Mo Guernon
Why Albino Luciani's holiness should be celebrated

On the Second Sunday of Easter, Pope Benedict XVI declared John Paul II “blessed,” a milestone in the late pope’s journey to sainthood. The speed at which Karol Wojtyla’s cause for canonization has progressed is singular. Under the church’s rules, the process cannot begin until a candidate has been deceased at least five years, but Pope Benedict dispensed with that requirement in this instance.








How Can I Serve You?






A Niece Remembers











Santo Subito!









JIM MCCREA | 11/10/2011 - 6:26pm
There is no John Paul The Great. This is John Paul II who, as with most of us, was far from being Great.
david power | 10/20/2011 - 12:47pm
"the greatness of John Paul The Great",I have no doubt he would have agreed with that himself. So great that he managed to cover up the sexual abuse of children for over 20 years and promote bishops who had done the same to become cardinals.
Law ,Mahoney were promoted strangely enough just after they had moved their pedophile priests to other Parishes.He was so great that he managed to protect Maciel for the 8 years of the accusations up to his death.
So great that he presided over the biggest falling away of the Faith in history.
He thought that because people liked to come out and clap him and have a party they were becoming "good" catholics.
He fully knew of all the corruption of the Vatican bank but again decided to turn a blind eye on that and continue writing his encylical on the need for ethics in business. Think of the family of Roberto Calvi who was found hanging from a bridge in London because he got on the wrong side of Wojtyla's buddies.

The woman who worked with him on his book said about him "Nor is he truly modest, according to Dr.Tymieniecka. "He is by no means as humble as he appears...He thinks about himself very highly, very adequately.".

Jesus said "Only God is Good" you of course DHennessy did not say that he was good but great .No the same I know. Place the man in context.Don't swoon for anybody except a pretty woman or the Lord Jesus Himself. The Church(we) needs to place the focus back on Jesus so that we can all respond to life in an authentic way.Not simply just do as we are told.   
Anne Chapman | 10/19/2011 - 11:19pm
It seems possible that Pope John Paul I might have been a great pope, in the tradition of John XXIII.  How tragic for the church that the man who succeeded him and took the same name was anything but a great pope.  He was a celebrity pope.
david hennessy | 10/19/2011 - 1:12am
Papa Luciani,of happy memory,was the forerunner of his namesake and successor

Papa Wojtyla built on the great simplicity and humility  that were the hallmarks of his predecessors brief Pontificate.

In a way John Paul prepared the way for the John Paul II. A humble loving John the Baptist figure who quietly ended the Regal Papacy in favor of the Universal Pastorate of John Paul The Great.

Papa Luciani was not just a "Smiling Pope",he was a quiet and brilliant reformer. He was a pastor and a holy priest yes, but also a wise bishop who touched his world in a special way.It was Thy will be done not my will be done for him. Those that would like to lionize him as a creature of the left are sadly mistaken.

I pray that the Church Universal recognizes the heroic nature of his life and raises him to the Altars. I regularly ask his intercession and eagerly await his beautification.

He was that little white light that shone so briefly but he lit the way for the greatness of John Paul The Great.

I look forward to the authors book.
John Stabeno | 10/18/2011 - 3:40am
I have read three books on his life and death. I often wonder where the church would be now, had he not been murdered. I am inspired by his holiness.
Eleanor Yavarone | 10/15/2011 - 4:10pm
Thank you, again, for focusing attention on this well-loved Pope, no matter how short the reign. As an Italian American, I am thoroughly suspect of his quick demise even with all the "facts" offered. Few people understand the Roman mind and the actions it sanctions.
Liz Webster | 10/14/2011 - 1:44pm
I agree with both of you David Smith and David Power!  Here's how I can agree with both...
When Pope John Paul I was elected to the papacy, I was shocked!!!  He came from seemingly out of nowhere (and yes, I do realize Venice is a prime bishopric in Italy) - he was not in the forefront of possible candidates in any way shape or form.  He, himself, from the article felt there was no way that he could be elected Pope - a true fear for him, it would seem.  And yet when he was brought out onto that balcony... Pope John Paul I was so welcoming, his smile the smile of the love of God palpably present before a world in need of love, humility, and servanthood!!!  In just hours he had captivated Catholics and non-Catholics alike by a presence that seemed out of place in a role of such celebrity, power and control!

The election of John Paul I to the papacy is one of the best 'world stage' examples I know of that proves that the Holy Spirit is alive, well and very active within our world and our Church today.  How this simple, humble, servant got elected to the papacy is truly an instance where the phrase "God works in mysterious ways" applies!!!  

The power brokers of our beloved Church chose this humble servant - that fact, for me at least, was a miraculous choice in a world filled with 'political' machination both inside and outside the Roman Catholic Church!  

As of today, I will begin to pray for his canonization and I will write a letter to Pope Benedict and the curial head in charge of the canonization process as well.  

Nothing is impossible for God!  Even the election of Albino Luciani to the papacy!!!
David Smith | 10/8/2011 - 1:11pm
David, thanks for your thoughtful comments.  But I still can't help thinking that there must be a much more political side to Luciani than Mr. Guernon is telling us about.  In my experience with hierarchies, you don't rise to the top if you don't play the game.  There's a lot of towing the line and scratching of backs involved.
david power | 10/8/2011 - 5:12am

I think your question is either aimed at Annie or else at me through her slight misquote of what I wrote.
I wrote that the path of canonization is mainly about political correctness now or at least of it is not expedient for the Vatican they will not in any way aid the cause regardless of the holiness of the candidate.
If it is you can bet your bottom dollar we will have a santo subito.
The secong thing I wrote was that the job requires a "political sense"  which is not to say that it is purely political.Being a football coach of a major team requires the same as does being a bishop of any diocese in the world .
The papacy has always required this and not just during the time  of the papal states.
Most people placed in that position (including myself) would resort to being crafty. We would hire good spokesmen and "project" an air of honesty.
We would give jobs to our friends because we understand the need for "loyalty".
If there were a major scandal we would cover it up or deny it.Our political and survival instincts would kick in and everything else would go out the window.
A Saint would find it impossible to do that successfully. He would be disgusted with the mendacity of it all, he would wonder at what christianity had become and care for the souls who were involved in any such duplicity.
He would essentially be an emperor constantly noting that he ahd no clothes( a good example of just that is Luciani).I will stop now as it is Mo who is writing the book not me. 
David Smith | 10/8/2011 - 4:30am
If the papacy is about politics and Luciani was not a politician, how did he manage to rise so far through the hierarchy?  He must have pleased a great many politicians a great deal.
Charlotte Bloebaum | 10/7/2011 - 5:58pm
Thank you for this.  I was not familiar with this pope.  Saints are much more important to me in my spiritual life than Popes because as David stated, Popes are about politics and too many Pope/Saints tarnish the idea of sainthood.  Pope Paul I sounds like a man who could truly be both Pope and saint.  Will be reading the book, thanks again.
david power | 10/7/2011 - 4:20pm
I have read the book of Pope John Paul where he writes to famous dead people.It was not as good as I imagined it would be, very pastoral but a little bit plodding.
He himself comes across as a very humble man.I am sure that he would have been a fantastic Pope in the tradition of Pope Roncalli.
The Church needed humility at that time.It still does.Luciani understood that Christianity is not just moral norms and that people seek Christ and not moral perfection.Having to pretend at the latter has lead to a whole lot of problems for the Church and those who are in it.
That said I have no wish to see another Pope raised in any way to the altars not even a great Pope and holy man like Luciani.
It is making a mockery of the whole system at this stage.Pacelli ,Roncalli ,Montini and Wojtyla are all on the way.That is to say that sainthood is not only within reach of most people but a slam dunk if you are Pope.
Within 2 seconds of his death people will be calling for the canonization of Pope Benedict.
It is mainy about political correctness at the moment and that is why Pope Luciani is not going anywhere fast.I think that Pacelli was a fascinating man but not what I would consider a saint.Roncalli was a giant in every sense and filled with goodness and maybe a Saint ,but one who would surely have preferred to see a layman promoted before himself.Montini was a gem of a man.Educated and sophisticated and as his papacy went on closer and closer to God in the mystical sense(the book by Hebblewaith is excellent), but a Saint??. The papacy is a job that requires a political sense.To be a saint in that position would require an incredible amount of painful honesty.Maybe of all the recent popes only Roncalli was capable of looking realityin the eye that much.Of Luciani we may never know truly. I don't like anything being dedicated to Popes anymore but hope that the book by the Author will help us all to discover more of Albino's relationship with Jesus.Thanks for a wonderful article         
Stephen Taylor | 10/7/2011 - 3:31pm
It is my fondest wish and now a subject of my prayers that Pope John-Paul I should become a saint.