On the Canonization of John Paul II and Survivors of Clerical Sexual Abuse, John Allen and Thomas Reese Spectacularly Miss the Point

Käthe Kollwitz, "Mothers" ("Mutter"), 1919, lithograph in Princeton University Art Museum

John Allen and Thomas Reese appear not to understand what it means for the Catholic church to declare someone a saint — as it did so with reckless speed when Pope John Paul II was canonized immediately after his death, to the consternation of not a few Catholics who thought that John Paul's papal legacy was more than a little mixed. 

"Pope St. John Paul II Knew about Sexual Abuse of Children by Priests and Sought to Conceal It": Pope SAINT John Paul II?

News outlets are now reporting that Polish television broadcaster TVN24 has just aired a report stating that "Pope St. John Paul II knew about sexual abuse of children by priests under his authority and sought to conceal it when he was an archbishop in his native Poland." This statement is from Monika Scislowska in an AP report picked up by National Catholic Reporter with the title "Polish TV report: John Paul II knew of abuse as archbishop."