Saint John Paul?

The late Pope John Paul II moved closer to sainthood in the Catholic Church on Saturday when Pope Benedict approved a decree recognising that his predecessor had lived the Christian faith heroically.

The Vatican said Benedict approved the "heroic virtues decree", one of the key steps in the procedure by which the Church recognises its saints, after a recommendation by a Vatican panel of experts.

The next step will be the recognition of a miracle attributed to John Paul, who died in 2005. That is expected to happen early next year, meaning he can be beatified, the last step before sainthood.

In May 2005, a month after his death, Benedict put John Paul on the fast track by dispensing with Church rules that normally impose a five-year waiting period after a candidate's death before the procedure that leads to sainthood can start.
James Morton
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