Should Pope John Paul II be canonized as a Saint by the Catholic Church?

Question

I believe he should be if for no other reason the huge impact he had on the young people of the world and for his unflinching adherance to traditional teachings.

Answer 1

Yes, Pope John Paul II was a very spiritual and holy man who lived his faith, not just preached it. Despite all the opposition, he stood firm on his teaching of the faith and I thank God for the time we had with this Holy and Faithful Vicar of Christ and His (Christ's) teachings. I also see in Pope Benedict XVI, the same basic qualities and I pray he be with us and lead us to Jesus for many years to come, if that be God's Will.

Answer 2

No, not unless he meets the very specific rules for canonization. Let's not make a "sham" out of the canonization process. A saint means that the person really is in Heaven. We don't know if he is in Heaven unless a certain number of unexplainable "miracles" happen. He may be in Purgatory. I loved John Paul II, but he did a lot of things that are questionable like kissing the Koran, etc. Let's wait until the Church really finds him to be a saint.

Answer 3

Canonization isn't just the Church's naming someone a saint, as you may know. It involves a process, usually of years, of looking back at a person's life and trying to discern the likeliness that they ARE a saint, i.e., already in Heaven. This usually has to be verified by two miracles attributed to God's answering the prospective saint's prayers of intercession after the person's death, which would further suggest that s/he is in heaven.

The well-loved John Paul the Great's life surely is an exemplary one, and I'd think the process of his "cause" (saint-try-outs, as it were) would go smoothly and that many people would like to see him canonized before many years go by.

Answer 4

While I think that John Paul II was a good pope, unfortunately he didn't go far enough to repair the rifts that have existed in our society.

There are many devouted Christians that have been driven out of the church because of archaic rules within the organization.

It is time that the church does two fundamental things:

1) Allow priests to marry

and

2) Allow birth control

As long as the Catholic church continues to be intransigent about these two issues, they're going to keep losing many good christians.

Answer 5

--is Catholic--

Personally, I think that if one liked JPII that they should spend their time praying for the repose of his soul instead of wondering / pressuring the Church to do something. Canonization is not the granting of a title, but it is a recognizing of a fact. If people love JPII pray for him! Also one should be praying that God will let us know if JPII made it safely to heaven and has received his reward.

It is the great Christian duty and a great act of love to pray for the dead. If one loves JPII, one should pray for him.

More directly to your question: I am in favor of the Church taking her time with the process because there is such a cult of personality around JPII which clouds JPIIs real greatness. The cult needs to die away a bit.

Answer 6

Only G-D should have rights to do that . man can not read the heart like G-D can. he would be a lot better at it anyway. it not going to help him,if your going to anoint someone a saint , let them enjoy before there dead AS close as he going to get to heaven is if you load him into that canon with a nuke behind it to send him off to space i can just see that canon explode/

Answer 7

NO, because of the way he preached against using condoms. What will he say to god when he is asked why he let AIDS get out of control, esp. in Africa? Or doesn't he (or other Christians) have a responsibilty to the people of the world? Should millions of people have become infected and die needlessly? Or is this the way Jesus wants things to be ... ignore poor people around the world.

Answer 8

Perhaps, but he should go through the same process as anyone else, I don't think the calls to 'fast-track' the case for either him or Mother Teresa do them any favours. If they're worthy of it, why do they need special treatment? The other great saints did not need the rules bent to accomodate them.

Answer 9

I leave such matters to my Catholic brothers and sisters.

I believe John Paul II was a sincere man and genuinely believed he was following his faith and doing service to the truth as he saw it. I think he was wrong on many points, but I believe his religion is wrong on many points.

Answer 10

I agree with you and I beleive The Vatican is taking serious effort to do it. It might even come sooner than the usual. I heard that Pope Benedict VI is on top of the requests.