Religious Institutions and Abuse Accountability

The Vatican has again authorized the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, the Illinois‑born U.S. radio and television preacher whose cause was abruptly halted in 2019 over questions about his handling of abusive priests. The Diocese of Peoria announced Monday that the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints has told Bishop Louis Tylka Sheen’s cause may now proceed, clearing the way for a beatification ceremony in Peoria on a date still to be set. Pope Francis had already recognized a miracle attributed to Sheen and approved beatification in 2019, but the event was postponed less than three weeks before it was to occur after the Diocese of Rochester, New York, sought further review of Sheen’s tenure there and his role in assigning accused priests. Church officials say a six‑year investigation into those concerns has now concluded, with no new obstacles cited in the Peoria statement, following earlier legal battles that moved Sheen’s remains from New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral back to Peoria in 2019. For U.S. Catholics and historians, the decision revives one of the country’s highest‑profile sainthood causes and underscores ongoing tensions over how the church weighs past bishops’ handling of abuse as it evaluates candidates for canonization.