medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I don't think that any supernatural forces need to be invoked in order to
discuss "spiritual
motivation". The moral or theological virtues that are traditionally
celebrated in the canonization of saints certainly rise often from a genuine
desire on the part of the canonizers to publicize these. I don't see any a
priori reason why the "spiritual" motivations included in the public
statements of canonization need be dismissed out of hand in favor of "real"
motivations of political gain etc. The former represent an ongoing
articulation of traditional virtues that constitute Catholic "holiness;" the
serious study of these by historians need not be a naive exercise, as the
anthropologists and better traditionalist medievalists such as say, Jean
Leclercq or Bernie McGinn make quite clear.
I also would add an obvious point; one motivation that is often involved in
canonizations (and often a most interesting one) is how the Church thereby
shows its awareness of the changing social structure of society and attempts
to direct these in a moral context. One common means is to choose among many
candidates for canonization (most of these causes originate locally rather
than in at the Vatican) individuals who illustrate the ability to live a
"saintly" life in the new circumstances or groups that are becoming
prominent parts of the Church's membership in a quickly changing world.
The church is fond of constantly pointing out that the number of "saints"
is extremely large: the untold number of Catholics who live "heroically"
saintly lives in their quotidian lives. A few of these are raised to public
cultus for some of the reasons I mentioned above (and for other motives as
well , among which no church person would deny are at least in some cases
primarily political: and as one noted non-saint, Innocent III, made
especially clear: the distinction between political and moral is thin, if it
exists at all.)
Speaking of Innocent reminds me to suggest another principle of
canonization: (knowing that exceptions surely exist). In one sense,
canonizations are rarely "political:" if a candidate's legacy is largely
political, if there is not a striking "saintly" aspect to the person's life,
he or she will likely not make it through the canonization process.
John B. Wickstrom
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-----Original Message-----
From: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Chara Armon
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2002 8:47 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [M-R] recent posts on canonization
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I appreciate Mr. Martin's point that we students of the history of religion
would do well to remember more often that for the majority of the world's
population, medieval and modern, religion and faith are not things to be
scrutinized, but to be practiced and accepted. However, if he is correct
in suggesting that Professor Mundy takes inadequate account of the
possibility that the Catholic Church has genuine spiritual motivations (but
how do we define these, I wonder?) in canonization processes, it seems to
me that Mr. Martin is inadequately willing to accept that the Church does
indeed have political motivations, as well. As historians of religion, are
we not obligated to allow readily for both types of motivation? It appears
to me that the history of Christianity offers ample evidence for the
consistent influence, medieval and modern, of both the 'spiritual' and the
'political.'
Chara Armon
>Professor Mundy . . . . seemed to exclude the divine and spiritual from
>the sphere of our knowledge and to suggest that our historical
>investigations can only proceed on the level of the humanly knowable.
>Fine, but that is of course a philosophical-religious statement about the
>(im)possibility of revealed religious truth in the Jewish-Christian-Muslim
>sense. It has a fine heritage from the Enlightenment, but it's only one
>among many philosophical positions on this issue.
>
>I would be surprised if by "advantage" [Prof. Mundy] means "agapic love"
>(which is what a believing traditional Catholic would say is the advantage
>to canonizing a saint: as a model of Christ's agapic love to inspire
>others to the same), given the what else he wrote about the unknowability
>of the Divine.
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