A bridge between science and faith

There’s something bigger than ourselves

   

For the past four years, Prof. Cornel Sieber, Director of the InternalMedicine and Geriatrics Clinic at the Brothers of St John of God Hospital atRegensburg, has been a member of the International MedicalCommittee of Lourdes (C.M.I.L.), And was recently interviewed on his experience asa member of the Committee on the Catholic portal katholisch.de (http://www.katholisch.de/aktuelles/aktuelle-artikel/wir-wurden-das-wort-wunder-nie-in-den-mund-nehmen).In the interview Professor Sieber, who holds the Chair of Internal Medicine atthe Friedrich Alexander University, Nuremberg and is President of the GermanSociety of Internal Medicine for the two-year period 2017/2018, explained theway the committee works, with its 32 duly qualified members. In ProfessorSieber’s case, the committee needed an expert in Internal Medicine andGeriatrics. Additionally, it was obviously necessary to enjoy a good reputation.He is human and professional profile was also very important. Additionally,Professor Sieber as a Swiss national speaks several languages which is a greatadvantage since the committee comprises specialists from every part of theworld.  It should be remembered that allthe members of the committee are unpaid volunteers.

 

In answer to the hotly debated question of the conflict between scienceand faith Professor Sieber immediately made it clear that is not considerhimself to be “miracle finder”, emphasising that the decision as to whether ornot a cure may be considered miraculous is left wholly to the Catholic Church. Theremit given to the Committee is simply to establish whether a cure is“explicable according to present scientific knowledge”. It will normally takeyears before a case is defined as inexplicable. Moreover, the person claimingto be healed is monitored for several years following the alleged cure. Of theroughly 7000 cases of healings recorded at Lourdes since 1858, 2000 have beendefined as “medically inexplicable”, but only 69 have been approved asmiracles, the last being in Italy in 2013.

 

Professor Sieber has analysed two cases. The work on the committee isvery demanding and takes a great deal of time. In one case, Professor Sieberhad to conduct research over a period of 25 years. He concluded his interviewby saying, “I’m convinced that there are some things which we cannot explain,and never will. And that is how it should be, because this tells us that thereis something bigger than ourselves.” 



 

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