Pope John Paul II officially beautified by the Vatican

[lx_theo]

Well, being a saint is merely recognition that he is in Heaven. Everybody in Heaven is a technically a saint; not just those that are canonized by the Church. According to Christian theology, how good or bad of a person doesn't matter in where you go in the afterlife. Jesus Christ died for our sins so that all those who believe in him will be saved. Every human being is a sinner, so under that standard, we'd all burn in Hell.

Sounds like a get out of jail free card so people can be as bad as they feel to me, but whatever.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

Sounds like a get out of jail free card so people can be as bad as they feel to me, but whatever.

Where you go after your earthly life is faith-based, not works-based. Everybody is a sinner. Nobody on this planet has never sinned. Thus, everybody on this planet deserves to go to Hell unless all of their sins are forgiven by accepting Christ.

That's pretty much how it goes.

 

[Timbjerr]

Where you go after your earthly life is faith-based, not works-based. Everybody is a sinner. Nobody on this planet has never sinned. Thus, everybody on this planet deserves to go to Hell unless all of their sins are forgiven by accepting Christ.

That's pretty much how it goes.

I was raised Catholic and all, but I was never taught this in RE. That's the kind of stuff I'd hear from the fundies in Westboro Baptist.

I've always been taught that our afterlife is works-based. Yeah, we're all sinners, but regular reconciliation for minute things keeps you under the threshold of going to Hell. XD

 

[FreakyLocz14]

I was raised Catholic and all, but I was never taught this in RE. That's the kind of stuff I'd hear from the fundies in Westboro Baptist.

I've always been taught that our afterlife is works-based. Yeah, we're all sinners, but regular reconciliation for minute things keeps you under the threshold of going to Hell. XD

Romans 3:23-24 says "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." This affirms that no human being can enter into Heaven without Jesus Christ, that no person is deserves to go to Heaven, and that Christ's offer of salvation is free to all who accept it. Jesus himself even said ""I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

If Westboro really believed that, then homosexuals would not go to Hell (as they claim) as long as they accept Christ. They obviously don't hold that view.

I'm not trying to turn this into a religious debate; though, so lets end that discussion there.

 

[Melody]

Honestly, I'm not catholic...so I don't care if he is a saint or not in the religious sense.

Logically speaking, I do not believe he should be penalized for the actions of his underlings, he was not corrupt. I'm sure there were implications he was avoiding when he didn't respond to those allegations. I don't doubt that the church has already thoroughly investigated each and every claim of abuse. In cases they took little or no action, I believe they probably knew that no such abuse ever occurred. I'm sure that every accused priest who got transferred was probably transferred because those people wouldn't be able to believe in that person again, regardless of what the Church said about their innocence. Remember how badly the media demonized them.

I believe that yes, perhaps a few children DID get abused by a rogue priest. I also believe that at least a simple majority (51%) of those children/people who came forward were faking it. The motivation to do such a thing to a priest of the church, especially if those people had their own personal vendettas against them is easy enough to believe, especially if the priest has done it before even if the priest was disciplined and rehabilitated by the church itself, or submitted for criminal punishment if it could not.

I also know for a fact that the media itself made more of a demon of the Catholic Church than was strictly necessary, we all know the media is full of capitalist people who are prone to do such things because it draws viewers and brings in advertisement revenue. The media outlets which reported these things was the root of the problem in my opinion, not the Pope himself.

Now, as for the criteria for Sainthood, I believe that's fair enough to be honest. I don't believe that those criteria have changed in the last century to be honest. If you can prove me wrong on this one then do so, but it'll have to be a publication straight from the Vatican saying so, or one directly citing such a document.

 

[Livewire]

I also know for a fact that the media itself made more of a demon of the Catholic Church than was strictly necessary, we all know the media is full of capitalist people who are prone to do such things because it draws viewers and brings in advertisement revenue. The media outlets which reported these things was the root of the problem in my opinion, not the Pope himself.

Now, as for the criteria for Sainthood, I believe that's fair enough to be honest. I don't believe that those criteria have changed in the last century to be honest. If you can prove me wrong on this one then do so, but it'll have to be a publication straight from the Vatican saying so, or one directly citing such a document.

Moving priests to other parishes implies their guilt. If they were truly innocent, then there is no need for them to be re-assigned.

also,

Pope John Paul II's apostolic constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister[5] of 25 January 1983, and the norms issued by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on 7 February 1983, for its implementation on diocesan level continued the work of simplification already initiated by Pope Paul VI.[6] In particular, the reforms eliminated the office of the Promoter of the Faith (Latin: promotor fidei), popularly known as the Devil's advocate, who was required to present a case against canonization. Possibly as a result, the rate of canonization increased markedly after 1983.

It's now quite easy to become a saint, compared to what it used to be.

 

[Melody]

No, it doesn't imply their guilt at all. Accusations like that tend to stain anyone's reputation permanently, regardless of whether or not they're actually guilty.

 

[Shanghai Alice]

Sex Scandals > The fall of Communism.

Thank you, media.

 

[Livewire]

Sex Scandals > The fall of Communism.

Thank you, media.

While his efforts were certainly a help, It wasn't instrumental to the fall of communism. The USSR had been dead in the water for some time and Gorbachev's policies combined with US influence brought down the USSR.

Let's not forget that a few of these Catholic priests allowed several prominent Nazi SS officers to escape to Latin America. Josef Mangela, etc.