Cause of beatification of the Servant of God Joseph Maria Haro Salvador (1904-1965) – contemporary exemplar of involvement and social responsibility

Abstract

In the year of another synod dedicated to the family we can see the husband of one wife with whom he raised eight children – Joseph Maria Haro Salvador. Although 50 years have been passed since the death of the Servant of God that happened during the last year of the Second Vatican Council, we see a Catholic layman involved in public affairs at all stages of his life, according to his state, much earlier than the mentioned Council started the deliberation. The biographical sketch presented in the first part of the article shows that the Servant of God can even today be an example of responsibility in the family, at work environment, in the activity of religious and secular communities. After the formal part of the opening session of the process, the speakers pointed to the timeliness of that figure, what was presented in the third part of the article.

The history of the cause, before its formal beginning, presented in the second part of the article, makes it clear that in addition to the need of preparation of the postulators, it is necessary to sensitize communities intending to be actors in particular causes to the need of getting help from them even at the stage of the preliminary assessment regardless of the intellectual or scientific status of the individuals concerned. Taking into account the current standards, the cause shows that the gathering of the documentary proofs should not be left for the process. In addition, one person should not perform this task because it may result in interruption of conducting the clause with a death of that person.