Pope J.p. a Saint? Jesus., by Tim Redmond, San Francisco Bay Guardian, April 14, 2011

Pope J.p. a Saint? Jesus.

By Tim Redmond
San Francisco Bay Guardian
April 14, 2011

http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2011/04/13/pope-jp-saint-jesus

So they're moving on the fast track to make ol' JP a saint. I have no authority, celestial or canonical, to weigh in on such matters, but as a secular observer who went to Catholic schools (and thus knows that this stuff is really as much political as religious) I have to say:

Big mistake.

Excuse me, but this guy promoted rampant homophobia, sent the Catholic Church years backward on social policy -- and a sex-abuse scandal and criminal coverup that still has the church reeling happened entirely on his watch. What -- the pope didn't know that priests who raped kids were allowed to stay on duty with zero consequences? He didn't oversee the policy that expressely directed church leaders NOT to turn rapists over to civil authorities?

Christ, they got Barry Bonds for Obstruction of Justice because he lied about steroid use. By that standard, the late pope should have spent his final years behind bars serving 20-to-life on about 1,000 counts.