Let’s Not Canonize Any Popes for a While

Have there been too many papal canonizations this century? Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II have all been canonized. John Paul I and Pius IX have been beatified. Pius XII was declared Venerable, and Benedict XIII and Pius VII were declared Servants of God.

There certainly has been a tradition of papal canonizations throughout history. Early declarations of sanctity primarily stemmed from actual blood martyrdoms, which have always been a quick sign of holiness. In this modern age, however, there seems to be a one-click rush to make historical declarations “which are to be held definitively” by all Catholics. 

I do not dispute that these saints are in heaven. However, the criteria for canonization includes that this man or woman is also to be admired and imitated. The papacy is the least imitable life on earth, given the role. While we can admire certain aspects of the lives of the popes, it would be quite another thing to apply what we see in them to our own lives. The urgency is limited.

Of the 266 popes, ninety-five have been canonized or are in some level of that process. Thirty-one were martyred. Ten percent were canonized or began the process of canonization in the past twenty-five years alone.

There is a definite danger of recency bias, and the Church does best when thinking in terms of centuries, not instant sanctification gratification. John XXIII and Paul VI presided over a term of the Church with many questionable decisions, though I do not question their lives of personal sanctity. Their leadership led to a period of tumult unseen since the Reformation, with little discipline of churchmen who openly defied doctrine and obedience. John Paul I barely led the Church, and his oeuvre is primarily letters to fictional characters. John Paul II is an epic of a man; yet even he, whom I love dearly and admire, and whose intercession I often invoke, is open to great critique in the ever-growing awareness of failures in dealing with sexual abuse, especially in the Legion of Christ.

Nevertheless, the cries of santo subito made this canonization more historically fitting. Benedict was a great mind, but let’s see in a hundred years if he is still Doctor of the Church material, and if his decision to resign the office of Peter is seen as admirable or not. Francis modeled a beautiful compassion, but his governorship and off-hand comments left much to be desired.

It is certainly an amazing thing to behold the personal sanctity of the popes since the Lateran Treaty shifted the papacy’s focus from the administration of temporal power to spiritual and ecclesial leadership, which is much more fundamental to the Vicar of Christ. However, a great pope-saint himself recognized the problem of the papacy in peace time: 

With my mind divided and torn to pieces by so many problems, how can I meditate or preach wholeheartedly without neglecting the ministry of proclaiming the Gospel? Moreover, in my position I must often communicate with worldly men. At times I let my tongue run, for if I am always severe in my judgments, the worldly will avoid me, and I can never attack them as I would. As a result I often listen patiently to chatter. And because I too am weak, I find myself drawn little by little into idle conversation, and I begin to talk freely about matters which once I would have avoided. What once I found tedious I now enjoy.

The office of the papacy is public, demanding, and heroic in its own way. However, the faults of the man with the fisherman’s ring are amplified to an extent that while history is no impartial judge, it is a tool of understanding. There is also a club feel to popes canonizing popes, especially if there is no unrelenting demand for canonization from the laity. Now is the time for patience in calling for papal canonizations—and for praying for the repose of those who held that office.