Pope John Paul II One Step Closer to Sainthood; Backlash at Debunked Gay 'Conversion' Group
TAPPER: He was one of the most popular popes in modern history. And now there's word coming out of the Vatican that John Paul II is one critical step closer to sainthood. CNN's Brian Todd is here with details. Brian, what can you tell me?</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know this is likely going to happen soon. You know, Pope John Paul II did have a knack for capturing the world's attention. He was essentially the first rock star in the papacy. So to many Vatican watchers, it is no surprise that he is fast-tracked for sainthood.</s>TODD (voice-over): At his funeral, thousands chanted "Santos Subito," "Sainthood Now," a tribute to John Paul II, maybe the most popular pope in the modern history of the Catholic Church. It's now eight years later, and it's about as close to sainthood now as you can get.</s>JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: For an institution that typically thinks in terms of centuries, this is remarkably quick.</s>TODD: CNN Vatican analyst John Allen says, according to Vatican insiders who spoke unofficially, a second miracle had been performed by John Paul posthumously, a miracle that will likely make him a saint.</s>ALLEN: In this case, the Vatican is saying that there is a report of a miraculous healing of a woman in Costa Rica.</s>TODD: Allen says, according to the reports, the woman recovered from a severe brain injury. Church protocol says it takes two miracles performed after death to make someone a saint. John Paul's first, curing a nun who reportedly had Parkinson's, led to his beatification, the final step before sainthood. If a second miracle then happens...</s>PATRICK KELLY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JOHN PAUL II SHRINE: And a team of doctors first examine the miracle, then secondly, the team of theologians look at the miracles. And then they discuss amongst themselves the legitimacy and all the facts surrounding the miracles.</s>TODD: John Allen says that's already happened. Then a body of cardinals has to approve sainthood. And finally the pope signs off on it. The record for the fastest canonization in modern times: Jose Maria Escriva, founder of the conservative order of Opus Dei, made a saint 27 years after his death. John Paul could shatter that. (on camera): But there are critics who say "not so fast" on canonization. They say, despite being so beloved, John Paul II didn't live up to expectations at a crucial moment in the church's history, a moment of shame that church leadership is still dealing with. (voice-over): A crippling sex abuse scandal, involving thousands of victims, with several church leaders accused of cover-ups.</s>ALLEN: The wrath against John Paul in terms of the sex abuse scandals is basically that this stuff metastasized during his papacy, and he didn't respond adequately to it.</s>TODD: I put that to the archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl. (on camera): What do you say to those people?</s>CARDINAL DONALD WUERL, ARCHBISHOP OF WASHINGTON, D.C.: His ministry was so clearly a ministry of concern for everyone. Now, when you're presiding over a worldwide church with over a billion members, surely there are going to be things that happen over which you don't have a lot of control or maybe no control.</s>TODD: Cardinal Wuerl and others say the measure of a saint is not the list of accomplishments versus setbacks but actually how holy the person was. John Allen says at this point it is very likely that Pope Francis will approve the sainthood of John Paul II -- Jake.</s>TAPPER: And Brian, what do we know about the time able when this would happen?</s>TODD: John Allen says this could come as early as October of this year; if it comes late, next year. Either way he obliterates the record for the fastest canonization. It's incredible. He's that popular, and this is going to happen.</s>TAPPER: A beloved figure at the Vatican. Thank you so much, Brian Todd. Also at the Vatican the thrill of a lifetime for a 17-year-old with Down Syndrome. He and his father were speaking with Pope Francis after yesterday's general audience, when the pontiff invited him to sit in the Popemobile. The young man was all smiles as he took a seat and was swung around by the pope himself who let the teen spend a while onboard. There's angry reaction today to the new apology from a group that claimed it could help gay Christians become straight. CNN's Nick Valencia has an update on the stunning end to a 37-year mission that failed.</s>NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It billed itself as the largest evangelical ministry for what it called "freedom from homosexuality through Christ." And now it says it's closing its doors. For decades, Exodus International endorsed the controversial convergent therapy or the idea that homosexuality is a disorder that could be cured. Some who have gone through the debunked, now defunct, reparative therapy say it's psychologically harmful in a special on Oprah Winfrey's cable network tonight.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No matter how many times I pleaded with God to take this away from me, I couldn't do it on my own.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are responsible.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The organization needs to shut down. Shut down. Don't tweak it. Don't try to improve it. Shut it down.</s>VALENCIA: The shift by Exodus comes as a surprise to many. As recently as 2007 Alan Chambers, the organization's president, seemed to support the therapy.</s>ALAN CHAMBERS, PRESIDENT, EXODUS INTERNATIONAL: For someone to simply think that going from gay to straight is like flipping a light switch, that's something that we want to correct at every turn.</s>VALENCIA: Today's apology on Oprah's network coincides with the ministry's annual conference and was in advance of the ministry's appearance on Oprah's OWN network, where it will apologize to some of its members for undue judgment. At one time the ministry's president, Alan Chambers, announced he was gay. Now with a wife and children, Chambers in a statement addresses the irony and offers an apology. "It is strange to be someone who has both been hurt by the church's treatment of the LGBT community and also to be someone who must apologize for being part of the very system of ignorance that perpetuated that hurt," he said. Exodus says the decision was to appeal to a new generation of Christians who want change. But Andrew Comiskey, former director of an Exodus ministry, believes chambers is pandering to the change in church culture.</s>ANDREW COMISKEY, FORMER DIRECTOR OF AN EXODUS MINISTRY: I think it's not only confusing. I think it's wrong in light of the origins of Exodus and what its original mission was. And so he's basically taking Exodus in a whole other direction and in light of his own vision of what it now is supposed to be.</s>VALENCIA: Jake, Exodus International may be closing its doors, but the ministry's president says he plan on opening a new ministry called Reduced Fear, and it will aim at being more welcoming -- Jake.</s>TAPPER: All right. Nick Valencia, thank you so much. In just a minute, Jeanne Moos takes us to some of Tony Soprano's old stomping grounds to show us how folks are paying tribute to the actor who played him.