The legal fight continues over where the remains of Archbishop Fulton Sheen should rest.
The Manhattan Supreme Court ruled last month that Sheen’s remains should be transferred to Peoria, where much of his family resides. The Archdiocese of New York appealed.
The Diocese of Peoria remains optimistic the law will stand on its side in the New Year.
To his followers, Archbishop Fulton Sheen was many things: a modern saint, an activist and even a TV star. But to the many in the Diocese of Peoria, including Bishop Daniel Jenky, Sheen was a “Central Illinois Boy.”
“A local boy, who affected the whole world. He was sprung right from Peoria,” Jenky said.
Sheen was born in El Paso, Ill. and moved to Peoria with his family, where he was ordained a priest in 1919.
Bishop Jenky says the law of New York stands on the side of Sheen’s family.
“There is no reason why the archdiocese should hold onto the remains, and it certainly has put on pause the cause for his beatification,” Jenky said.
The Vatican has attributed an alleged miracle to Sheen, which puts him a step closer to becoming a saint.
Meantime, Jenky says a hearing won’t likely happen until the end of January. Sheen’s body lies in a crypt at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, where he gave one of his last public sermons.