U.S. Archbishop Fulton Sheen is pictured in an undated file photo. (CNS photo/courtesy Pontifical Mission Societies)
In a recent interview with America Media, Pope Francis — in response to a question about transparency and clergy sexual abuse — remarked: “If there is less transparency, it is a mistake.”
This is a lesson the Church has learned all too painfully, especially since the outbreak of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in 2002 and resurgence in 2018. And the need for transparency emerges in a variety of other areas as well.
One of particular significance is the cause for beatification of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen — a beatification that was scheduled to be held three years ago on December 21, 2019, and which hasn’t happened still.
And, cloaked in confusion and intrigue, there has been no effort to clarify exactly what happened to cause the beatification’s extraordinary and surprise “postponement.” Indeed, less transparency is a mistake.
Despite a flurry of attempts from various Church leaders and observers to explain the postponement at the time, more answers are needed now, three years on.
Aside from the rumors and conspiracy theories in late 2019 — which naturally arise when there is an information vacuum — the only concrete explanation offered then by an ecclesiastical authority came in a statement from the Diocese of Rochester, New York, which acknowledged a request on their part for further examination of Sheen’s record on handling claims of abuse against some Rochester priests during his brief tenure as diocesan bishop there.
This request seemed to arise from concerns related to a state-wide report expected from New York’s attorney general relating to clergy sexual abuse.
Here’s the thing, though. Wouldn’t the miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession warrant and necessitate his beatification regardless of any behavior that may or may not be uncovered from Rochester or elsewhere? It was proven that Sheen lived a life of heroic virtue, as attested to by Pope Benedict XVI’s designation of Sheen as “venerable” in 2012. And we know a miracle attributed to his intercession has been proven and was approved by Pope Francis in 2019.
When a miracle is approved, but a cause is effectively put on ice this way, consequences arise that even begin to call into question the entire beatification process. At the very least, wouldn’t some answers be given to help avoid that?
Precisely because of these consequences, the delay of Sheen’s beatification is a cause of concern for the whole Church, not just those devoted to Sheen. We must hear why the precedent set by this decision is good for the faithful, good for the integrity of the canonization process and good for the Church.
Some might point to the beatification’s postponement as evidence that the canonization process maintains its integrity. This is all well and good. But if that is the case, then why are decisions made so secretly? Why are the faithful — who have been told Sheen was a man worthy of our veneration for his life of holiness and virtue — left in the dark as far as the current status of his cause is concerned?
And what does this mean for the entire beatification and canonization process in general? If the pope has said God acted through Sheen’s intercession, how can we keep God’s action arrested as it has been with the postponement of his beatification?
Meanwhile, rumors swirl on, but no answers have come from the Holy See or elsewhere. And bishops remain mum on the topic. And, apparently, the laity are expected to also keep quiet.
As we enter into the fourth year of waiting for answers, and the status of Sheen’s cause remains unclear, the unfortunate absence of transparency from Church leadership on the situation leaves the laity in an awkward situation, if not a scandalous one. The laity are left demanding answers to questions that matter, yet again — which in all honesty is only to the benefit of the integrity and credibility of the Church itself.
It was Sheen himself — ironically? — who prophetically said years ago: “Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church.”
Perhaps begging for the transparency called for by Pope Francis last month is a good place to start? Let’s pray and hope he can lead by example and bring some resolution to this regrettable episode and to the questions swirling around the entire saint-making business itself.
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Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Oct. 5, 2016. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 13, 2023 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the election of Pope Francis as the 265th successor of St. Peter. Here is a timeline of key events during his papacy:
2013
March 13 — About two weeks after Pope Benedict XVI steps down from the papacy, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio is elected pope. He takes the papal name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi and proclaims from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Let us begin this journey, the bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome, which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another.”
March 14 — The day after he begins his pontificate, Pope Francis returns to his hotel to personally pay his hotel bill and collect his luggage.
July 8 — Pope Francis visits Italy’s island of Lampedusa and meets with a group of 50 migrants, most of whom are young men from Somalia and Eritrea. The island, which is about 200 miles off the coast of Tunisia, is a common entry point for migrants who flee parts of Africa and the Middle East to enter Europe. This is the pope’s first pastoral visit outside of Rome and sets the stage for making reaching out to the peripheries a significant focus.
Pope Francis gives the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2, 2013. . Elise Harris/CNA.
July 23–28 — Pope Francis visits Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in World Youth Day 2013. More than 3 million people from around the world attend the event.
July 29 — On the return flight from Brazil, Pope Francis gives his first papal news conference and sparks controversy by saying “if a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” The phrase is prompted by a reporter asking the pope a question about priests who have homosexual attraction.
Nov. 24 — Pope Francis publishes his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). The document illustrates the pope’s vision for how to approach evangelization in the modern world.
2014
Feb. 22 — Pope Francis holds his first papal consistory to appoint 19 new cardinals, including ones from countries in the developing world that have never previously been represented in the College of Cardinals, such as Haiti.
March 22 — Pope Francis creates the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The commission works to protect the dignity of minors and vulnerable adults, such as the victims of sexual abuse.
Pope Francis greets pilgrims during his general audience on Nov. 29, 2014. Bohumil Petrik/CNA.
Oct. 5 — The Synod on the Family begins. The bishops discuss a variety of concerns, including single-parent homes, cohabitation, homosexual adoption of children, and interreligious marriages.
Dec. 6 — After facing some pushback for his efforts to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis discusses his opinion in an interview with La Nacion, an Argentine news outlet: “Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there is disagreement. It’s healthy to get things out into the open, it’s very healthy.”
2015
Jan. 18 — To conclude a trip to Asia, Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Manila, Philippines. Approximately 6 million to 7 million people attend the record-setting Mass, despite heavy rain.
March 23 — Pope Francis visits Naples, Italy, to show the Church’s commitment to helping the fight against corruption and organized crime in the city.
May 24 — To emphasize the Church’s mission to combat global warming and care for the environment, Pope Francis publishes the encyclical Laudato si’, which urges people to take care of the environment and encourages political action to address climate problems.
Pope Francis at a Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 17, 2015. Bohumil Petrik.
Sept. 19–22 — Pope Francis visits Cuba and meets with Fidel Castro in the first papal visit to the country since Pope John Paul II in 1998. During his homily, Francis discusses the dignity of the human person: “Being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it.”
Sept. 22–27 — After departing from Cuba, Pope Francis makes his first papal visit to the United States. In Washington, D.C., he speaks to a joint session of Congress, in which he urges lawmakers to work toward promoting the common good, and canonizes the Franciscan missionary St. Junípero Serra. He also attends the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which focuses on celebrating the gift of the family.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis begins the second Synod on the Family to address issues within the modern family, such as single-parent homes, cohabitation, poverty, and abuse.
Oct. 18 — The pope canonizes St. Louis Martin and St. Marie-Azélie “Zelie” Guérin. The married couple were parents to five nuns, including St. Therese of Lisieux. They are the first married couple to be canonized together.
Dec. 8 — Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Mercy begins. The year focuses on God’s mercy and forgiveness and people’s redemption from sin. The pope delegates certain priests in each diocese to be Missionaries of Mercy who have the authority to forgive sins that are usually reserved for the Holy See.
2016
March 19 — Pope Francis publishes the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, which discusses a wide variety of issues facing the modern family based on discussions from the two synods on the family. The pope garners significant controversy from within the Church for comments he makes in Chapter 8 about Communion for the divorced and remarried.
April 16 — After visiting refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis allows three Muslim refugee families to join him on his flight back to Rome. He says the move was not a political statement.
Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Feb. 24, 2016. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
July 26–31 — Pope Francis visits Krakow, Poland, as part of the World Youth Day festivities. About 3 million young Catholic pilgrims from around the world attend.
Sept. 4 — The pope canonizes St. Teresa of Calcutta, who is also known as Mother Teresa. The saint, a nun from Albania, dedicated her life to missionary and charity work, primarily in India.
Sept. 30–Oct. 2 — Pope Francis visits Georgia and Azerbaijan on his 16th trip outside of Rome since the start of his papacy. His trip focuses on Catholic relations with Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to Amatrice, Italy, to pray for the victims of an earthquake in central Italy that killed nearly 300 people.
2017
May 12–13 — In another papal trip, Francis travels to Fatima, Portugal, to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. May 13 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Marian apparition to three children in the city.
July 11 — Pope Francis adds another category of Christian life suitable for the consideration of sainthood: “offering of life.” The category is distinct from martyrdom, which only applies to someone who is killed for his or her faith. The new category applies to those who died prematurely through an offering of their life to God and neighbor.
Pope Francis greets a participant in the World Day of the Poor in Rome, Nov. 16, 2017. L’Osservatore Romano.
Nov. 19 — On the first-ever World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis eats lunch with 4,000 poor and people in need in Rome.
Nov. 27–Dec. 2 — In another trip to Asia, Pope Francis travels to Myanmar and Bangladesh. He visits landmarks and meets with government officials, Catholic clergy, and Buddhist monks. He also preaches the Gospel and promotes peace in the region.
2018
Jan. 15–21 — The pope takes another trip to Latin America, this time visiting Chile and Peru. The pontiff meets with government officials and members of the clergy while urging the faithful to remain close to the clergy and reject secularism. The Chilean visit leads to controversy over Chilean clergy sex abuse scandals.
Aug. 2 — The Vatican formally revises No. 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which concerns the death penalty. The previous text suggested the death penalty could be permissible in certain circumstances, but the revision states that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”
Aug. 25 — Archbishop Carlo Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States, publishes an 11-page letter calling for the resignation of Pope Francis and accusing him and other Vatican officials of covering up sexual abuse including allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The pope initially does not directly respond to the letter, but nine months after its publication he denies having prior knowledge about McCarrick’s conduct.
Aug. 25–26 — Pope Francis visits Dublin, Ireland, to attend the World Meeting of Families. The theme is “the Gospel of family, joy for the world.”
Pope Francis at the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Ireland. . Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Oct. 3–28 — The Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment takes place. The synod focuses on best practices to teach the faith to young people and to help them discern God’s will.
2019
Jan. 22–27 — The third World Youth Day during Pope Francis’ pontificate takes place during these six days in Panama City, Panama. Young Catholics from around the world gather for the event, with approximately 3 million people in attendance.
Feb. 4 — Pope Francis signs a joint document in with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, titled the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” The document focuses on people of different faiths uniting together to live peacefully and advance a culture of mutual respect.
Pope Francis and Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar, signed a joint declaration on human fraternity during an interreligious meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Feb. 4, 2019. Vatican Media.
Feb. 21–24 — The Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church, which is labeled the Vatican Sexual Abuse Summit, takes place. The meeting focuses on sexual abuse scandals in the Church and emphasizes responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
Oct. 6–27 — The Church holds the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, which is also known as the Amazon Synod. The synod is meant to present ways in which the Church can better evangelize the Amazon region but leads to controversy when carved images of a pregnant Amazonian woman, referred to by the pope as Pachamama, are used in several events and displayed in a basilica near the Vatican.
Oct. 13 — St. John Henry Newman, an Anglican convert to Catholicism and a cardinal, is canonized by Pope Francis. Newman’s writings inspired Catholic student associations at nonreligious colleges and universities in the United States and other countries.
2020
March 15 — Pope Francis takes a walking pilgrimage in Rome to the chapel of the crucifix and prays for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crucifix was carried through Rome during the plague of 1522.
March 27 — Pope Francis gives an extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing in an empty and rain-covered St. Peter’s Square, praying for the world during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pope Francis venerates the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso in St. Peter’s Square during his Urbi et Orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Vatican Media.
2021
March 5–8 — In his first papal trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis becomes the first pope to visit Iraq. On his trip, he signs a joint statement with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani condemning extremism and promoting peace.
July 3 — Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis, is indicted in a Vatican court for embezzlement, money laundering, and other crimes. The pope gives approval for the indictment.
July 4 — Pope Francis undergoes colon surgery for diverticulitis, a common condition in older people. The Vatican releases a statement that assures the pope “reacted well” to the surgery. Francis is released from the hospital after 10 days.
July 16 — Pope Francis issues a motu proprio titled Traditionis custodes. The document imposes heavy restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.
Dec. 2–6 — The pope travels to Cyprus and Greece. The trip includes another visit to the Greek island of Lesbos to meet with migrants.
Pope Francis greets His Beatitude Ieronymos II in Athens, Greece on Dec. 5, 2021. Vatican Media
2022
Jan. 11 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to a record store in Rome called StereoSound. The pope, who has an affinity for classical music, blesses the newly renovated store.
March 19 — The pope promulgates Praedicate evangelium, which reforms the Roman Curia. The reforms emphasize evangelization and establish more opportunities for the laity to be in leadership positions.
May 5 — Pope Francis is seen in a wheelchair for the first time in public and begins to use one more frequently. The pope has been suffering from knee problems for months.
Pope Francis greeted the crowd in a wheelchair at the end of his general audience on Aug. 3, 2022. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
July 24–30 — In his first papal visit to Canada, Pope Francis apologizes for the harsh treatment of the indigenous Canadians, saying many Christians and members of the Catholic Church were complicit.
2023
Jan. 31–Feb. 5 — Pope Francis travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. During his visit, the pope condemns political violence in the countries and promotes peace. He also participates in an ecumenical prayer service with Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Moderator of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields.
Vatican City, Jul 13, 2018 / 12:43 pm (CNA).- A cause has begun in the Diocese of Rome for the beatification of Fr. Pedro Arrupe SJ, former superior general of the Society of Jesus. The priest, who served as a mentor to the future Pope Francis, was a controversial figure within the Society of Jesus.
Jesuit Father General Fr. Arturo Sosa announced Arrupe’s cause at a meeting in Bilbao, Spain with some 300 Jesuits and lay associates involved with the International Association of Jesuit Universities.
The news was confirmed to CNA by the communications director for the Jesuit Curia in Rome, Fr. Patrick Mulemi, who said the cause is “has been opened,” but has just begun. “We are right at the beginning of the process,” he said, explaining that the Jesuits will follow the same procedure as any other cause.
Born in Spain in 1907, Arrupe served as superior general for the Society of Jesus from 1965-1983, leading the order through the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council. During that time, he also served three consecutive terms as president of the Union of Religious Superiors General, from 1967-1982.
According to papal biographer Austen Ivereigh, who wrote the widely read biography of Pope Francis, “The Great Reformer,” Arrupe and then-Fr. Bergoglio “had a very good and close relationship, and Bergoglio saw him as a spiritual father, he enormously admired him and was inspired by him.”
It was Arrupe who appointed Bergoglio the Jesuit provincial of Argentina in 1973, and the two remained close. The made a joint-visit to the Diocese of La Rioja to support Bishop Enrique Ángel Angelelli Carletti, who was assassinated in 1976 during Argentina’s Dirty War.
Arrupe entered the Society of Jesus in 1927 after studying medicine. After the order was expelled from Spain in 1932, he went to study in Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States as part of his formation before being ordained a priest.
He was ordained in 1936 and obtained a degree in medical ethics before being sent to Japan in 1938 to work as a missionary. While abroad, he became the master of novices for the Jesuit novitiate in Japan, and was living in Hiroshima when the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945.
With his history in medicine, the young priest converted the novitiate into a makeshift hospital for the wounded. A decade later, in 1958, he was named the first provincial for Japan, overseeing all Jesuits who lived in the country.
Arrupe held the position until May 1965, when he was elected Father General of the Jesuits during the 31st General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, just six months before the closing of the Second Vatican Council.
After the council, the Jesuits, who were the largest religious order in the world at the time, shifted focus and embraced a more social-justice oriented approach to their apostolic work, under Arrupe’s direction.
During the order’s 1974-75 32nd general congregation, Arrupe passed a number of new decrees, including one titled: “Our Mission Today: The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice,” which focused heavily on social justice issues and became a blueprint for the Society’s direction.
Arrupe’s changes were met with opposition by many Jesuits, and under his leadership, the order clashed with Pope Paul VI and other Vatican and ecclesial figures.
In 1973, Pope Paul VI issued a warning to Arrupe about experimentation in the Society of Jesus. Six years later, Pope John Paul II accused the Jesuit leadership of “causing confusion among the Christian people and anxieties to the church and also personally to the Pope,” criticizing in particular “secularizing tendencies” and “doctrinal unorthodoxy” within the order.
Arrupe acknowledged issues within the Society of Jesus, and made efforts to reprimand some priests accused of public doctrinal deviances. Some in the order questioned whether he should have made systemic changes in responses to papal criticism, rather than issuing individual corrections.
Within the Society of Jesus, one of the groups who opposed Arrupe’s changes called themselves “la vera sociedad,” or “the true society,” and were on the verge of splitting from the order, intending to intervene in the 1974 general congregation meeting until Bergoglio stepped in, at Arrupe’s request, to calm the fury.
Arrupe, Ivereigh said, “held [Bergoglio] in high esteem, he trusted him.”
As for the future pope, Ivereigh said Bergoglio was “unquestionably” influenced by Arrupe’s leadership, and often cited his former superior general in speeches.
“Arrupe was something of a model for Francis,” the biographer said, explaining that the main threads of similarity between the two were not only a shared concern for the poor, but also their approach to modernity, believing that what was needed was “an engagement” between faith and the modern world.
“Not to reject modernity, but to discern what was good, what was threatening to the Gospel, and what wasn’t. I think that was Arrupe’s big thing, rather than being in this constant confrontation with the modern world, to have a dialogue with it,” Ivereigh said.
After suffering a stroke in 1981, Arrupe resigned as superior general of the order and recommended American Jesuit Vincent O’Keefe take his place. However in a move some perceived as a rebuke, Pope John Paul II appointed Jesuits Paola Dezza and Giuseppe Pittau to oversee the society until a new leader was elected.
During the September 1983 general congregation, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., was elected as the new minister general, a position he held until 2008, when he resigned and was succeeded by Fr. Adolfo Nicolas.
Pope Francis speaks at the general audience on June 22, 2022. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Jul 28, 2022 / 03:16 am (CNA).
The Vatican is asking Catholics around the world to share their experiences welcoming migrants and refugees. In… […]
24 Comments
Perhaps a plenary council of the laity should assemble, investigate the cause and declare Venerable Fulton J. Sheen a Saint in their eyes.
My take on what went down regarding Sheen’s advancement to sainthood is that politics trumped charity.
Deacon, the last thing Anti-Catholic Rome SinOdites need now is for Catholics to be presented with a Saint and Very Astute Catholic Bishop’s Words, the antithesis of themselves? Why remind the World of the American Saint who predicted their terrible Apostasy?
I have my suspect why this great catholic’s beatification was stopped. Don’t forget that beloved Sheen was one of the greatest fighters against communism in the world. And don’t forget also that marxism’s fellow travellers are alife and kicking in the Church itself. It’s enough to remember the stories of Cardinal Zen and the Vatican/Red China agreement.
Olá! Estamos empenhados em espalhar a devoção ao Venerável Fulton Sheen aqui no Brasil. Criamos uma página no Instagram(@ofultonsheen), grupos no whatsapp, telegram e um canal no youtube para divulgar seus escritos e pregações. Trabalhamos e rezamos para que a Igreja canonize esse santo homem de Deus. Rezemos!!!
Hi! We are committed to spreading devotion to Venerable Fulton Sheen here in Brazil. We created an Instagram page (@ofultonsheen), whatsapp groups, telegram and a youtube channel to promote his writings and sermons. We work and pray that the Church canonize this holy man of God. Let’s pray!!!
As much as I find Archbishop Sheen’s books very good — I have read about twenty of them — I am puzzled and very dismayed that in his book, Footprints in a Darkened Forest,” written about fifty-five years ago, he has a chapter totally endorsing Teilhard de Chardin. I cannot figure out what was going through the archbishop’s mind, since Chardin’s thought is anything but Catholic.
B Sheen was an outspoken anti Communist.
B Sheen said a false Church would rise up within the Church.
A former Msgr pastor snorted on derision when the wife and I asked him about B Sheen’s book ‘Life of Christ’.
B Sheen had the highest viewer rating for his TV show and was canceled bu a jealous homosexual Cardinal.
B Sheen has been obstinately opposed by the glad handing Cardinal who approved homosexuality in the St Patrick’s Day parade while blocking Right to Lifers.
The smoke of Satan has entered the Church thanks to JXXII and PVI …
Crummy popes are sainted unmiraculously and a real saint is burned at the stake.
Why are the pews empty?
Mr. Marshall, you nailed it. I would add to John Paul II to the list.
And I wonder if beatifications and canonizations are even valid given that Paul VI and John Paul II redefined their very meanings. It’s one thing to change the process, it’s another to redefine the meaning of something so that its essence is changed.
Don’t mock the Holy Trinity and His Divine Triune Confirmation that the persons, even Popes, are in Heaven with Him….do not let satan tempt you into such a grave or deadly sin, let alone publishing it to the whole world….Advent Holiness and Blessings, Padre
Didn’t the church mute him somewhat? This also happens in corporations where you have a gifted producer and speaker who tells the truth at meetings, they end up in some corner office with no responsibilities and a black eye.
He is on Relevant radio on Sunday mornings, EWTN schedules etc… and a lot of his talks are quite relevant today
There is a website…FultonSheen.com…that inventories 300 of his talks. Many of the talks are free. The website is also offered in a downloadable app form. Great, convenient way to take in the simple, timeless wisdoms and richness he has to offer the flock he once shepherded!
It’s no secret that his superior, Cardinal Spellman, was worldly and sought and pursued the fruits, power and riches of this world. For years rumors also swirled around Cardinal Spellman’s his alleged homosexual parties and practices. Bishop Sheen and Cardinal Spellman were at odds and I daresay polar opposites in many regards. Sheen submitted to Spellman’s authority. If now he is being held back for not reporting sexual things he may have been aware of that were going on, but at the tie was silenced and submitted direct authority, isn’t that a Catch 22? And if both then and now these two completely opposite things are directed by and under authority and power of the church, then it is not Bishop Sheen who is in the wrong. The church should own up to it and repent rather than protect the memory of a corrupt Cardinal.
Bishop Sheen’s quote on the laity needs to be taken in the right context. To demand transparency may be necessary, but any attempt to seize power should raise a red flag.
The laity cannot “save the Church” any more than the clergy can do so. How could we save or sanctify ourselves? Christ conquered sin and death once and for all. We are now totally dependent on the Holy Spirit to sanctify His bride, the Church.
Bishop Sheen never suggested or even implied that the Catholic laity should “seize power” from the Church’s prelates. Read a biography of St. Catherine of Siena who wrote many letters to two popes advising them how they should shepherd the Church. In these letters, she urged Gregory XI to avoid the counsel of certain Cardinals and to clean up corruption among the clergy. She even met with Gregory in Avignon in an attempt to broker peace with the Florentines and to urge him to bring the papacy back to Rome. During the Western Schism, Pope Urban VI called Catherine to his side to defend his legitimacy as pope. Although she may have word religious garb, Catherine was a layperson who felt called by God to bring reform and peace to His Church. I recommend “Catherine of Siena” written by the great novelist Sigrid Undset.
Fulton Sheen is hated by the hierarchy of today for the same reason that Vincent Capodanno is hated by them. Homosexuals are extremely uncomfortable around confident, spiritual, masculine men, and today’s Church caters almost exclusively to the fragile sensibilities and obdurate behaviors of homosexuals. Add to that Sheen’s preaching against everything Bergoglio and his hacks promote, and you have your answer for the postponement.
A lot of this is “inside baseball” to most of us laity but one thing is certain. It deprecates the Church and its mission. Even should the matter be resolved in favor with the proceeding of the beatification, the damage has been done. Whatever the decision by Rome, it is best done quickly and with a good deal more transparency than has been evidenced lately.
Its unfortunate that the unexplained delay leads so to consider they might be investigating an accusation of some sort. I have issues with the concept of accusations made 30 years after the fact. In addition. Further, Bishop Sheen lived decades ago. He was a man of his time and accusations against priests were exceedingly rare. That a priest would betray his vows this way would doubtless have been unbelievable to Bishops in that era. Nothing much was known of the psychological state of such men. They did the best they could. Why would we expect a man from 1960 to act like a man from 2020 in the face of such accusations? Its too bad the church made the mistake of paying out cash awards for such accusations, which provides the unbalanced and the simply greedy with an incentive. If the church has no real reason to delay Bishop Sheen’s canonization now 3 years later, besides counting how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, they need to get on with it.Or, explain themselves.I would opine that the great good he did for the public would greatly outweigh and administrative errors dealing with accused priests.
I don’t think the bar for sainthood is perfection. All I know is Fulton Sheen was the most effective evangelist of his time. He rubbed some in the Catholic hierarchy the wrong way. We could use more of his kind today.
I have not the slightest idea as to why the cause of Ven. Fulton Sheen is stalled, if indeed has been stalled, or as to who is doing the stalling. Frankly, I prefer to leave protestations of omniscience to semiliterate combox trolls.
But it is perfectly possible that the unfortunate matter of the fake doctorate which Fulton Sheen awarded for himself (that fake doctorate being entirely separate from his genuinely earned doctorate from Louvain) has weighed upon the minds of certain Vatican authorities, and has made them reluctant to hasten his progress to the altar. Far from being little-known, this uncharacteristic mendacity on Sheen’s part has been discussed at great length in Thomas C. Reeves’s diligent, critically praised 2001 tome America’s Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen (pp. 66-69).
I suppose it is just possible that combox trolls haven’t read or even heard of the Reeves book, just as several of them clearly haven’t mastered the basics of the English language. (The nuns from my childhood would have administered severe and justified corporal punishment to any clueless pupil who imagined that “Venerable sheen has all ready been added to my litany if saints” is a grammatical, correctly spelled English sentence.) But if they did read the Reeves book, they might learn something useful; and the frequent present-day conversational description of your magazine as “the Half-Catholic Woke Report” might cease to be widespread among your erstwhile champions.
Well. Pope John Paul would have made him a Saint. That Pope was a veritable Saint Factory much to Benedict’s chagrin at those excessive approvals. I don’t understand how the Church can associate an intercession with a miracle. How can this be documented with any solid conclusion? It really is a leap of faith like all things religion.
Perhaps a plenary council of the laity should assemble, investigate the cause and declare Venerable Fulton J. Sheen a Saint in their eyes.
My take on what went down regarding Sheen’s advancement to sainthood is that politics trumped charity.
Deacon, the last thing Anti-Catholic Rome SinOdites need now is for Catholics to be presented with a Saint and Very Astute Catholic Bishop’s Words, the antithesis of themselves? Why remind the World of the American Saint who predicted their terrible Apostasy?
Well said.
Good point.
I have my suspect why this great catholic’s beatification was stopped. Don’t forget that beloved Sheen was one of the greatest fighters against communism in the world. And don’t forget also that marxism’s fellow travellers are alife and kicking in the Church itself. It’s enough to remember the stories of Cardinal Zen and the Vatican/Red China agreement.
Olá! Estamos empenhados em espalhar a devoção ao Venerável Fulton Sheen aqui no Brasil. Criamos uma página no Instagram(@ofultonsheen), grupos no whatsapp, telegram e um canal no youtube para divulgar seus escritos e pregações. Trabalhamos e rezamos para que a Igreja canonize esse santo homem de Deus. Rezemos!!!
Translate.google.com has:
Hi! We are committed to spreading devotion to Venerable Fulton Sheen here in Brazil. We created an Instagram page (@ofultonsheen), whatsapp groups, telegram and a youtube channel to promote his writings and sermons. We work and pray that the Church canonize this holy man of God. Let’s pray!!!
As much as I find Archbishop Sheen’s books very good — I have read about twenty of them — I am puzzled and very dismayed that in his book, Footprints in a Darkened Forest,” written about fifty-five years ago, he has a chapter totally endorsing Teilhard de Chardin. I cannot figure out what was going through the archbishop’s mind, since Chardin’s thought is anything but Catholic.
B Sheen was an outspoken anti Communist.
B Sheen said a false Church would rise up within the Church.
A former Msgr pastor snorted on derision when the wife and I asked him about B Sheen’s book ‘Life of Christ’.
B Sheen had the highest viewer rating for his TV show and was canceled bu a jealous homosexual Cardinal.
B Sheen has been obstinately opposed by the glad handing Cardinal who approved homosexuality in the St Patrick’s Day parade while blocking Right to Lifers.
The smoke of Satan has entered the Church thanks to JXXII and PVI …
Crummy popes are sainted unmiraculously and a real saint is burned at the stake.
Why are the pews empty?
Mr. Marshall, you nailed it. I would add to John Paul II to the list.
And I wonder if beatifications and canonizations are even valid given that Paul VI and John Paul II redefined their very meanings. It’s one thing to change the process, it’s another to redefine the meaning of something so that its essence is changed.
Don’t mock the Holy Trinity and His Divine Triune Confirmation that the persons, even Popes, are in Heaven with Him….do not let satan tempt you into such a grave or deadly sin, let alone publishing it to the whole world….Advent Holiness and Blessings, Padre
Didn’t the church mute him somewhat? This also happens in corporations where you have a gifted producer and speaker who tells the truth at meetings, they end up in some corner office with no responsibilities and a black eye.
He is on Relevant radio on Sunday mornings, EWTN schedules etc… and a lot of his talks are quite relevant today
There is a website…FultonSheen.com…that inventories 300 of his talks. Many of the talks are free. The website is also offered in a downloadable app form. Great, convenient way to take in the simple, timeless wisdoms and richness he has to offer the flock he once shepherded!
It’s no secret that his superior, Cardinal Spellman, was worldly and sought and pursued the fruits, power and riches of this world. For years rumors also swirled around Cardinal Spellman’s his alleged homosexual parties and practices. Bishop Sheen and Cardinal Spellman were at odds and I daresay polar opposites in many regards. Sheen submitted to Spellman’s authority. If now he is being held back for not reporting sexual things he may have been aware of that were going on, but at the tie was silenced and submitted direct authority, isn’t that a Catch 22? And if both then and now these two completely opposite things are directed by and under authority and power of the church, then it is not Bishop Sheen who is in the wrong. The church should own up to it and repent rather than protect the memory of a corrupt Cardinal.
Bishop Sheen’s quote on the laity needs to be taken in the right context. To demand transparency may be necessary, but any attempt to seize power should raise a red flag.
The laity cannot “save the Church” any more than the clergy can do so. How could we save or sanctify ourselves? Christ conquered sin and death once and for all. We are now totally dependent on the Holy Spirit to sanctify His bride, the Church.
Bishop Sheen never suggested or even implied that the Catholic laity should “seize power” from the Church’s prelates. Read a biography of St. Catherine of Siena who wrote many letters to two popes advising them how they should shepherd the Church. In these letters, she urged Gregory XI to avoid the counsel of certain Cardinals and to clean up corruption among the clergy. She even met with Gregory in Avignon in an attempt to broker peace with the Florentines and to urge him to bring the papacy back to Rome. During the Western Schism, Pope Urban VI called Catherine to his side to defend his legitimacy as pope. Although she may have word religious garb, Catherine was a layperson who felt called by God to bring reform and peace to His Church. I recommend “Catherine of Siena” written by the great novelist Sigrid Undset.
You will have to wait for a validly elected Pope, which, hopefully, will occur soon.
Fulton Sheen is hated by the hierarchy of today for the same reason that Vincent Capodanno is hated by them. Homosexuals are extremely uncomfortable around confident, spiritual, masculine men, and today’s Church caters almost exclusively to the fragile sensibilities and obdurate behaviors of homosexuals. Add to that Sheen’s preaching against everything Bergoglio and his hacks promote, and you have your answer for the postponement.
A lot of this is “inside baseball” to most of us laity but one thing is certain. It deprecates the Church and its mission. Even should the matter be resolved in favor with the proceeding of the beatification, the damage has been done. Whatever the decision by Rome, it is best done quickly and with a good deal more transparency than has been evidenced lately.
Its unfortunate that the unexplained delay leads so to consider they might be investigating an accusation of some sort. I have issues with the concept of accusations made 30 years after the fact. In addition. Further, Bishop Sheen lived decades ago. He was a man of his time and accusations against priests were exceedingly rare. That a priest would betray his vows this way would doubtless have been unbelievable to Bishops in that era. Nothing much was known of the psychological state of such men. They did the best they could. Why would we expect a man from 1960 to act like a man from 2020 in the face of such accusations? Its too bad the church made the mistake of paying out cash awards for such accusations, which provides the unbalanced and the simply greedy with an incentive. If the church has no real reason to delay Bishop Sheen’s canonization now 3 years later, besides counting how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, they need to get on with it.Or, explain themselves.I would opine that the great good he did for the public would greatly outweigh and administrative errors dealing with accused priests.
I don’t think the bar for sainthood is perfection. All I know is Fulton Sheen was the most effective evangelist of his time. He rubbed some in the Catholic hierarchy the wrong way. We could use more of his kind today.
Look at the clowns running the show. Venerable sheen has all ready been added to my litany if saints with or without the clowns approval
I have not the slightest idea as to why the cause of Ven. Fulton Sheen is stalled, if indeed has been stalled, or as to who is doing the stalling. Frankly, I prefer to leave protestations of omniscience to semiliterate combox trolls.
But it is perfectly possible that the unfortunate matter of the fake doctorate which Fulton Sheen awarded for himself (that fake doctorate being entirely separate from his genuinely earned doctorate from Louvain) has weighed upon the minds of certain Vatican authorities, and has made them reluctant to hasten his progress to the altar. Far from being little-known, this uncharacteristic mendacity on Sheen’s part has been discussed at great length in Thomas C. Reeves’s diligent, critically praised 2001 tome America’s Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen (pp. 66-69).
I suppose it is just possible that combox trolls haven’t read or even heard of the Reeves book, just as several of them clearly haven’t mastered the basics of the English language. (The nuns from my childhood would have administered severe and justified corporal punishment to any clueless pupil who imagined that “Venerable sheen has all ready been added to my litany if saints” is a grammatical, correctly spelled English sentence.) But if they did read the Reeves book, they might learn something useful; and the frequent present-day conversational description of your magazine as “the Half-Catholic Woke Report” might cease to be widespread among your erstwhile champions.
Well. Pope John Paul would have made him a Saint. That Pope was a veritable Saint Factory much to Benedict’s chagrin at those excessive approvals. I don’t understand how the Church can associate an intercession with a miracle. How can this be documented with any solid conclusion? It really is a leap of faith like all things religion.