John Paul II: The Saint-Maker
Zenit carried an interesting article on Tuesday which they called Why John Paul II Proclaimed so Many Saints.
The article - which was actually an interview with Cardinal José Saraiva Martins - noted that John Paul II had canonized 480 saints. The number of beatifications was in the thousands.
Side Note: the decree of beatification awards the title of "blessed" to the person in question - Blessed Pius IX, Blessed Jacinta Marto, etc. - and means that they may be privately venerated, or publicly venerated in certain locations; the decree of canonization awards the title of "saint" to the person, and means that the Church is obliged to venerate the person in a public fashion and universally.
The Cardinal candidly admitted what many of us already knew - that the number of canonizations and beatifications made during John Paul II's pontificate exceeded the number of canonizations and beatifications of all the other popes combined (counting from the founding of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes in 1588). That's a lot of beatifications and canonizations!
Many Catholics complained that John Paul II was cheapening the act of beatification and diluting the sacredness of canonization. There can be too much of a good thing - and if everyone's a saint, then no one is a saint.
Richard McBrien was quoted in USA Today as having said, "What's the rush? If someone is really in heaven, we'll find out in time." (Cathy Lynn Grossman, "John Paul II is history's champion saintmaker", October 2, 2002)
The fact that the canonization/beatification process was "streamlined" (as the newspapers continually remind us) during his pontificate certainly made it easier for John Paul II to run "St. McPeter's" (as the JP2 Vatican was so dubbed by a cartoon in The Remnant). In the new Code of Canon Law which he promulgated in 1983, the role of the Devil's Advocate (the person whose job it was to raise objections to a given person's canonization) was eliminated. Regarding the requirement for miracles, Chris Ferrara writes:
So what was the pope's big rush? Why did he insist on beatifying and canonizing so many?
The answer, contained in Zenit's interview with Cardinal Martins, is really not that surprising - more of what we've come to expect, really:
There you have it, then. More canonizations and beatifications, please, because we must pursue ecumenism.
But I wonder? Do you think the non-Catholic religions and sects can't see through this? Do you think they take "St. McPeter's" any more seriously than we do? If even a bleeding heart like Richard McBrien smells the cheap glue that holds this veneer in place, are we really to think the separated brethren are going to be fooled by it, that they're going to think, "Wow! You've had 480 saints declared in your Church in just the past 25 years alone! What a convincing ecumenism! This must be the true Church, because, look at all the saints you've cranked out recently!"
Somehow I doubt it.
The article - which was actually an interview with Cardinal José Saraiva Martins - noted that John Paul II had canonized 480 saints. The number of beatifications was in the thousands.
Side Note: the decree of beatification awards the title of "blessed" to the person in question - Blessed Pius IX, Blessed Jacinta Marto, etc. - and means that they may be privately venerated, or publicly venerated in certain locations; the decree of canonization awards the title of "saint" to the person, and means that the Church is obliged to venerate the person in a public fashion and universally.
The Cardinal candidly admitted what many of us already knew - that the number of canonizations and beatifications made during John Paul II's pontificate exceeded the number of canonizations and beatifications of all the other popes combined (counting from the founding of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes in 1588). That's a lot of beatifications and canonizations!
Many Catholics complained that John Paul II was cheapening the act of beatification and diluting the sacredness of canonization. There can be too much of a good thing - and if everyone's a saint, then no one is a saint.
Richard McBrien was quoted in USA Today as having said, "What's the rush? If someone is really in heaven, we'll find out in time." (Cathy Lynn Grossman, "John Paul II is history's champion saintmaker", October 2, 2002)
The fact that the canonization/beatification process was "streamlined" (as the newspapers continually remind us) during his pontificate certainly made it easier for John Paul II to run "St. McPeter's" (as the JP2 Vatican was so dubbed by a cartoon in The Remnant). In the new Code of Canon Law which he promulgated in 1983, the role of the Devil's Advocate (the person whose job it was to raise objections to a given person's canonization) was eliminated. Regarding the requirement for miracles, Chris Ferrara writes:
It was not until 1983 that John Paul II reduced the requirement of miracles from four to only one for martyrs and two for other candidates for canonization, dispensing altogether with the requirement for the beatification of martyrs. (Ferrara, "Miracles? We Don't Need No Miracles!", The Remnant, August 2005)
So what was the pope's big rush? Why did he insist on beatifying and canonizing so many?
The answer, contained in Zenit's interview with Cardinal Martins, is really not that surprising - more of what we've come to expect, really:
The second reason is the extraordinary ecumenical importance of holiness.
In "Novo Millennio Ineunte," the Pope said that the holiness of the saints, blessed and martyrs is perhaps the most convincing ecumenism, these are his words, because holiness, he said with even stronger words, has its ultimate foundation in Christ, in whom the Church is not divided.
Therefore, the ecumenism we all want calls for many saints, so that the convincing ecumenism of holiness is placed in the candelabrum of the holiness of the Church. ("Why John Paul II Proclaimed so Many Saints", Zenit, April 4, 2006)
There you have it, then. More canonizations and beatifications, please, because we must pursue ecumenism.
But I wonder? Do you think the non-Catholic religions and sects can't see through this? Do you think they take "St. McPeter's" any more seriously than we do? If even a bleeding heart like Richard McBrien smells the cheap glue that holds this veneer in place, are we really to think the separated brethren are going to be fooled by it, that they're going to think, "Wow! You've had 480 saints declared in your Church in just the past 25 years alone! What a convincing ecumenism! This must be the true Church, because, look at all the saints you've cranked out recently!"
Somehow I doubt it.
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