ovde - vera znanje mir

Advocate) the role of the last one being to find out everything that could obstruct
the process. Besides the name of advocatus diaboli the term promotor fidei
(promoter of faith) is now more often in use. After the examination of the texts the
council interviews live witnesses, those who knew Merc personally. The final result
of the work of Bishop’s Council is a document called position, which is sent to
Rome to Congregation – a Vatican body responsible for cases of beatifications and
canonizations.
This complete process can be treated as a rite of passage. Its segments can be
fitted into Van Genep's model of initiation. In the frame of one initiation we observe
three rites of passage, which are initiation to the status of god’s servant, initiation
to the status of the beatified and initiation to the status of the saint.
In my work I wish to focus on the middle phase, the phase of beatification which I
will try to fit into Van Genep’s model.
The initiate Ivan Merc, lives the status of servant of god and gets the new status of
beatified. The Catholic Church does not call beatification and canonization
initiation. According to it’s teaching the term of initiation applies only to those who
are grown up enough for baptism, by which they become active members of the
church.
With beatification and canonization it’s necessary to distinguish two levels –
process and an act. The act is the moment of consecration, the moment when the
Pope reads decrees by which an individual receives a new status. Naturally, those
consecrations concern only the dead persons.
The first phase in the process of initiation is the phase of separation. The initiate
during this phase undergoes the separation from his own body. The removing of
one part of the body is a symbolic gesture of separation from the previous status.
The grave of Ivan Merce was open for identification of his mortal remains. A rib
was removed from his skeleton. Ribs are most frequently removed as they can be
separated easily. The removing of one skeleton bone represents the beginning of
the phase of separation, and, at the same time, the beginning of initiation.
In November 2002 a regular assembly of cardinals and bishops, members of the
Congregation, was held. At this assembly the miraculous recovery of Anica
Ercegovic was recognized, in the process for beatification of Ivan Merc.
In December 2002 a “Decree of Miracle” was issued. The publication of the
“Decree of Miracle” is the last step before the act of beatification.
The reading of the decree also marks the end of the phase of separation, and, at
the same time, beginning of the liminal phase. During that period the initiate is
without any status. Ivan Merc is no more Servant of God, and he is not yet a
Beatified. All conditions for the consecration are satisfied.
The next read decree is the one by which Ivan Merc is proclaimed Beatified. That
took place in Banja Luka during Eucharistic celebration conducted by the Pope
who read the decree. The beginning of the Mass marked the end of the liminal and
the beginning of the aggregation phase.