdom as well, because We of course have read what the well-known Bollandistshave written concerning him in Volume 3,
under the date 12 July, and because We also Ourselveshave
brought him into consideration in Our above-named work De
Canonisatione, Book 3, Chapter 15, Nr. 6. But before We
confirmed the petition brought [to Us], is has been necessary for Us
to go through the handwritten history concerning this blood-witness,
which has been composed by Hyppolyt Guarinoniin German and
translated into Latin by Father Norbert, the Abbot of Wilten, and
also to examine the acts of the martyr and the documents concerning
the public veneration and the wealth of knowledge, which have been
collected by much effort and rendered into print in the year 1745 by
Father Hadrian Kembter, as well as the letter of defense
concerning the martyrdom of the Blessed Simon of Trent, which was
printed in Trent in the year 1747, and where, in chapter 5, the
martyrdom and the veneration of the Blessed Andreas is treated in
detail. Although this work was published by its scholarly author
without his name because of modesty, it is nonetheless recognizable
as a work of Father Benedict Cavallesio. The well-known Flaminius Cornelius, member of the Senate of Venice, testifies
to this in detail, in his work Die Verehrung des hl. Martyrer
kindes Simon von Trent [The Veneration of the Holy Martyr
Simon of Trent], page 4, where he does not neglect to give the
praise due to the above-named deserving man of the order [i.e.,
religious order].
S.4. The granted Papal permission
for his own Mass and his own Office for the Blessed [child], as well
as a plenary indulgence on the annual day of his martyrdom
Moreover, We learned that a trial concerning the cult of the same
Blessed Andreas has been carried out previously under the auspices
of the local Bishop, and We thereupon requested a certified copy.
And thus at least extra-judicial proof for the duration of this
public veneration has existed and the relevant records have been
delivered to Us. We have now weighed everything exactly and then, by
means of the Congregation of Rites and upon request of [Our]
venerable brother, the Bishop of Brixen, as well as of [Our] beloved
son, the General Superior of the Premonstration order and of the
Abbot of the monastery of Wilten, on 15 December 1752, we have
granted a Mass in his name and an Office in his name with special
lessons, for reading by the world clergy and by members of the
orders of both sexes, according to the rite of a duplex-feastin
the city and in the whole bishopric of Brixen. We have also not
neglected to Ourselves exercise care in the examination and
selection of the Mass texts and the corresponding lessons and to
review everything with [Our] beloved son, Ludwig Valenti, formerly
Promotor Fidei and presently Assessor in the Holy Office.
And besides, We have conformed to the requests of the aforenamed
Bishop of Brixen and of the rest of those likewise mentioned, and on
15 January granted a plenary indulgence to all those who, after
Confession and reception of Holy Communion on the 12th of July of
any year, visit the church in Rinn (the daughter church at
Judenstein is meant), in which the relics of the Blessed Andreas
rest.
S.5. The permission for the cult
for the Blessed Andreas occurred in conformity with the permission
for the cult of the Blessed Simon of Trent
In all these criteria, We have held the example before our eyes of
Our predecessor Sixtus V. In the year 1485 (it must be correctly
read as 1475) the Blessed boy Simon of Trent was most horribly
murdered before the completion of his third year of life by Jews,
out of hatred toward those who believe in Christ. This inhuman crime
produced so many and such grave consequences, and the Jews availed
themselves of so may and such practiced artifaces in order to escape
[their] deserved punishment and to divert the righteous anger of the
Christian faithful from themselves, that Sixtus IV could not fail to
intervene in this affair himself, in that he forbade that the public
veneration which had been shown to the Blessed Simon continue to be
rendered to him, until it was completely clear that he was butchered
by Jews out of hatred against the believers in Christ. We have
reported concerning the Papal brief of Sixtus IV in Our work De
Canonisatione, Book 1, Chapter 14, Nr. 4.
Then, however, all became clear. Under consultation of the evidence,
the act of murder together with its motivation was proven, and it is
also certain that the murderers were Jews, which emerges from
the documents of the proceedings, which today are still preserved in
the secret archives in Engelsburg. As We have shown in Our work
De Canonisatione, Book 3, Chapter 15, Nr. 6, Pope Sixtus IV by a
Papal brief thereupon approved the Mass celebration and the Office
in his [Simon's] name, to be read on the fixed day in the city and
the entire bishopric of Trent, to the honor of the Blessed Simon,
and (the Pope) moreover granted a plenary indulgence to all those
who, having had the Sacrament of Confession and Communion, visit the
church in which his relics are venerated on his day of the year.
The Papal brief of Sixtus V is contained on page 207 in the
above-named letter of defense concerning the martyrdom of the
Blessed Simon, which was printed in the year 1747 at Trent. The
learned author does not neglect in this to refute everything which
Wagenseil and Basnagi have raised as objections against the
martyrdom of the innocent boy. Flaminius Cornelius, Lord of the
Senate of Venice, in his work Die Verehrung des hl. Knaben Simon
von Trent [The Veneration of the Holy boy Simon of Trent],
which was printed in the year 1743 at Venice, does the same with
equal power and scholarship.
Between that, however, which We have granted Ourselves for the
veneration of the Blessed Andreas, and what Our predecessors have
decreed concerning the veneration of the Blessed Simon, is the
single distinction, of this, that namely, at the behest of Pope
Gregory XIII, the name of the Blessed Simon has been accepted into
the Roman Martyrology, to which We have referred already in Our work
De Canonisatione Sanctorum, Book 1, Chapter 14, Nr. 4. But We
have not wished to decree this in respect to the Blessed Andreas, in
order not to damage later determinations (what is meant here are
those of Urban VIII, who ruled approximately 50 years after Gregory
XIII), which say that in the Roman Martyrology only the names of
those who have been canonized should be entered, and that the names
of those who were enrolled in the number of the Blessed are to be
left out, be it that this enrollment occurred by means of a solemn
beatification, or be it that it occurred by means of an actual
(aequipollent) beatification. For this, see Our work De
Canonisatione Sanctorum, Book 4, Chapter 18, Nr. 9, etc.
S.6. The Subsequent Desire of the
Wilten Monastery for the Canonization of Blessed Andreas of Rinn
If the religious (the members of te choir of the
Wilten convent) had been satisfied, as they had assured [us], with
receiving only the Office and the Mass in [Andreas'] name, and if
further, they had not shown an interest in pursuing the Causa
itself up to a formal canonization, We would not have had to
undertake the dictation of this letter, and We would have spared you
the trouble of reading through the same and considering it. But
because they now have in mind the formal canonization and have
succeeded in getting the most influential Catholic princes (what is
meant here, are the substantial members of the House of Hapsburg) to
fiercely insist upon it, it seems to Us necessary, after Our
reflecting upon it, to set forth Our judgement in this letter
concerning the recent petition, as is proper for everything and in
accord with regulations.
S.7. Required investigations with
respect to a planned canonization of the Blessed Child Andreas of
Rinn
Naturally, We have no complaint about those who have received from
Us permission for an [individual] Mass [for Andreas] and Office in
accordance with the reasons set forth above, if the same [people],
although they (originally) had stated their intention of not
proceeding further, are now changing their opinion. We gladly take
upon Ourselves these new labors in consideration of the repeated
exertions of the religious (of the monastery of Wilten). We are,
moreover, convinced that: As often as these [religious] desire to
hurry to a formal canonization, in accordance with the care which
you are accustomed [in having] from Us, We will not neglect you but
rather expand the commission which is being conducted in status
and terminus [that is, in its authority and duration], as we
have stated in Our work De Canonisatione, Book 2, Chapter 38,
Nr. 13, and also strive for proof in accordance with [canon] law,
insofar as it is shown that this case is not contained in the
decretals of Urban VIII, with which, by the way, the postulatores
would like to be in agreement, in that they will refer to Our
authentic indult [a temporary privilege granted to a person by the
Roman Catholic Church] of the Mass and the Office, as we also have
remarked in the previously cited work, Book 2, Chapter 42, Nr. 3.
And We likewise apprise you of the fact that (We) are examining
whether, in the newly begun apostolic trial [The process of
canonization within the Roman Catholic Church has tradtionally
included a trial in which proponents and opponents of canonization
make their best arguments and examine all evidence concerning the
life of the candidate; the opponents were represented by a canon
lawyer often refererred to as "the Devil's advocate"; even in cases
in which the candidate had no serious detractors, every genuine
effort was made to scrupulous challenge the case of the proponents,
in the interest of arriving at the truth], along with the martyrdom
of the Blessed Andreas, the motives of the latter are also proven;
further, after [it has been determined that] there is not sufficient
[proof] for a solemn canonization, (We will examine) both which
facts on the one side and which apparent facts on the other side
exist for the granting of the [individual] Mass and the Office, as
We ourselves have set forth in Our work De Canonisatione,
Book 1, Chapter 32, Nr. 6-17, and Chapter 42, Nr. 9.
It is further to be evaluated from the standards of serious
criticism, whether the historians who report about the martyrdom
conform to the necessary conditions of furnishing proof for the
solemn canonization in the Court. (We have) spoken concerning these
(above named) conditions in detail in Our work De Canonisatione,
Book 3, Chapter 7, and in the following chapter, because an all the
greater lack of assiduity prevails with the historians when it is
the case of the simple granting of the public rite, especially of
the cult [The word "cult" in this context, and as understood in
canon usage, has nothing to do with it current connotation of an
esoteric, fanatic religious group; rather, it refers to the
'following' enjoyed by a particular saint, beatified person, or
candidate for the same, along with the beliefs of concerning that
candidate held by those followers] within a particular diocese, as
when it is a matter of a legitimately prescribed cult, which has
also has been spread throughout the entire Church, which We
Ourselves have stated in (Our work) Book 4, Part 2, Chapter 10, Nr.
26.
And finally, still to be considered moreover, aside from the
martyrdom and its motivation, is the appearance of signs and
miracles, which have occurred after the permission for the public
cult, which is likewise to be cited according to the Papal brief
issued by Us for the granting of the office and of the Mass. But
here, two signs or miracles do not suffice, rather four must be
produced in accordance with the requirements. Since there is, in
particular, with respect to the martyrdom of the Blessed Andreas of
Rinn, and in respect to the motivation of the latter, no proof as
support, that is to say eyewitnesses, nevertheless there is to some
extent, as a helpful substitute for this, witnesses who had heard
this being told. With respect to the kind of datum, two signs or
miracles are therefore not sufficient, in agreement with the general
determinations (iuxta generale decretum) [in connection with
the general decretal] which We issued on the 23rd of April 1741 and
which have been printed in Our work De Canonisatione in Book
3, Chapter 3, Nr. 25, which now entirely conform exactly to the
requirement of the Congregation on Rites.
S.13. Cases of martyrdom of
children which have been recorded by the authors
The annals of the Church and other Church memoirs agree with these:
Under (the Emperor) Decius or Valerian there occurred the well-known
martyrdom of St. Cyrill, who was in the first year of his
life. His acts were reported by the Bollandists in Volume 7, for 29
May, and (likewise) in the Acta Martyrum [Acts of the
Martyrs] by Ruinart, (and in particular) in the Amsterdam
edition on page 246.
In the annals of Cardinal Baronius, two child brothers are
mentioned in the year of Christ 311, whose bodies were buried in a
church at Nicomedia, which was because of this called the
Martyrium Infantium (Martyrdom of the Children).
And in the (same) work, page 57, etc., for the year of Christ 522
are recorded the acts of martyrdom of a certain woman and her son,
who had not yet passed his 5th year of life.
From the Bollandists for the date 24 March, we are told -- aside
from what has been mentioned concerning the blessed boy Simon of
Trent -- that in the Diocese of Cologne, a boy Johannchen[i.e., little Johnny] is venerated, who was killed by the Hebrews
out of hatred against the (Christian) faith.
Baillet reports for the same 24th of March, that in Paris a
certain boy Richard(Riccardus) is venerated as a martyr.
And likewise, in England another boy with the name William(Villelmus) is honored. This boy was murdered by the Jews out of
hatred against the (Christian) faith.
In the 18th volume of the work of Father Theophil Raynoud, and in
particular in the work that is entitled De Martyrio per pestem
[Concerning Martyrdom by means of destruction], in Part 2,
Chapter 2, Nr. 7, one reads that in the time of King Ferdinand in
Spain a three-year-old boy was killed by Jews out of hatred against
Christ in the district of Guardia near Toledo, that veneration is
shown him and that he is called the innocent child of Guardiafor obvious reasons.
And the same is attested of two other two-year-old twin boys in
Sardinia, who bore the names Cessilius and Camerinus.
And further, in the aforementioned apologetic [this derivative of
the word "apology" is used in the alternate meaning of that word as
"an exposition in support or defense of."] treatise concerning the
martyrdom of the Blessed Simon of Trent, there is mentioned on page
242, a little three-year-old girl by the name of Ursula who was
murdered in the cruellest manner by Jews out of hatred of Christ,
approximeately in the year 1442in Lienz, a small but old town
in the County of Tyrol, located in the Pustertal [Puster
Valley] toward Kärnten,. In the year 1609 an older monument at the
church of this place was replaced by a new one. This (newer one) was
chiselled after [the likeness of] the older one and one can read,
incribed on the same, the story of that horrible atrocity.
And on page 264, etc., is mentioned a boy Laurentius, whom
the Jews killed in 1485 when he was 5 years of age, out of hatred
toward the faith, and this boy has been regarded and venerated as a
martyr since his martyrdom and up to the present day in Marostica
in the region of Vicenzaand in areas not far from there.
S.21. Martyr-children held to be
blessed according to a formal or equipollent beatification
The last classes are comprised of those children robbed of life due
to hatred toward Jesus Christ, whose cult is practiced on the
basis of a formal or equipollent beatification. This
(beatification) can then finally be succeeded by canonization, as is
(otherwise) usual, in the case that nothing stands against it.
It was further said above, that the Popes have always made their
authority accepted at canonizations, even in cases of a canonization
which originates with a cult introduced in one diocese, which then
crosses into another diocese and finally is extended throughout the
whole church.
But now We add that the prescription was introduced and firmly
decided by Alexander III, in accordance with which it is a matter
for the Roman Pontiff to grant or approve a cult at a certain place
and in individual dioceses. The foundations and reasons for this
constitution are to be found in Our (work), Book 1, chapter 10, Nr.
3, etc.; and it might be added that it is not only in the special
manner a matter for the Pope, as it always was, to introduce by his
prescriptions a cult into the whole Church, be it a cult of martyrs,
or a cult of confessors, under which [prescriptions], as has often
been said, canonization is to be understood. It is also (a matter
for the Pope) to grant by means of (his) permission, that in some
city or diocese, or in certain other places, a religious cult is
demonstrated to some servant of God which is entirely clearly such a
one [cult] through his martyrdom or through (his) confession.
Therein consists the beatification.
But two blessed children are to be numbered among this latter class,
who were killed out of hatred toward the faith: Simon of Trent,
who was tortured in 1475, and Andreas of the village of Rinn,
who suffered martyrdom in 1462, with whose case we are now dealing.
For it can be said of both with certainty, that they have
attained a beatification from the Holy See, if not formally, at
least to be sure equipollently, insofar as everything which was
necessary to consider concerning the martyrdom and its cause, and
concerning the news of the signs and miracles, has been produced and
thoroughly discussed (so that it) has arrived at the approval of an
Office and Mass for the particular location.
And if, nevertheless, as we have further said above, at the behest
of Pope Gregory XIII, the name of the Blessed Simon has been added
to the Roman Martyrology, it can however not be inferred that
because of this the latter has been canonized. It is held in
particular as an extremely more certain and to some degree
(universally) more accepted principle, that in the Martyrology the
names of those are given and their celebrated acts are proclaimed,
(for the reason) that the faithful (not only) are encouraged to
their imitation, but also encouraged to their veneration, but always
under the protection of the direction of the Church; and indeed in
such a way, that the cult to which the faithful are supposed to be
encouraged, insofar as it relates to one already canonized, be a
prescribed and public one; but that it, insofar as it relates to
those who have been beatified, is public, but has been allowed,
according to the indult of the beatification, in a limited manner
only to certain persons and for certain locations. But it should be
allowed privately with respect to other (persons and places), which
have not been included by the indult (of the beatification). We have
expressly treated how the practice, tested and maturely weighed and
composed in these words, is accustomed to being handled by the Holy
See, in Our work, De Canonisatione, Book 4, Part 2, Chapter
19, Nr. 6.
S.22. A Trial regarding a Causa
can be stopped for special reasons
If, nonetheless, the Blessed Simon attained the honor of the Blessed
long before the Blessed Andreas, there is no one who pursued his
canonization. And as concerns the request for a canonization of the
Blessed Andreas, which is now being urged, there is much to take
into consideration after the (attained) beatification. The entire
investigation revolves about whether this wish should be granted.
For it is a not unusual situation, that the course (of a trial)
concerning some Causa is stopped for just and grave reasons
and (thus) the path to canonization is blocked, although a
beatification has preceded it, as so many Causae make
evident, in which Office and Mass have been granted after a
formal or equipollent beatification, but where there is no one
and furthermore will be no one, who aims at a solemn canonization.
S.23. Church blood-witnesses are
genuine martyrs, but not in will and works, rather in works alone
And thus We now, for a small number (of such children martyrs)
proceed to the reasons which are not limited to the Causa of
the Blessed Andreas, but to some extent touch upon all Causae
of the childrenwhom the hatred against the Christian faith has
snatched away, and at an age, to be sure, when they were not able to
distinguish between good and evil, although these (also) are
martyrs, but not in Will and Works, but in Works alone, to use
the words of St. Bernhard. It could in particular appear proper to
anyone, if one decided upon one distinct cult of the Blessed for the
martyred children under the conditions given. But he will have
doubts whether it be fitting to proceed further, so that the cult be
extended throughout the whole Church according the manner of
prescribed law, which is, of course, the main feature of
canonization, at which [event] what is necessary for a transition
from beatification to a canonization should not be respected in any
way.
S.29. The Causa of the
Blessed Andreas of Rinn is to be examined, whether it can be
approved for a canonization trial
Whatever we have said here can also be found in Our work De
Canonisatione, Book 1, Chapter 14, and Book 3, Chapter 15, Nr.
2, etc. It still remains to (exactly) explore and to examine
everything, as to whether it is a matter of allowing the Causa
of the Blessed Andreas to proceed further, or whether it would be
more expeditious that this [Causa] remain at the same
status which it now possesses, which entirely corresponds to
(the status) in which the Causa of the Blessed Simon
exists.
And because it is not out of the question that others express
similar desires, they will be (to a certain extent) parts of your
effort and of the wise assessment of the rest, whom We shall apprise
of what is to be taken into consideration when a case of this kind
occurs, as indeed it appears common with respect to a child who
has been killed in Holy Week by Jews out of contempt toward Christ.
The murders of the Blessed Simon and Blessed Andreas in particular
are such (cases), but so too are (the murders) of many which are
listed by the authors.
It might perhaps appear to someone that it is proper, whenever there
is admittance to the Causa of children killed in this manner,
that these murders, which are well-known to the people, have been
condemned by all and also punished by the authorities, must be
loudly proclaimed in the world).
Moreover, it seems best, whenever there is a case of martyrs "not by
Will and Works, but by Works alone," that a larger number of signs
and miracles than is otherwise required, be established, in order to
obtain a formal canonization.
We close this, Our letter, by imparting to you Our apostolic
blessing, beloved son.
Given at Rome at Sancta Maria Major, on 22 February 1755, in the
15th year of Our Pontifficate.
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