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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture While the discussion seems to have drifted slightly aware from the medieval world in its discussion of John Paul II's canonization processes, I'll perversely nudge it just a bit farther off course by saying Dennis Martin is not exactly accurate in saying "the thesis that John Paul II's choices are 'controversial' largely stems from Kenneth Woodward's book." It's a widespread feeling among Roman Catholics of my acquaintance, many of whom never have been near Woodward's book, that the current interest in Pius IX and Pius XII is unfortunate. It's equally true that these same Catholics tend to see such choices as explicable in terms of broader goals the pope is seeking to achieve, and they wonder if the total result has been precisely the opposite, weakening rather than strengthening what Rome sees as the traditional authority structure. From the historian's perspective the pope's choices help us to ask long-term questions about how and why the canonization process has changed over the years and how these changes are related to the development of the Roman Catholic Church as a whole, particularly the relationship between Rome and the laity, more generally that of the entire hierarchy to the laity. The first order of business for the historian is to ask, not whether such changes are good or bad, but what they are, why they occurred, and perhaps how they are further affecting the relationship. These are good questions. I may see the Middle Ages a bit more clearly by asking them. David Burr ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html