VATICAN CITY
Newstalk (Ireland)
The double canonisation on Sunday will be presided over by Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square of the two men he believes revitalised the Church while giving it purpose and direction.
The current pontiff described John Paul II and John XXIII as “wonderful” and “brave men”, and bent years of tradition by allowing them to be celebrated on the same day.
A candidate for sainthood would normally have to pass a rigorous test which begins at least five years after their death and includes the verification of two miracles.
John Paul II had his canonisation fast-tracked (as he did for Mother Theresa during his pontificate) while John XXIII candidacy was pushed through without having to clear the hurdle of a second confirmed miracle. …
There has been criticism that the swift canonisation of John Paul II ignores criticism that he failed to tackle the growing problem of priest sex abuse, especially in the United States.
The Vatican says an “information gap” between church officials in America and the Vatican was behind the speed of the response, which meant he was not “living the crisis in real time”.
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