We Are Church objects to JPII canonization

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Dennis Coday | Sep. 30, 2013 NCR Today

The International We are Church reform organization, which counts chapters in 20 countries, released the following statement this morning

Not all the People of God agree about canonisation of J.P. II .
The opinion of the International Movement We Are Church

Today Pope Francis has announced in Concistoro the day of canonisation of Pope John Paul II on April 27, 2014 – together with John Pope XXIII.

The decision concerning Pope John Paul II is not agreed from all in the Catholic Church. The International Movement We Are Church has expressed its opinion already in a press release on 16 January 2011.

Pope John Paul II was a pope of great contradiction. His tragedy lies in the discrepancy between his commitment to reform and dialogue in the world and his return to authoritarianism within the church.

It was his penchant for spiritual authoritarianism that contributed to the greatest tragedy of his tenure as pope: the sexual abuse of thousands of children globally. By holding church hierarchy paramount above the needs of the people, John Paul II perpetuated a toxic environment in which priests were permitted, often repeatedly, to sexually abuse children as long as the criminal behaviour was kept secret, preserving the public image of untarnished leadership.

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