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ASSOCIATED PRESS
VATICAN CITY, Sept 1: While many may already think of Mother Teresa as a saint, any official canonisation will has to wait, under Vatican rules that require a five-year interval after a candidate's death.
With the first anniversary of her death at the age of 87 on September 5 last year, tributes to the diminutive yet media savvy nun who catered to Calcutta's needy have again brought this question to the forefront.
Even a person like Mother Teresa, whose selfless devotion to the downtrodden and oppressed helped win her the 1979 Nobel Peace prize, cannot justify speeding up the process, said a Vatican spokesman.
``All candidates for sanctification are equal before God,'' he said. The rules require a five-year wait before the path towards sainthood starts. After her death, many voices within the Roman Catholic church tried to push for an exception in Mother Teresa's case and urged for an immediate canonisation. Among them was her close friend Italian cardinal Pio Laghi, now 76, who argued that MotherTeresa had ``done what Jesus did 2,000 years ago''.
In Rome, however, members of Her Missionaries of Charity, a community of 2,500 nuns around the world who minister to the poor, sick and abandoned, uphold Vatican rules and have not pressed for any early start to the canonisation procedure.
Though Pope John Paul II simplified the process in 1983, the path towards sainthood is still a long one. It starts with the local bishop in the diocese where the candidate lived, who must conduct a full inquiry into the acts, writings, and possible martyrdom of an individual whose ``reputation for holiness'' has been brought to the attention of religious authorities.
In the case of Mother Teresa, this would fall to the Calcutta diocese to collect evidence of what the church refers to as the ``heroic virtue'' of the candidate, meaning their practice of the Christian virtues of faith, hope and charity to an outstanding degree.
Should this initial inquiry prove worthy in the bishop's eyes, the file will be transferredto a special Vatican committee for a second look to see if it is deemed worthy enough to send on the Pope, who makes the final decision.
In his 20 years as pontiff, John Paul II has broken church records for pronouncing the most number of beatifications - a first formal step on the road to sainthood - and actual canonisations. As of August, he has beatified 803 people and canonised 279 saints.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. CHENNAI, Sept 1: Virtually every major political party in Tamil Nadu is busy shifting loyalties and schisms in political alliances dominate the scene as the game of numbers at the Centre casts a shadow on them.
Poll allies from 1996, the DMK and the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) continue to be part of the United Front (UF) but the DMK seems to be reaching out to the BJP in an effort to save its Government from the marauding influence of the AIADMK, while the TMC's G K Moopanar prefers a Congress-led Government at the Centre. The TMC's view is fortified by the Left parties' inclination to pave way for a Congress-led Government, which they consider is the lesser evil as compared to the BJP. However, with opinion divided in the UF, confusion pervades, with each constituent chalking out the best option for itself.
Despite different goals, the DMK and TMC continue to keep their alliance in Tamil Nadu afloat. However, a break will be inevitable if they have to choose between the BJP and the Congress as anational ally. It would require considerable sagacity to keep their alliance going in Tamil Nadu in the event of the two opting for different stable-mates at the Centre.
The picture on the other side is even more chaotic. The AIADMK's now-on now-off relationship with the BJP has even got her allies protesting. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), the Marumalarchi DMK (MDMK) and the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress (TRC) are willing to throw their lot with the BJP at the Centre but are reluctant to announce a break in ties with the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu.
These AIADMK allies have announced that they would continue to back the Vajpayee Government and that they wanted the AIADMK to continue backing it. The PMK and MDMK have even struck a note of rebellion by declaring that they would continue to back the BJP Government even if Jayalalitha withdrew her party's support. The TRC has also made it clear that it would not pull out of the Government.
However, they are willing to wound but afraid to strike, when it comes totheir relationship with the AIADMK. Obviously, for the TRC, it is difficult to give up a good portfolio like Petroleum. These allies, too, are in a dilemma to choose between the BJP and the AIADMK as their future poll partner, just as the UF partners have their own choices.
It is thus that the MDMK leader Vaiko and the PMK founder-leader Dr S Ramadoss soft-pedal their parties' stand regarding the AIADMK and do not take their relationship with the AIADMK to the point of no-return, even while making it clear to the BJP leadership that they stand by it.
The misgivings of the MDMK, PMK and the TRC regarding the AIADMK's repeated threats against the Vajpayee Government can be traced to the political formations at the Centre. These three parties do not find a place in AICC president Sonia Gandhi's long-term strategy to form a Congress-led Government.
The perceived softness of the MDMK and PMK for the LTTE, which has been identified by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) as responsible for the assassinationof Rajiv Gandhi, has come in the way of any understanding with the Congress. Sonia Gandhi is also upset over the way in which Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy, who launched a party (TRC) in the name of Rajiv Gandhi, has teamed up with the BJP and joined its Government. With the Congress doors not likely to open for these three parties, they prefer to be within the security provided by the BJP, especially when lucrative ministerships are at stake.
Consequently, the fluid political situation has thrown up the curious spectacle of these three parties trying to please the BJP on one hand, even if that means displeasure for the Poes Garden lady; and on the other hand, humouring Jayalalitha to keep the AIADMK-led combine going.
Jayalalitha, on her part, is a prominent BJP ally but is more busy these days trying to establish lines of communication with the AICC leaders and usher in an alternative Government. Her only ally in this venture is Subramanian Swamy.
The decisive moment when parties will have to stand up and becounted will come when the Congress makes its moves to form a Government at the Centre and the AIADMK supports the Congress. If and when that happens, the AIADMK could gain some at the Centre and lose some in Tamil Nadu.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. OSLO, Sept 1: Not only did they probably discover America, the Vikings may also have invented the precursor of the modern pizza more than 1,000 years ago, according to findings published by a Norwegian archaeologist.
Flat, round crusts with an array of tasty toppings and toasted on stone platters in large pizza-style ovens were being consumed by hungry Vikings as early as the 9th century AD, researcher Astri Riddervold said in Oslo's newspaper yesterday. Digs have unearthed the ovens and the stone platters, she said, adding that the toppings clearly ran the gamut of ``everything available at any given season'' of the year. She said the evidence indicates that seafood pizzas were a particular favourite for some 400 years up until innovations in grinding procedures and yeast-production gave rise to bread baking in the 13th century, ushering in the demise of pizzas in Scandinavia until the 20th century. Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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