Padre Gaetano Catanoso (1879-1963) experienced a relatively quick route to sainthood — about 25 years from the start of his cause to the canonization by Pope Benedict XVI in October 2005. This blog post regarding Father Nelson H. Baker (1842-1936) of Buffalo, N.Y., is a reminder of how long and difficult the path can be for many who are already deemed saints by their ardent followers.

An excerpt: “One of the most frustrating things about the process of establishing that someone is a saint, that someone is with God and can act as an intermediary between God and those still living, is proving miracles. In Father Baker’s case, over 20 healings have been investigated so far for his cause, and none of them have passed muster in Rome.

News report: “Benedict XVI says that the pontificate of Pope John Paul II can be divided into two equally important parts: the years when he took the Gospel to the world and the years of his ‘passion.’ ”

An interesting story, here, in which Pope Benedict reflects on the final years of his predecessor’s life.

Yesterday, during the program “This is the Day” on Catholic TV, a cable network, I was interviewed live by hosts Father Reed and Jay Fadden by telephone. The show will be rebroadcast several times this week. An archived link to the show is here. Click then on the program labled August 12. Our discussion is a few minutes into the program and lasts about 6 minutes.

According to the blog CUSA: “Today is the Feast of St. Clare of Assisi…She was the first saint canonized using the new process of canonization. Before her, the saints were proclaimed by agreement of the people and their bishops. Hers was the first process that called witnesses and took testimony as to the content of her life and vocation.” More here.

Frank Wilson, the former book editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer’s book review section, reviews My Cousin the Saint today in the Sunday paper. The review is here. I think he liked the book, and was really taken by Padre Gaetano Catanoso, the man who became a saint.

Excerpt: “The real miracle on display in this book is the life of Gaetano Catanoso. Here was a man unaffected by theological subtleties, spouting no mystical mumbo-jumbo, content to pray, celebrate Mass, and be unwaveringly good and kind. In short, a good priest … the soul of the book is Padre Gaetano. We all need to become better acquainted with him.”

The National Catholic Register carries a column this week by Father Walter Schu that encompasses the history surrounding Pope Paul VI’s stand on contraception 40 years ago, which was defended vigorously by Pope John Paul II in 1979 in his speeches on “the theology of the body.” The well-written essay is here.

This church policy, however passionately argued by celebate popes and priests, remains irrelevant to four out of five Catholics (probably more, actually) and a befuddlement to most non-Catholics. In developed countries, the policy appears as an intrusion into the private decisions reserved for couples; in poor countries, where soaring birth rates and poverty rise together, it appears cruel and blind to reality.

There is a chapter in my book called “Believe What You Can,” and it underscores a common-sense outlook for lapsed Catholics like myself who are interested in returning to church, but know there is much about Catholic teachings that we can never embrace or support. I came across two fine essays by thoughtful Catholics that give voice to a couple of issues that tend to keep many Catholics comfortably on the sidelines: the ban on contraception and voting issues.

Excerpt No. 1: “Catholics the world over support the use of contraception, and those who can access it use it. It would enable hundreds of thousands if not millions more families to make informed decisions about their futures if the church lifted this ban – not to mention the impact it would have on HIV prevention.”

Excerpt No. 2: “In 2008, the group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good have put out a very different voter guide. They list 10 key issues: Dignity of work, economy, environment, education, foreign policy, health care, immigration, Iraq war, life, and poverty. For each issue, they highlight some key positions held by both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama. There is no negative condemnation of either candidate.”

Thoughtful commentary at the Jesuit-led America magazine blog. An excerpt:

“Barack Obama’s tour of Afghanistan and Iraq is already paying dividends politically. The pictures of enthusiastic troops cheering him on were worth a thousand words: He is no peacenik a la Jane Fonda. Ditto the photos of Obama in a helicopter with General David Petraeus. They may not agree about strategy but they appeared to be enjoying each others’ company. And, standing alongside Obama in virtually every photograph is Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, giving a bipartisan glow to the trip.”

Read the whole story.

The Los Angeles Times reports: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Pope Benedict XVI chose this land of majestic natural beauty to condemn the squandering of the planet’s resources. He used a gathering of tens of thousands of Catholic youths to warn against sterile materialism and the exploitative manipulation of mass media and the Internet. But, as in his spring visit to the United States, one theme loomed over Benedict’s weeklong pilgrimage to Australia: the sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

Read the whole story.

The Los Angeles Times today carries a column I wrote about the new pope, the old pope and my favorite saint. Thanks to my good friend Frank Wilkinson, executive editor of The Week in New York, for motivation and editing assistance. The piece is here.

It starts like this: “Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent,” George Orwell said. The Vatican lately seems to share Orwell’s skepticism.

Pope Benedict XVI has made no secret of his disdain for the high volume of saints named by his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005. John Paul II conducted 482 canonizations, naming more saints in 26 years than his predecessors had canonized in the previous four centuries.

Since becoming pope, Benedict has stopped attending the elaborate beatification ceremonies in St. Peter’s Square, the last step before canonization, and has issued a call for “greater sobriety and rigor” in the process. Last week, he replaced the leader of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, an office that fully supported John Paul’s active saint-making philosophy. Vatican-watchers expect the new leader, Archbishop Angelo Amato, to throw more wrenches in the saint-making machinery.

So who need saints, anyway? That’s a question I take personally. Read the whole thing.