When the Federal Drug Administration finds evidence that a treatment does not work, we expect the FDA to withdraw its approval.
Should the Vatican meet the same standard?
An earlier post at TA discussed the decision by a church in Poland to make some blood of John Paul II, the former Pope, into a holy relic. Presumably this means, Catholics would pray to this relic just as any of us might take a medicine approved by the FDA.
The decision by this polish church, was based on evidence examined by the Vatican confirming that the Pope had, after his death, been able to cure disease. Unfortunately, reports have now emerged that the miracle did not happen. The recipient of the miracle, Sister Marie, reported that her Parkinson’s disease had been cured after praying to the former Pope. Now her symptoms have returned, and doctors question whether she has Parkinson’s in the first place.
If this were a case for the Federal Drug Administration, I assume the relic would be withdrawn from public use?