Pray to Pope John to be healed?

Question

I know many people have asked similar questions, but I heard that a woman prayed to Pope John and was healed, and this evidence will be used to fast track his sainthood. She was healed by Pope John????

Catholic say they do not pray to saints or to Idols or Mary, they only ask these spirits to pray with them or for them. Assuming I buy that, then I have to ask why/

Why ask a spirit to pray for you instead of praying directly to God? What is the point of asking a priest to forgive you when you can just ask God? Why does the catholic church keep piling on the middlemen?

Why send a message through the secretary when the boss' door is open?

What about John14:6, I am the way, the truth and the light, no man comes unto the father but by me?

This whole issue stinks of 1st commandment violation, idolotry, phariseeism and witchcraft, but I'll put that aside. All I want to know, is what is the necessity for the middlemen.

Asking a dead person who has been elevated to a quasi-divine status based on evidence of miracles and good works by a large religious organization, rubber stamped by the infallible quasi-divine "high preist" and merchandised with action figures to intercede is hardly the same thing as asking your live human pastor or friend or mom to intercede for you.

Misty, with all due respect, the nun's healing does not glorify God it glorifies the former pope. The church is crediting him with her healing by using the miracle to make him a saint, a new person to pray to. Will more people recognize God because of it? Not as likely as more people recognizing Pope John. The point of the sainthood is to glorify the pope. Really.

Answer 1

Why do they pray to mary and too other saints when the bible clearly states there dead.


"The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:20. "Every living soul died in the sea." Revelation 16:3.

According to God's Word, souls do die! We are souls, and souls die. Man is mortal (Job 4:17). Only God is immortal (1 Timothy 6:15, 16). The concept of an undying, immortal soul goes against the Bible, which teaches that souls are subject to death.


"All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth." John 5:28, 29. "David ... is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day." "For David is not ascended into the heavens." Acts 2:29, 34. "If I wait, the grave is mine house." Job 17:13.

people do not go either to heaven or hell at death. They go to their graves to await the resurrection day. King David will be saved in God's kingdom. However, he is in his grave now, where he awaits the resurrection.

But can't the dead communicate with the living, and aren't they aware of what the living are doing?

"So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." "His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them." Job 14:12, 21. "Neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:6.

The dead cannot contact the living, nor do they know what the living are doing. They are dead. Their thoughts have perished (Psalms 146:4).


I'm still waiting for the verse that tells me we need to pray to the saints and the day we have to confess to the priest.

Answer 2

To say that a man was the reason for healing is wrong. We can do nothing of the sort without the power of God and he gets the glory. The Catholics are living the Old Testament ways of living, before Jesus died for us as the ultimate sacrificial lamb. People went to Priests and the priests sacrificed a lamb (because it represented blamelessness), so why do they not sacrifice lambs today? That is a question I have for them. I grew up Catholic, but am a Christian today, but even if there were no religions (religion does not make a difference just as long as you believe in Jesus and that he died for our sins) it does not change the fact that I believe that Jesus died for me and that I love him so that is all that counts. I went a little off track. Pope John was a vessell that God used for healing so all the praise needs to go to God not the Pope. AMEN to that.

Answer 3

You ask a lot of questions in here..confession is a totally different thing. The priest does not forgive us in confession, God does through the priest. Just as God joins two people together in marriage through the authority of a pastor or priest.

But your analogy is interesting...of the secretary and the boss. What is the purpose of the secretary? To take things to the boss, assist people waiting to see the boss...hmmm. A secretaries job is help out...assist! And sometimes the best way to get to the boss is through the secretary.

This nun who was healed..I'm sure she did pray to God and to Jesus as well. But she also asked for the prayers of John Paul II. She asked him to pray for her to be healed.

The Catholic church does not take these things lightly. They check the healing out...they have a panel of board certified doctors, there is criteria that has to be met. It's no small affair.

There is nothing wrong with praying to holy people for intercession. We ask people here on earth to pray for us...it's not different. Why would you ask a friend or family member to "pray for you" if Christ is our only mediator? What's the difference. If you believe in life after death...then you believe that John Paul II is alive right? Then why can't he pray for someone?

Her healing glorifies God...not John Paul. He may become a saint...but he may be deserving of such a place...it in no way offends God. God is glorified in all things that point to him.

There is plenty of scripture to backup intercessory prayer.
http://www.scripturecatholic.com/saints.html

Answer 4

Please - and I mean this sincerely - have mercy.

It is true that a woman claims to have been healed by the former Pope. It is also true that Catholics say they do not pray to saints. The way to attain "sainthood" according to the Catholic faith is that the person up for sainthood had to have a miracle attributed to them (and witnessed by someone).

Here's the thing. Scripture tells us that those who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour are given the gift of healing, among other gifts, in His name. In no way does this mean that a PERSON is responsible for the healing.... It's ALL God. The Catholics have taken this scripture to a level that is dangerously unscriputural. In that you are absolutely right. Why pray to a saint for healing when you can go directly to God? Do not pass go do not collect 200, just get the healing from the Man Himself.... it's free!

I read the accounts of this woman's "healing" and according to her story and witness report - I have no doubt that she has in fact been healed.... however Pope JohnPaul had very little to do with it. If it's done, God did it. I am almost 100% positive that John Paul himself wouldn't claim for a minute that he did it himself - he too - would attribute it to God.

Again I say - have mercy. Any religious denomination or single person that tries to attribute miracles to someone other than Jesus is certainly misguided at best. We must pray for them to see the truth.
blessings :)

edit: Pastor Billy - with all due respect, the story attributed to the nun who was cured of her affliction has - in the nun's own words - attributed her healing to POPE JOHN PAUL, not to God (ie "Pope John Paul cured me"). This is a huge problem within the Catholic faith. If Catholics truly believe that their prayers are answered by GOD, then they need to praise God and nix the references of the saints to whom they attribute the miracles or healings.... The scripture clearly says "I can do all things through CHRIST" - not on my own. And to Christ be the glory and honour.
blessings :)

Answer 5

i had a friend diagnosed with parkinson's disease. a year later, he had no symptoms and the same doctor who diagnosed him said that it was possible that what he thought was parkinson's, could have been parkinsonism. not really parkinson's at all. chemical exposure, certain drugs, maybe even misfires in the brain. parkinson's disease can be treated, sometimes quite effectively, and at times it can almost seem like you never had it, but if you have it, it is still there, and will always be there. the nun you speak of probably had parkinsonism, not true parkinson's. parkinsonism goes away, when you eliminate the chemical or drug exposure. i sincerely do understand your concerns, and respect your hopefulness, it's not fun to see full symptoms and it is frightening for the patient as the disease progresses. i know, i've had two family members suffer from it and know three others who have it. keep your hope, and pray to god that science one day will develope a treatment to reverse the damage that causes it.

Answer 6

If I worked for the Vatican, I could surely give the answer.
But seeing as I don't, all I can say is that if you are Catholic and don't believe in the rituals, switch denominations. Presbyterian, Protestant, Baptist, the list goes on, and they're all still Christian.

I'm a Catholic, and I pray directly to God, however.

Good luck and God bless.

Answer 7

Why does anyone ask someone else to pray for them?

We are a loving family and praying for each other shows this love.

Catholics share the belief in the Communion of Saints with many other Christians, including the Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal, and Methodist Churches.

The Communion of Saints is the belief where all saints are intimately related in the Body of Christ, a family. When you die and go to heaven, you do not leave this family.

Everyone in heaven or on their way to heaven are saints, you, me, my deceased grandmother, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II.

As part of this family, you may ask your family and friends living here on earth to pray for you. Or, you may also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, or your deceased grandmother living in heaven to pray for you.

Prayer to saints in heaven is simple communication, not worship.

And prayer to the saints is optional not required.

With love in Christ.

Answer 8

According to the bible that only person you are permitted to pray to is God, you can't find any scripture where someone prays to anyone but God, so any religion that claims to use the bible yet allows you to pray to dead people is false. The bible even goes on to say trying to communicate with the dead (necromancy) is an abomination. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12)

Answer 9

"Pray for one another" -- James 5:16

Answer 10

you will have the same percentage of answered prayers if you pray to my pet turtle leonardo.