VATICAN CITY (AP) -- An Oklahoma priest could be on the path to sainthood.
Pope Francis signed a martyrdom decree Thursday for Rev. Stanley Rother.
Rother was killed in 1981 during Guatemala's civil war. He was in Guatemala to translate the New Testament into an Indian dialect.
The declaration paves the way for Rother's beatification.
Unlike regular candidates, martyrs don't need a Vatican-certified miracle to be beatified.
They do need a miracle attributed to them to be declared a saint.
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