“In fact,” he noted, “for centuries the work that the relators do today [which is a new figure that John Paul II established], was done by the auditors of the Rota, with which, between a process of canonization and a process of the Roman Rota [a tribunal] there was very little difference.”
Royo further explained that with the development of historical sciences, the need was seen to delve into the historical context of the causes.
“The development of psychological sciences also had a lot of influence. The psychology of a servant of God, of a candidate for the altars, influences the person… all of this was not taken into account before,” the priest explained.
For this reason, “a series of figures came into play who are today, for example, the relators,” he said.
“The relator is an intermediate figure between the diocesan phase, the material that arrives in Rome and the study done by the promoter of the faith.”
“The very valuable work of the relators is to prepare the cause,” he continued. “They already see the difficulties, the problems, and what must also be highlighted in each servant of God.”
According to Royo, the relators “systematize the work and, when it reaches the promoter of the faith, and therefore the theological consultants, the cause is already very refined and very prepared.”
“This has greatly expedited the causes,” he pointed out, since without this figure the process “was like a very tight funnel” in which the causes “were stuck … because only the promoter of the faith was in charge of studying them all.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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