the editorial in the tablet this week, on the subject of the canonisation of JP2 and J23:
"It was a stroke of genius to conduct these canonisations simultaneously, for each papacy needs to be examined from the perspective of the other. This allows the modern papacy to be viewed as a continuous narrative.
. . . the barque of Peter tends to tack to the left and then to the right, each new stage correcting the problems created by the last."
my own feeling is that, when Francis saw the pressure to canonise JP2, he needed to ensure that this did not further focus anti-vatican 2 tendencies within the church, knowing how alienating those tendencies were becoming to so many. I agree with the editor wholeheartedly. Popes should not be made saints because this can cast long shadows over future papacies and the need for the church to be flexible enough to "tack into the wind" in order to stay on course.
"It was a stroke of genius to conduct these canonisations simultaneously, for each papacy needs to be examined from the perspective of the other. This allows the modern papacy to be viewed as a continuous narrative.
. . . the barque of Peter tends to tack to the left and then to the right, each new stage correcting the problems created by the last."
my own feeling is that, when Francis saw the pressure to canonise JP2, he needed to ensure that this did not further focus anti-vatican 2 tendencies within the church, knowing how alienating those tendencies were becoming to so many. I agree with the editor wholeheartedly. Popes should not be made saints because this can cast long shadows over future papacies and the need for the church to be flexible enough to "tack into the wind" in order to stay on course.