Reply #7: The good thing about John Paul II's activism as a [View All]

[DemBones DemBones]

"saint-maker," hurrying various causes along, was that he urged those who are in charge of the process to find more worthy laity, more worthy non-Europeans, more worthy women (whether religious or laywomen), and more worthy married couples who might be considered for sainthood.

It's about providing more saints that can be role models that ordinary laity can feel a kinship with, which is hardly a bad thing. I think they still investigate as thoroughly and challenge the evidence -- I thought, in fact, that they had only done away with the title "devil's advocate" because it was misunderstood, not with the position itself. But you may be right that they did away with the position. No doubt we'll read more about the process if John Paul's canonization gets under way.

Two women were canonized yesterday, but the media paid little if any attention since they weren't big-name saints! Even sainthood has its pecking order. ;-)

John Paul II also named St Therese of Lisieux a Doctor of the Church, which was, in my view, mainly a PC move to get another woman Doctor in the lineup. At least, I don't hold the Little Flower in the same esteem as a theologian/philosopher/mystic as I do St.Teresa of Avila or St. Catherine of Siena. Or St. Edith Stein. Maybe I'm wrong about Therese, though; I admit I haven't read more than scraps of her writings.
I do think it was a well-intentioned move by John Paul and the Little Flower probably stacks up with some of the male Doctors, if we ran through the list.