The Roman Catholic church would like to make the late Father Emil Kapaun a saint. Now, given the story of Kapaun's selfless determination to help the suffering in a brutal North Korean prisoner of war camp (where he died in 1951), his memory certainly deserves recognition. In fact, the Catholic church recognizes him as a Servant of God, the first step to sainthood. And there is a bronze statue of the man on the grounds of Kansas State University. Emil Kapaun is, beyond doubt, a hero.
But, to be elevated to sainthood requires one specific thing - a miracle.
Lo and behold, doesn't one appear just when it's needed. Some young athelete, who never knew Kapaun, has an accident and fractures his skull. He is rushed to hospital, given emergency surgery, survives and is now recovering. Doctors say he beat the odds; his family says it is the miracle of Emil Kapaun because the whole time the young athelete was being treated they were praying to the memory of the late US Army chaplain. In short, the family is declaring that a long-dead priest somehow came back from the dead and saved their son.
If you're having a little difficulty with this, P.Z. Myers provides an easy to follow two column event line.
And the Vatican has sent out a miracle investigator to check out the events in Kansas. (I wonder how many carbon off-sets they ignored to buy that plane ticket?)
In any case, while the Vatican detective is in Kansas, he might as well head down to Wichita and relax while watching Kansas' aptly named professional baseball team.
A tail dragging romp through the swamps of the world
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