The  Canonization of  Pope Saint John XXIII and of Pope Saint John Paul II

I am going to go off-script to briefly mention the Canonization of Pope Saint John XXIII and of Pope Saint John Paul II.

My deceased parents regarded John XXIII, during his Papacy, as a living saint.

His Vatican Reform Council and the changes which took place and those he anticipated were, for that time, revolutionary.   He was suspect, by some, of being a 'left-leaning' sympathiser (a euphemism for 'Communist') so radical were his views concerning the equality of man, the role of women in society and many other issues which have now become part of everyday mainstream life throughout the democratic Christian and parts of the non-Christian world where free speech and multifaith tolerance are practiced.

Don't believe the media hype - which will more focus and praise on John Paul II (whose canonization has been questioned as not meritorious and politically rather than spiritually rooted) rather than one who espoused the ideals of mankind and one who was truly striving for the poor, for equality, for human rights and justice for all, worldwide.

Albeit the fact that canonization of Pope John XXIII  is probably a political 'trade-off', I hope that the public and researchers will, in future decades, examine the lives of both in great detail, that the Vatican will open it's private vault files - hence the world can truly decide the merits of each case.

I don't know if John XXIII was a living saint but he was certainly a very decent human being – which is more than can be said for more than 99% of today's so-called 'spiritual' leaders.

Patrick Emek

typographical corrections on 28th September, 2014

Pope John XXIII - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_XXIII

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canonization