Two New Saints, II

As the world knows, Pope Francis canonized his predecessors John XXIII and John Paul II on "Mercy Sunday," April 27 in Rome.  Between one and two million pilgrims came to witness the Mass (although dire predictions had upwards to four million coming to Rome) in St. Peter's Square.  The Catholic world rejoiced in this pronouncement of two more members of the heavenly family.

But not all were happy.  On the one hand you had New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd weighing in on "A Saint, He Ain't." Link here .  Her argument:  "Sometimes leaders can be remarkable in certain ways and then make a mistake so spectacular, it overshadows other historical achievements....John Paul may be a revolutionary figure in the history of the church, but a man who looked away in a moral crisis cannot be described as a saint."  She brings up John Paul's role in the ongoing saga of the clergy sexual abuse scandal, including giving "sanctuary" to Cardinal Bernard Law, defending and praising Legionaires of Christ founder Marcial Maciel Degollado, and failing to bring light an end to bishops covering up clergy who harmed children.

In a more restrained vein the National Catholic Reporter editorialized "New papal saints have flaws as well as greatness."  Link here.  Money quote:  "If we fully honor our saints, then we honor them in all of their humanity, which means in all of their flaws as well as their greatness.  Perhaps there is no better time than now to engage in a bit of sobriety about the record of John Paul II inside the church.  It evinced some significant flaws, the results of which were passed on to his successors."  These flaws include certain theologians called on the carpet, loyalty being the prime virtue for candidates for the office of bishop, financial scandals and the sad sad sexual scandals.  I have to agree when the editorial quotes the sober Vaticanologist, John Allen:  John Paul was "the apostle of unity ad extra and the bruiser ad intra."  He was a pope who "leaves behind the irony of a world more united because of his life and legacy, and a church more divided."  

The church has proclaimed Angelo Roncalli and Karol Wojtyla saints.  I add my "alleluia" to this decision, and my prayers for their intercession for us who still struggle on earth.

But at the same time it is worthwhile to remember that canonization, a pronouncement of holiness, is not an announcement of perfection.  Roncalli drank (but not to excess), smoked, and looked like a heart attack waiting to happen.  Wojtyla made a decision at the beginning of his pontificate, that he would make the world his parish, and proclaim as loudly as he could, "Be not afraid!" in his globe-trotting evangelical travels.  That decision, however, meant he gave short shrift and little attention to the internal administration of the church.  He was as blind to the clergy who were pedophiles as 99% of the bishops of his era.  Because of his Polish background, which served him so well as pope in many areas, he just could not imagine hundreds and hundreds of priests (2 to 4% of the total number) who had immoral, sinful desires for harming children and teens.  

Neither man was perfect, or even close.  Both prayed and prayed and prayed, and tried to do the will of God as revealed in their lives.

We the church, and the world (sorry, Maureen Dowd, you're wrong) would do well to remember this distinction.  Neither man was our savior.  We already have one, fully human yet fully divine and without sin.  Separating the two helps us to embrace all the saints, flaws and all, and to profess Christ our Savior as son of Mary and son of God.