“Canonize now” for Pope Benedict XVI, a grave warning

Theology professor Massimo Faggioli warned against canonizing the pope. In his contribution, he advises looking at the past and present. The Church is in the “deepest crisis since the Reformation” – papal self-sanctification does more harm than good.

Even before the funeral there was a request for "immediate canonization", santo subito, repeating what happened after the death of John Paul II (1978-2005) and with his canonization along with Pope Francis. John XXIII (1958 to 1963) April 2014. That's what we saw. However, looking at the historical context in a larger way, we will understand the importance of the problem.

First of all, we should remember the canonization of popes both old and new. Of the first 48 popes who died before the year 500, 47 were canonized; half of them martyrs. The canonization of popes over the next 15 centuries was rare, but has increased at a dizzying rate in recent decades.

The real change began in the 19th century with what historians and theologians have called the "romanization" or "popification" of Catholicism, especially with the First Vatican Council (1869- 1870), with the papal claim of supremacy and infallibility. This led to a more pope-oriented Church leadership, but also to new forms of papal veneration.


John Paul II and the canonizations

The trend for the canonization of popes increased under John Paul II, who canonized a large number of saints (lay people, women and married people). He also shortened the 50-year waiting period in the canonization process from 5 years. With Mother Teresa of Calcutta, he waives this shortened period. When John Paul II died in April 2005, Benedict XVI increased the waiting period for his predecessor.

From 2000 to 2022, three popes of the Second Vatican Council (John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II) were beatified and canonized. Pope John Paul I has been in office for only 33 days, was beatified by Pope Francis on September 4, 2022 and is in the process of canonization. There were eight popes in the 20th century, starting with Pius X (not yet Benedict XVI and Pope Francis): half were saints. The last three popes were canonized one by one.

However, this 20th-century trend should stop for three reasons. One reason for this is that canonizing popes today means canonizing the papacy in the Vatican. In contrast, the canonization process (which is technically a process) used to be less controlled by the Vatican. It was not until the 17th-century Opposition Reformation that the Roman Curia increasingly took control of the process. At the time, the canonization of popes was still the exception. Now, the pope canonizes himself without a period of Church-wide discernment and stretches over time on the wisdom of papal canonization. This can be seen as a way of shielding the pope from moral and historical judgment, so to speak, reinforcing the claims made by Vatican I about papacy. At the same time, the Vatican seems to be reacting with a more mass-media than ecclesiastical logic: with canonization, it wants to demonstrate the communicativeness of the contemporary pope.

 The second reason is Church policy behind decisions to canonize or not to canonize a pope. The period after Vatican II was instructive. The Second Vatican Council's proposal for the canonization of John XXIII, who died in the council on 3 June 1963, during and through the council (an old way of declaring canonization) caused a flurry of events. opposition from conservative Catholics. A set of counterbalances has been created: compare him to the beatification of Pius IX in 2000 and the canonization of John Paul II in 2014. In the 19th century, implicit elevation of the pope to the primacy and infallible a political act – partly against secular modernity, partly in recapturing the typical mechanisms of political modernity and the modern state. The difference from the 19th century is that the canonization of popes by popes has now become part of internal Catholic politics and is not conducive to Church unity.

The third reason has to do with the clerical sex abuse crisis. How the pope responds to clerical sexual abuse is controversial in the Church today and will continue to be so in the future. If the Catholic Church wants to thrive in the discernment of the gods, as Francis has called for in response to the sexual abuse crisis, it must stop canonizing popes.


Extension in canonizations for the pope

Renewing the canonization of popes is important to "cleanse memory" that is popular today. Typical of recent episodes in the history of the abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, the focus is on the role of the Roman Curia, and hence the role of popes in dealing with abuse. individual cases and problems in the whole. When a pope canonizes his predecessors, it is now as if the institution of the Church is both accuser, judge and jury.

Those times are long gone. John Paul II's reputation was scandalized for his handling of abuse cases, both while he was bishop and pope. There have been recent calls not to declare him a saint because of his handling of clerical abuse and because of his theology on women and sex. While I have never been convinced of the wisdom of the decision to canonize John Paul II, I am also opposed to the idea of this sort of canonization (if it could even be done by a single act). decision or by an action). Given the rush of popes to canonize in recent decades, the decision to canonize John Paul II will be political, like the decision to canonize him shortly after his death.


These three elements existed before the death of Benedict XVI. It plays a role. However, there are now two obvious new factors to consider, as they create a different situation than 2005.

The first was in 2005, calls for an "immediate canonization" from the Focolare Movement. They put up posters in St. Peter's Square, declaring "canonization now" at the end of Cardinal Ratzinger's homily and at the end of the funeral Mass, accompanied by chants of "canonize now." The explosion of homage to the late Pope John Paul II can be seen as an expression of the popular voice, vox populi – even though the request for canonization was made by a prestigious movement. The call for rapid canonization was subsequently echoed by other movements and institutional voices, notably by the cardinals and also by Pope Benedict XVI's approval.

This time too, we heard chants of "canonize now" in St. Peter's Square during the funeral, although much quieter than in 2005. Before the funeral there were voices in the institution as well as voices. of archbishop secretary Georg Gänswein called for canonization, who created a special and unusual atmosphere in the media coverage in the first hours after Benedict's death.

It is also a wise and constructive lesson to compare the privacy and caution of John XXIII's secretary, Cardinal Loris Francesco Capovilla (1915-2016) after his death in 1963 until his canonization. blessed and finally canonized. This is important for requests for the canonization of Benedict XVI to be voiced and at the same time to promote a concrete doctrinal policy agenda (especially on the liturgical reform of the Vatican Council). II and on the theology of the Council in general). This connection reinforces the ecclesiastical-political importance of rapid canonization. It is worth noting here that complaints about the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council made the motu proprio 'Traditionis Custodes' and thereby Pope Francis the target of polemics in a particularly acrimonious controversy. divisive (especially in the United States, where I live, work, and attend church). These conflicts within the Church did not exist at the funeral of John Paul II on April 8, 2005 in St. Peter's Square when parishioners demanded an 'immediate canonization' of him.
The second factor that did not exist in 2005, was the new wave of abuse crises in the Catholic Church. During the 2000 Jubilee, John Paul II asked for forgiveness for the Church's mistakes, but he did not ask forgiveness for clerical sexual abuse – then no one noticed. The scandal first broke out in 2002 with the Boston Globe's Spotlight study. But when John Paul II died, there was no request in ecclesiastical or secular jurisprudence for information on how a pope acted in particular cases. That was different when he was beatified in 2011, at which point there were voices questioning his holiness in the face of the abuse crisis.


Reporting abuses in Munich

Since then, the shadow of the abuse crisis has enveloped the pontificate. Vatican efforts to increase transparency have only recently begun. We recall the case of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick which was only announced by the Holy See in November 2020. Up to the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, no pope (living or deceased) has paid attention to this issue. . And this has changed drastically in recent years. But it was part of his pontificate (especially since 2010) and his life after the pontificate (reporting on the handling of abuse cases in the German archdiocese of Munich and Freising, where he was archbishop from 1977 to 1981 was only announced in January 2022).

Benedict XVI has taken the fight against abuse in the Church to a new level, introducing stricter procedures and new laws. He was the first pope to meet abuse victims and take action against abusers. But before he was elected pope, he was archbishop, having been cardinal prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for more than 20 years. This is also a very difficult time for Catholic theologians, who have been investigated by the Congregation and in many cases silenced, as well as religious sisters.

All of this calls for extreme caution in the matter of canonizing popes, even for those who respect the legacy and memory of Benedict XVI, who do not want to spoil and do not want to give the impression of being judged. whiten. I also say this as someone who published in 2008 the Italian version of a collection of essays by Benedict XVI and teaches in theology classes, where reading the texts of Benedict XVI is a must. . This is not a judgment on the holiness of Benedict XVI but a matter of timing and understanding of the canonization of popes (and not just Benedict XVI) in the context of the Church today.

Finally, we should appreciate and respect the Church's tradition of restraint during the canonization process. Nearly four centuries ago, between 1628 and 1634, Pope Urban VIII decided that it would take 50 years after a candidate's death before he could be canonized. He reacts at a time when new devotions to new saints are constantly emerging. There is a need to rediscover the wisdom of this ancient rule, especially when it comes to the beatification and canonization of popes. It is also necessary to push back against the mysticism of the papacy in Catholicism today. And finally, this is essential, as the Church needs a long process to unravel the role of the pope and the Roman Curia in the sexual abuse crisis, the biggest scandal in history. history of the modern Church and the deepest crisis since the Protestant Reformation.

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