The Vatican has approved for a second time the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, a 1950s radio and TV preacher whose road to sainthood was blocked by a dispute over his remains and his handling of clergy sex abuse cases.
Sheen’s beatification will be conducted at its original site of Peoria, Illinois, the home state of Pope Leo XIV, The Associated Press reports. No date for the ceremony has been announced.
Sheen died in 1979. His relatives and the Archdiocese of New York, where he had served, were embroiled in a yearslong dispute over where his remains were to be interred.
His tenure also came under scrutiny and criticism over his handling of clergy who were accused of sexual abuse. A Vatican investigation cleared Sheen of wrongdoing in 2019.
Beatification is the third step toward sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church, after a candidate is first declared a servant of God and then “venerable.” Canonization is the final step.
• Juliet La Sala can be reached at jlasala@washingtontimes.com.
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