Do you feel holy, punk?

Interesting statistics from Milenio.  During the Papacy of Juan-Pablo II, who visited Mexico three times, the percentage of Mexicans who belonged to the Catholic Church (or claimed they did) fell by nearly 14 percent.  In 1980, 86 percent of Mexican babies were baptized in the Roman Catholic ritual.  By the end of JPII’s papacy, only 73.69 percent of Mexicans received this sacrament.

One Mexican researcher suggested that the reason for JPII’s beatification was the need for a “fresh face” on the Roman Catholic Church to reverse the recent drop in adherents.   And, he is a popular folk-saint in Mexico.

Folk saint isn’t quite the same as official Vatican approved saint, though.  To earn that, JPII needs another miracle.  Which, maybe in the spirit of his fellow Mexican folk saints like Jesus Malverde and Pancho Villa,  maybe JPII managed to pull off…

Peruvian President Alan Garcia claims Osama bin Ladin was killed through the divine intervention of the beatified JPII… Navy Seals? C.I.A.?  … Oh ye of little faith!

Maybe,  JPII (his beatification was on the International Day of the Child), as holy hit-man would overcome the reluctance of some to accept as a saint the same guy who took as his Mexican adviser, and protected from legal authorities, the child-molesting, dope-shooting, clerical conman and Fascist, Marcial Maciel.   Forgetting Maciel though, would be a sin.