On the other hand

Pope John Paul II is being fast-tracked towards sainthood...

Pope won't take part in common prayers

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Other things I don't doubt

Revealing New Book On John Paul Documents Mystical Side, Including A Transfigured Face

A lot of these sorts of things are only seen in hindsight, when all the reports, witnesses and knowledge are gathered together after the fact. Was he a holy person? Yes, I believe so. Was he a mystic? Given the reports of him in prayer, I believe so also. Are there, or will there be, miracles attached to his intercession? I believe there will be. God has blessed him greatly, and through him, us.

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9 to 1 against

Rome’s (unfortunate) statue of Blessed John Paul II

Not every piece of art is a masterpiece, nor is every piece of art good simply by virtue of it being 'art'. Someone must have approved the design though. I wonder who that was? The photo with the article is rather small, but the statue looks less than appealing in it. It looks as though it's meant to represent that tall alien that breaks up into smaller ones (I forget his name) in Men in Black II. If that's the thought that comes to me when I see it, I can't help but wonder what other people think...

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Ah, my...

Pope John Paul's body exhumed ahead of beatification

"Thousands gather in Rome; coffin will be placed in St. Peter's Basilica for viewing"

The reverence for bodies and body parts has always bothered me a bit...

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What's not to admire?

Castro admired John Paul II: Vatican number two

"John Paul II had during the trip exhorted Havana to open up more but at the same time criticised US sanctions."

Such a good, good man...

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A Royal

converts to Catholicism...

Still waiting for moral leadership in Britain: Queen’s cousin speaks to LSN

He's lost his 25th place in line, but... oh, well. A major influence in his conversion was Pope John Paul II. More and more the holy Pope is being seen as a major influence in our world, before and after his death...

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I think

that he was a very, very special person, the likes of whom we see in public life so seldom.

Postulator: No Difference in Public, Private Wojtyła

"Says John Paul II Believed a Pope's 1st Task Is Prayer"

I can't imagine the pressure that's on a person in a role like this. I think there are many people who are similar, spiritually, to Pope John Paul II, but I think popes, in order to handle the pressure of the position itself, would almost have to be like him.

So, he's right. Like everyone else's 1st task, his first task has to be prayer.

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In these times

influencing someone to become a priest is true sign of sanctity.

Pope John Paul II's Other "Miracles": Interview With Author Randall Meissen

They're not limited to him, though. I can't begin to count how many stories of vocations have included the reference to the example of a holy priest...

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Well,

for most people in the Church this won't make much difference.

A rush toward sainthood for John Paul II?

My experience with fellow Catholics is that either they don't care about saints one way or the other or they believe Pope John Paul II is already a saint. Nothing is going to change their thinking, I don't suspect. (I note with some amusement the comment by the representative of SNAP that "...we usually move slowly in honoring public figures..." "we"? As if SNAP has anything to say about the canonization process...)

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I would believe this

Despite suffering intensely, I believe that he also loved God and humanity intensely. That's what makes saints different than the average schmoe.

Physician: Pope John Paul never asked for sedatives, even in most intense pain

(At least different from this average(?) human schmoe. a) I'm a chicken about pain, and b) that loving humanity in general part? Well, you haven't read the blog long, have you?)

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Media idiocy...

Is John Paul II's Beatification Process Stalled? - Former Saints' Causes Prefect Clarifies Controversies

"Some journalists have speculated that John Paul II's alleged scourging "might hold up the process of beatification." Others have asserted that the Pope's rigorous penances were the consequence of "mental imbalance.""

In the 'olden' days journalists were supposed to have at least a nodding acquaintance with subjects that they speculated on and that they reported on. Now it's all sensationalism. Anyone who knows anything about the Catholic Church, saints and the history of the Catholic Church would know about mortification of the flesh...

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I'm not surprised at all

I am surprised that others are surprised...

Stunner! Pope Practiced Self-Mortification

"So various circles have been atwitter about news reports that Pope John Paul II practiced certain forms of self-mortification or, in the immortal words of the Associated Press, "John Paul II used belt to whip himself.""

Under-educated (sorry, I'm groping for a good, correct word here) Catholics and non-Catholics find this to be something unusual, reeking of fanaticism and 'ultra-conservative' old-time Catholicism, reserved to what they consider 'fringe groups or individuals' within the Church. Interestingly, acts of self-mortification were very often, if not always, performed by those that the Catholic Church considers their greatest saints...

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Oh, I don't think he's quite right...

Pope gunman 'will prove his is the Messiah'

"MEHMET Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who tried to kill pope John Paul II in 1981, says he will prove he is the Messiah through Vatican documents."

I just hope that the authorities keep a close eye on him. That would be good. It appears that he's given the authorities enough evidence that he's not quite stable, so to speak...

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Mind you,

he's really only confirming what many, many people believe about both individuals already...


From the Saints' Desk

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I guess

that they're not so different in their beliefs, but only in how they present(ed) it and work(ed) to achieve it...

A Tale of Two Popes

It's only a response to those who believe that they are completely different in goals and attitudes. The truth is, if one looks at Pope Benedict XVI as a conservative pope, Pope John Paul II was pretty conservative himself, but much more of a 'people' pope...

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I'm sure

that even Pope John Paul II would disapprove of this.


A giant pope to watch over Santiago?

It's funded by a right-wing group. It will wipe out an existing park and its trees, and build an underground parking garage. The current park is named after "young anarchist poet who died after being arrested in the 1920s". Given the right-wing origin of this project, is anyone surprised? So many groups have tried to hijack the late Pope for their own purposes. This is just another one that I'm sure he would disapprove of...

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I believe he started the change

June 1979—The Nine Days of John Paul II

I'm never sure how I feel about George Weigel, though. Definitely an American patriot...

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I believe

that Pope John Paul II had more to do with the collapse of the Soviet Union than politicians give him credit for...

Cardinal Dziwisz recalls papal journey that brought down Communism, emphasizes reality of Satan

The media is usually more accurate. I think that they don't have their own nest to feather in history the way politicians do...

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It's past the point of mattering

to me...



John Paul II Beatification Could Pass Final Hurdles in 2009

I've come to the point of a personal belief in his holiness. He was conservative and he was liberal. The fact was, he was a man on strong devotion to God and love of God's people (and I don't mean that in the sense of just Catholics). He was a good man who made a real difference in our world and who people tried to stop in order to halt that difference. He was good, and he was holy...

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The only way

to guarantee sanctity is to make sure that you don't speak, write or listen to anyone during your life. Of course, then you can't do anything for people to see and recognize as holiness, either, but that's life...

Pope John Paul's beatification delayed, Italian newspapers say

'Ah! He dotted an 'i' with an incomplete circle instead of a dot. That must mean...'