Thursday, December 01, 2005

Paul Johnson a Friend?

In his much discussed memoirs, Paul Johnson mentioned among notable messengers of the modern age, the reckless like Rimbaud and the thoughtful like Emerson, the sinners like Byron and the saints like Chesterton. The reader must judge whether Johnson is siding with Catholic proponents of Chesterton's canonization or merely restating the obvious finding that Chesterton was a good man. The Quest for God, 1996, p. 80

2 comments:

Chestertonian Rambler said...

Is there actually a serious Roman Catholic effort to cannonize Chesterton?

I knew that C. S. Lewis had the equivalent in the Anglican tradition, but I'd always thought that Roman Catholic requirements were a bit more strict.

E said...

Sorry for the delay in responding.

The answer is, "yes, I guess so."

There are Chestertonians who are serious that GKC should be canonized (I don't have an opinion on the issue), but I don't think the sentiment has reached into the ranks where something could actually be done about it.