The decree on Pope John Paul was expected, and it fueled hopes for a beatification ceremony some time next year. Church experts are already studying a possible miracle, the cure of a French nun from Parkinson’s disease, the same disease from which Pope John Paul suffered.

The decree on Pope Pius came as a surprise. His sainthood cause has been a point of contention with some Jewish groups and others who say he failed to do enough to protect Jews during the Second World War, an accusation strongly rejected by Vatican historians. After the Congregation for Saints’ Causes unanimously recommended the heroic virtues decree for Pope Pius in 2007, Pope Benedict put the cause on hold and put out the word that both critics and supporters should stop pressing the issue.

In the end, Pope Benedict paired the announcement of Pope Pius’ “heroic virtues” with that of Pope John Paul, who is remembered for his acts of friendship and bridge-building with the Jewish community.

That does not mean, however, that both popes would be beatified together. There is no Vatican timetable for verification of a miracle, and in some cases sainthood causes have waited many years for that step.

In 2005, Pope Benedict set Pope John Paul on the fast track to beatification by waiving the normal five-year waiting period for the introduction of his sainthood cause. In April, the church will mark the fifth anniversary of Pope John Paul’s death. The initial diocesan phase of his sainthood cause was completed in April 2007.

The presumed miracle for the Polish-born pontiff, meanwhile, is being studied in a five-step process that involves medical experts, a medical board, theological consultors, the members of the congregation and, finally, Pope Benedict.

The advancement of Pope Pius XII’s cause prompted immediate criticism from Jewish representatives. In Italy, Jewish leaders suggested the decision was premature, since the Vatican’s archives on the war period remain sealed. An Israeli Foreign Ministry official also said it was difficult for historians to reach a judgment about Pope Pius until archives were opened, but he added that beatification of the wartime pope was an internal issue of the Catholic Church.

Bishop Sergio Pagano, prefect of the Vatican archives, said in 2008 that the Vatican’s five archivists would need another five or six years to catalogue documents from Pope Pius’ 1939-58 pontificate.

Pope Pius has been criticized by Jewish groups who said he did little to mobilize the church in defense of Jews against the Nazi extermination campaign. Other experts have published evidence to show that the late pope worked quietly but effectively to save the lives of thousands of Jews and others during the war.

Other decrees signed by the Pope on Dec. 19 recognized a miracle attributed to Montreal’s Blessed Brother André, recognized the heroic virtues of Sr. Mary Ward, founder of the Congregation of Jesus and of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loretto Sisters), recognized the martyrdom of Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko, the murdered chaplain to Poland’s Solidarity labour union, and formally recognized the miracle needed for the canonization of Blessed Mary MacKillop, founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart in Australia. She is expected to be canonized in 2010.