Too soon to be a saint? Some ask if Vatican should be more cautious
In recent years, the Vatican has canonised its former leaders – sometimes before history has rendered a final judgment on their papacies
Four years ago, Pope John Paul II was named a saint, a step that seemingly secured the legacy for one of the towering figures of the 20th century.
Instead, his papacy has come under an increasingly sharp and unsaintly critique, with some faithful saying that his muted response during the early years of the sexual abuse crisis continues to haunt the Roman Catholic Church.
Debate about the actions of a papal saint would have been highly improbable during an earlier era of Catholicism, when popes were only rarely given the highest honour in the faith.
But in recent years, the Vatican has given rise to a rapid surge in papal saint-making, canonising its former leaders in massive ceremonies at St. Peter’s Square – sometimes before history has rendered a final judgment on their papacies.
On Sunday, thousands of people converged on the Vatican for the canonisation of two towering figures of the 20th Century Catholic Church: Pope Paul VI, who oversaw modernising church reforms of the 1960s, and Archbishop Oscar Romero, a human rights icon who was murdered for his defence of El Salvador’s poor.
Paul VI’s successor, John Paul I, who held the position for just 33 days until his death, is also in the pipeline, meaning the Vatican office responsible for saints is looking into his case.