Word: ruberto
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MONSIGNOR MICHELE DI RUBERTO SITS IN AN OFFICE IN THE VATICAN surrounded by 250 red-bound books, each of them a would-be miracle. Of all the faiths that recognize the continuing eruption of the divine in human affairs, Catholicism has gone farthest to systematize that belief; and Di Ruberto, the Under Secretary at the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, sits near the pinnacle of miracle verification...
...church assumes that a saint will be active after death; that once in heaven, he or she responds to the prayers of the devout by persuading God to help specific sufferers down below. God responds with miracles; and proponents of a candidate for sainthood must prove to Di Ruberto's satisfaction that their nominee is responsible for one or more...
...paradox of human miracle assessment is that the only way to discern whether a phenomenon is supernatural is by having trained rationalists testify that it outstrips their training. Since most wonders admitted by the modern church are medical cures, it consults with doctors. Di Ruberto has access to a pool of 60--"We've got all the medical branches covered," says his colleague, Dr. Ennio Ensoli--and assigns each purported miracle to two specialists on the vanquished ailment...