By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist To mark the day when the remains of St. Anthony of Padua went on display for one week at the Basilica in Padua, a Vatican theologian warned about allowing the veneration of relics to devolve into the realm of superstition.  According to the Times Online, Monsignor Pietro Principe, adviser to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals and former Vatican Secretary of State, told La Stampa that the "display of the mortal remains of saints and the cult of relics are part of our tradition. However we nowadays run the risk of crossing the boundary from popular devotion to superstition." While tracing the veneration of relics back to the earliest days of the Church, Monsignor Principe warned about a temptation to "compensate for empty churches with a boom in religious happenings, substituting miracle-performing sensationalism for authentic faith." He added: "To pray before the body of a saint or his relics means to thank God, who supported his path towards sainthood. The object of adoration, however, must remain God, not the saint". He also reminded that relics are "not fundamental for belief, but they can help." The comments were made on Feb. 15, a day known as the Feast of the Tongue, which refers to the first opening of St. Anthony’s tomb 30 years after his death to find that his tongue was  incorrupt. The miracle was attributed to the saint’s brilliant preaching.   The last time St. Anthony’s remains were displayed was in 1981. © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com