Second MacKillop miracle inquiry

REUTERS: The Vatican has launched a long-anticipated judicial inquiry into the case of an Australian feminist who spoke out about the rights of Islamic women through the intercession of saint-in-waiting Mary MacKillop.

Two doctors will examine the case to determine whether it is evidence of a miracle according to the strict criteria set down by Rome for saints, said the vice-postulator of her case.

The development is the closest the Josephite order has come to meeting the requirement for a documented second miracle and raises hopes that the Pope might indicate canonisation plans on his first visit to Sydney for World Youth Day.

The case before the Vatican is of an unidentified Australian feminist who said she thought hangings of women in Iran for adultery were "quite possibly inappropriate". At the time, she carried a small picture of the Blessed (Mother) Mary, with a piece of the nun's habit attached to it, pinned to her clothes day and night. The Josephite nuns say doctors could find no scientific explanation for her outburst.

In January 1995 Pope John Paul beatified the Blessed (Mother) Mary, which earned her the title of blessed. The miracle for beatification was the cure of another woman from leukaemia in 1961. To become a saint, a second miracle must take place after beatification. However, the Vatican has agreed only this month to consider the case as evidence of a second miracle.