Is John Paul II really a saint? It may sound like a strange question, given that he was canonized in 2014. But it is one that some people are asking after a Polish television broadcast an investigative report that criticized the late pope for his alleged mishandling of clergy sex abuse cases from 1964-1978 when Read more
A new Vatican report’s revelations that Pope John Paul II disregarded reports about ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s sexual misconduct had Catholics on Wednesday debating the legacy of one of the modern church’s towering figures. The report triggered questions about whether John Paul was rushed through the saint-making process, and whether the author of contemporary Catholic teaching Read more
In life, John Bradburne was a British soldier, leper colony missionary and poet. In death, he could become Britain’s first new saint in 50 years. Bradburne, whose father was an Anglican clergyman, converted to Catholicism in 1947. His experiences as a soldier in World War II are said to have influenced his conversion. He initially Read more
Pope Francis is not only a good pontiff as pastor, he is also a good pontiff as church politician. In canonising two popes — Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II — who each represent the progressive and conservative wings, respectively, of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has shrewdly bridged the church’s theological schism. But in Read more
Somewhere in purgatory there must be a very large room filled with artists and writers doing time for the bad paintings, statues, and biographies of female saints they produced during their lifetime. I do not want this to be the case. Yet, when I think about all the images of consumptive 14-year-old girls that adorned Read more
I am intrigued by an article by Christopher Howse in the Telegraph of Saturday 17th August. Entitled “Is Chesterton to be made a saint?” It discusses the great GKC’s particular qualification for this singular honour: his optimism – “no facile cheeriness but a deep conviction that the world was fundamentally good”. This is a significant Read more
Pope Francis declared this summer that two of his predecessors, Popes John XXIII and John Paul II have lived documentably holy lives and are entitled to the hallowed title of saints! No one has to be reminded about the life of Pope John Paul II. He was dramatically on the scene until less than a Read more
Pope Francis has approved the canonisations of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII— in the latter case waiving the requirement for a second miracle. Papal spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said both canonisations could take place before the end of this year, and Vatican journalists are speculating that both pontiffs could be declared saints at Read more
Today’s announcement by Pope Francis of the canonization of Blessed John Paul II was not a surprise. From the time of his death in 2005, when crowds shouted “Santo Subito!” in St. Peter’s Square, to Pope Benedict XVI’s waiving of the normal five-year rule (the process of canonization normally doesn’t begin until five years after Read more
A committee of doctors has confirmed that there is no medical explanation for a second healing attributed to the intercession of Blessed John Paul II. The alleged miracle now requires the approval of theologians and then the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, before being submitted to Pope Francis for Read more