The discussion around the infallibility of canonizations comes up from time to time, and with the approaching canonizations of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII we see it naturally being revisited.

Particularly with the lives of Popes, there is always elements of the exercise of the Office or personality that people can reasonably critique. This is true of everyone, but more so with such prominent public figures.

I will not go into the details of any of these criticisms for the above mentioned as any such thing is debatable at best and tangential to my point.

The question is whether canonization is an infallible act and if so, how can it be that people who did questionable things and perhaps even have exercised demonstrably poor judgment be canonized. It is a good question. I think I have an answer.

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