Well, Russ, I have a degree in theology from a Catholic seminary, and I've studied Catholic politics and issues all my life. I don't think that Isabella will be canonized. Spain is a hotbed of Catholic traditionalism, and the move to canonize Isabella seems to be something supported only by Spanish traditionalists. While John Paul II has given the Spanish traditionalists (especially Opus Dei) more support than I think he should, I can't see where the canonization of Isabella would accomplish anything that would be of advantage to the Church. I would expect the Pope to speak favoprably of Isabella so as not to offend the Spanish traditionalists - but naming her a saint would be going too far. check http://www.queenisabel.com for information in her favor. This site is apparently maintained by Miles Jesu (Soldiers of Jesus), a very conservative religious order. Also check the entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia - but note that it was published in 1910.

The Catholic Church has certainly named saints in the past for political reasons, and politics is certainly involved to an extent in the current process of canonization* - but I think that John Paul's saints have consistently been quite exemplary (albeit conservative). There have been allegations of antisemitism levied in the current canonization processes for Popes Pius IX and Pius XII. Father Junipero Serra, founder of the California Missions, is getting a lot of flak in his canonization process because of his participation in the subjugation of Native Americans. I think all three have a good chance of becoming saints. The Piuses were popes, and that stacks the deck in their favor. Pius IX campaigned against the heresy of "modernism," a catch-all phrase that included a laundry list of everything that constituted a challenge to his power. There's also a complicated story of how he had a boy confiscated from his Jewish parents because the boy had been baptized and therefore shouldn't be raised by nonbelievers. Pius XII seems to have been a truly good person, but he was Pope at a time when the world had a right to expect the Pope to make a heroic stand against Hitler and Mussolini - and Pius XII didn't have the kind of heroism needed for that. Serra rode side-by-side with Spanish conquistadors who used Serra's missions to subjugate the natives of California - but Serra was an admirable person and there is no indication that he was anything but humane in his treatment of everyone. If I were Pope, I'd canonize Serra despite the bad press he's received lately, but not the other two. Click here for information on the two Piuses, which I think is a bit extreme in its opposition.

I really do think my grandma qualifies for sainthood, although I have to say that Grandma often made ethnic comments that were a bit embarrassing to me. Grandma was a product of her time, and was very much aware of everyone's ethnicity. She'd be likely to say, "They're Jewish, you know, but they're really very nice." By the time she died in Detroit in 1982, Grandma was the only person living in her neighborhood who wasn't black. and yes, she made comments about black people that made me uneasy, but all the neighbors loved her and she loved all of them. She was a simple woman who was always completely full of joy and love. She wasn't politically correct, but I still think she qualifies for sainthood.

When Joe Bernadin (1928-1996) was Archbishop of Cincinnati, he was named head of the National Council of Catholic Bishops. Shortly after that, a young man dying of AIDS raised allegations that Bernadin had molested him years earlier. The allegations were disproved, and Bernadin met with the young man and did what he could to ease the man's death. Later, Bernadin became Archbishop of Chicago and was named Cardinal. He did a lot to bring a humane side to the church's opposition to abortion, contending that humans should respect life by working to eliminate abortion, capital punishment, warfare and nuclear weapons, and poverty. He also organized a "common ground" campaign to try to bring reconciliation between liberals and conservatives in the Catholic Church. After he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he devoted himself to ministering to cancer patients. Click here for a PBS report on Bernadin's death.
Bernadin should have been Pope, but I'll settle for sainthood.

-Joe Offer-


*Rome isn't the only church that names saints for political reasons - click here for information about the canonization of Czar Nicholas II by the Russian Orthodox Church.