St. John Paul II

It's been a long weekend and I think most people are away from home but the reaction to the approaching canonizations of Popes John 23rd and John Paul, II has been pretty subdued. I've seen variations of the "trad's will complain," theme on a number of blog  comment boxes but so far the spicier remarks appear to be coming from a wide spectrum of Catholics, from traditional, to conservative to liberal. 

Except for some people at a site I won't name, nobody has issues with JPII's personal holiness. People are pissed about the one big, undeniable blot on his papacy. I love John Paul, he was the only pope for most of my life. There is a statue of him in my living room. But you can love your papa and still admit that he was not perfectly perfect in every single way.  I'm talking about the pedophile scandal.  The victims are going to protest for the rest of their lives and they have a right to. I don't think any sensible person  expected JPII, desperately sick with Parkinson's to  drag himself to every Satan scented chancery in the world and personally cast out and excommunicate every wicked priest and prelate.  But some of the victims and their champions aren't sensible. They have been completely broken. We must have compassion for these suffering folks. Grunting an explanation of "shut up," and accusing the objector of being a schismatic or just a bad Catholic doesn't help.

If you aren't happy about this canonization, that's okay. If you have mixed emotions, that's okay. We are not called to be delirious with joy over every canonization but we are called to obedience and I trust that the Holy Father has the power to loose and bind on earth and Heaven.