Sir, – May I offer a reply to the question asked in the title of Paddy Agnew’s article (April 12th), “Tainted Saint?”. In his lifetime, Pope John Paul was a tireless disciple of Jesus Christ. For 27 years as pope, he inspired millions with the message of God’s love for humanity and the inherent dignity of the human person.
Every canonised saint was “tainted” by some (or numerous) mistakes, misjudgements or imperfections . The very first pope, Saint Peter, even denied Christ. Someone once described a true saint as “a sinner who never gives up”, not a kind of spiritual superman or superwoman. John Paul was not a perfect human being who never made a mistake. Yet his life of real discipleship shows him to be most worthy of the title saint. Perhaps what is really “tainted” is our limited human judgement. Your, etc,
JOHN GORMLEY,
Ardeevin Avenue,
Lucan,
Co Dublin