The Windswept House is not a work of fiction, after all. Fr Malachi Martin doesn’t come perfectly out of it, either, but on a much lesser scale altogether. This poor woman is now forced to step into the public eye about what must have been an unthinkable experience, something which she probably dreads. I was unaware that there is no longer a ‘Devil’s Advocate’ in the canonisation process. Unsurprising in a body that seems to take ‘niceness’ as the transcendent ‘value’. My fear is that she’ll receive an awful mauling for ‘calumny’ and there’ll be no bishop with the guts to back her up. These people might even excommunicate her.
The above bold sentence is a deep disappointment for me. If the controls over the steps for canonization are less stringent, then information which might indicate the individual was not as holy as thought, or worthy of consideration, can be set aside. I always thought ""close to impeccable" was a necessary attribute of a declared saint, especially after a conversion experience had taken place. Think of St. Francis of Assisi, following his return from the battlefield. But the above situation with Cardinal Bernardin strikes me as nothing of the sort, even if he had a deathbed conversion. Please correct me if I'm whistling Dixie.
Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I was under the impression that a death-bed conversion was a route to salvation rather than sanctity.
I was referring to my suspicion that it seems convoluted that his track record was worthy of serious consideration for sainthood, however, praying for every soul should never be frowned upon!
But, if he’s canonised it implies that he’s so wonderful that he’s in Heaven already and has no need of our prayers.
Could someone point me to the evidence that Pope Leo is pushing for Cardinal Bernardin's cause for sainthood to open? I watched the above video, but it only talked about allegations against Bernardin.
