“Carlo Acutis rushed to sainthood while others wait centuries for the honor”
So I wondered what kind of agenda-journalism was behind this New York Post headline?
It looks like it was inspired by a book to be released next week titled “The Saint Makers: Inside the Catholic Church and How a War Hero Inspired a Journey of Faith” by Joe Drape.
“Part biography of a wartime adventurer, part detective story, and part faith journey, this intriguing book from New York Times journalist and bestselling author Joe Drape takes us inside the modern-day process of the making of a saint.”
He contends that Rome is ignoring servant of God Fr. Kapaun’s cause because he was a Military Chaplain and an American. “Kapaun’s cause just doesn’t tick the right boxes for the Vatican.”
His assertion that “money and politics” is behind the saint-making machine is true to some extent. Causes require money for investigation, but his over-the-top idea that postulators are making a lot of money and keeping the “meter running” is in their interest, is less believable. The idea that politics does intrude its head into the process is true at times. Many causes get delayed for this very reason. Most notably, Thomas More. As to whether he is correct about the Vatican’s attitude towards Kapaun is pure conjecture. It would not surprise me if this is accurate.
Still, based on this article’s assertions, it probably is not a very objective look into the process. I want to read an accurate book on the subject, warts and all.
Although, I might be more interested in the author’s own journey of faith and how Fr. Kapaun entered into his story.
The book is favorably reviewed by Fr. James Martin and Vatican journalist John Thavis. I don’t want to lapse into the genetic fallacy, but I would be interested in more trustworthy reviews. I read John Thavis’ “The Vatican Diaries” and there were parts that I loved and parts where I was pretty much turned off by his reporting.
