The process to beatify and canonize Pope John Paul II opened June 28 with an evening prayer service attended by cardinals, bishops, lay people and representatives of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Cardinal Camillo Ruini, papal vicar of Rome, presided over the ceremonial opening of the Rome Diocese's investigation into "the life, virtues and fame of holiness of the servant of God, Pope John Paul II."

He began by thanking Pope Benedict XVI for accepting "the choral and ardent pleas raised by the people of God" to waive the normal five-year waiting period before Pope John Paul's cause could begin.

While the June 28 ceremony was the official beginning of the process, it was clear much work already had been done.

Cardinal Ruini had appointed a Polish priest working in the Rome tribunal, Msgr. Slawomir Oder, to be the postulator of the cause.

The postulator promotes the cause by identifying witnesses to testify about the candidate's life and holiness, collecting the candidate's writings, compiling his biography, gathering evidence that he has a widespread reputation for holiness and looking into claims by the faithful that they were healed through his intercession.

During the opening ceremony at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Rome's cathedral, Msgr. Oder presented Cardinal Ruini with a list of some 100 people who will be called to testify about their knowledge of Pope John Paul.

While "reserving the right to present other witnesses," Msgr. Oder formally vowed not to "say or do anything directly or indirectly that would offend justice or limit the freedom of the witnesses; I swear, finally, to maintain the secrets to which those having a part in this cause are held."

One of those secrets is the identity of the people on the list, although Msgr. Oder told Catholic News Service earlier that not all the witnesses are Catholics.

Cardinal Ruini, the judges and the notaries involved with the cause took oaths promising to carry out their assigned tasks in investigating "the life and virtues" of Pope John Paul, as well as any miracles attributed to his intercession.

They also were asked to swear they would not accept "any type of gift" meant to influence their work.

Cardinal Ruini read a long biography of Pope John Paul, which, he acknowledged, "could appear superfluous given how great and universal knowledge of him is and given how deep and unanimous is the conviction of his holiness."

The cardinal said that as archbishop of Krakow under the communist regime, the pope "knew how to unite his intellectual strength and artistic genius with a passionate love for Christ, for the church and for men and women."

His 1978-2005 pontificate, the cardinal said, was marked by a deep love and concern for "humanity wherever it was threatened," by untiring efforts to promote peace and help the poor, and by an unwavering call to defend every human life and the traditional family.

"At the root of all this untiring apostolic activity, there clearly was the intensity and profundity of the prayer of John Paul II --- which many of us witnessed directly --- that intimate union with God that accompanied him from his childhood to the end of his earthly existence," Cardinal Ruini said.

The cardinal prayed that God would help the process to beatify and canonize Pope John Paul reach its conclusion soon.

In an interview published June 28, Avvenire, the Italian Catholic daily, asked Msgr. Oder about a rumor that Pope John Paul could be canonized without first being beatified.

"At this point, I can say only that that is a pious hope," Msgr. Oder answered. "Our technical approach is the 'normal' one," working first toward beatification. "But, certainly, the competency belongs to the Holy Father, and he could decide what he wants."

---CNS