Review: Timely, Timeless, Thorough, yet Sometimes Flawed
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 8, 2012
For Bill Donahue 'The Secret Lives of Saints' must have been a juggling act, much more than in other circumstances.  While his anecdotes are engaging about what it was like to grow up with the Catholic faith, he distances himself as an adult who doesn't follow it.  At times this is an advantage as he sorts through information; at others, he makes statements that aren't germane to the topic in order to achieve an unbiased assessment.  Still, this book is a singular achievement; one that illuminates the process of canonization with precision and clarity.Whether general or specific, Donahue's findings are fascinating without being thin or undocumented nor so exhaustive as to become tedious.  Sharing the import and origins of the huge books compiled for each candidate, the history of The "Devil's Advocate," the reported miracles, and the following needed to process a saint, Donahue is as thorough as he is concise.  Never a dry moment, he opens up the history books and expounds about select saints, tries to separate fact from folklore, and does a yeoman job of illustrating the facts and drama surrounding Blessed Tekakwitha's life and candidacy going into possible sainthood.Sometimes Donahue veers off course to separate himself from the faith, but does so by dissenting with the churches' stands on celibacy or liberation theology; while he does his best work trying to sort through the facts of the process of canonization.  In one chapter he takes aim at St. Josemarie Escriva's alleged affirmation of Francisco Franco.  He also states that Escriva had a bad temper, which wouldn't surprise Catholics who know that saints aren't perfect.  On the other hand, there are plenty of flaws in the imperfect people who shape and mold the Church.  Donahue is right to include The Inquisition as they relate to the topic.  His documentation of selling holy relics on E-Bay reminded me of all the inevitable commercialization that occurs at famous pilgrimages.  Sainthood, too, documents human nature, for, even St. Francis stole fabric from his father to give to the poor.  Furthermore, his account of conflicting testimony regarding a recent alleged miracle is the stuff that canonization is made of.However, Donahue's most egregious statement comes when he quotes Pope Benedict during the most recent All Saints' Day (2011), "'We are called to see the Church, not in its temporal and human aspect, marked by fragility, but as Christ wanted it, that is, as the communion of saints.'"  From this statement, Donahue concludes, "The saints, as Pope Benedict envisions them, do not seem human; they do not seem connected to the earth."  Nearly every Catholic can see the humanity of saints.  They are not only objects of intercession, but they are role models, triumphant heroes who overcame their fallen nature while struggling with the sins as we know them in our everyday lives.  Pope Benedict knows this more than most other Catholics do.  What I believe he was saying was the contrast between The City of God and The City of the World as St. Augustine defined them.Still, 'The Secret Lives of Saints' is fascinatingly informative and lively engaging.  Besidessome authentic portraits of saints, Donahue sorts out all the elements that are part and parcel of the canonization process.