Date set for Popes John Paul II and John XXIII sainthood

[Eugene]

Source: BBC

30 September 2013 Last updated at 10:23 GMT

Date set for Popes John Paul II and John XXIII sainthood

Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII will be declared saints on 27 April 2014, Pope Francis has announced.

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Polish John Paul, the first non-Italian pope for more than 400 years, led the Catholic Church from 1978-2005.

Pope John was pontiff from 1958-1963, calling the Second Vatican Council that transformed the Church.

The decision to canonise the two at the same time appears designed to unify Catholics, correspondents say.

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Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24330204

[cbayer]

1. I used to love some of those old movies about saints.

I particularly loved Joan of Arc and Bernadette.

But this just seems like the Oscars for popes.

Sainthood seems to have completely lost it's meaning.

[Act_of_Reparation]

2. It what way?

In 1162, Henry II flexed his political muscle to get Thomas Becket--an archdeacon who barely spoke Latin--elected as Archbishop of Canterbury. We all know the story: when Henry tried to weaken the influence of Rome over English diocese, Becket sided with the Vatican and was murdered by Henry's men in 1170. By 1172, Becket was canonized a saint.

Here we are, eight hundred forty-two years later, and the Catholic Church is still using sainthood as a vehicle for their shameless self-promotion.

[hrmjustin]

3. I think John the 23rd deserves sainthood. JP2 I was not a fan of.

[cbayer]

4. The whole sainthood thing really stymies me.

I did not grow up catholic, but I (erroneously) thought that it was something given posthumously to people who had done rather miraculous things.

That's apparently not the case.

So that's what I meant. It's seems like it is just a contest where members of the academy vote for their favorites.

[Act_of_Reparation]

5. It has always been about politics...

... in the really old days, being a Saint meant you got yourself killed for your faith (St. Valentine), emboldening other believers; while in the middle ages, it meant you worked tirelessly to protect or expand Papal authority against encroaching heathens(St. Thomas Becket, St. Francis Xavier, St. Ignatius Loyola). In the early 20th century, pissing off the wicked Protestant English was good enough for canonization, even if you were burned at the stake for heresy (St. Joan of Arc).

Today, it's all about PR. Every moment spent fawning over Mother Theresa, JP2, and John XXIII is a moment not spent discussing the myriad criminal activities of the modern church.

[cbayer]

6. I don't doubt that, but I still like those romanticized saint stories.

As a child, the women in particular were very inspirational and empowering for me.

These two, not so much.