...or should the Catholic Church have better sense?

Item: Pilgrims (not the kind with buckled shoes) have begun to arrive in Wadowice, Poland. Why, you ask. Wadowice is the birthplace of Karol Josef Wojtyla, better known to you and me as Pope John Paul II, deceased Pontiff of the Catholic Church. A monument has been erected in the town and there is a spring. Nothing draws the faithful like water. People are showing up not just to pay homage to JP II, but in hopes of a cure for their illnesses. (Why is it that no one is ever cured by sand or gas?) Someone saw Mel Gibson seeking to heal his reputation. Rim shot.

Now before you all start calling me a cynical bastard, I am not unsympathetic to people with incurable ailments trying anything they can to improve their situation. If I were suffering with a fatal disease, I'd kiss Pat Robertson on the mouth if I thought it would help.

My issue, if there is an issue, isn't with the faithful but with the Roman Catholic Church (big surprise). If you were raised Catholic, you know that the Church takes sainthood very seriously. A person proposed for sainthood is required to ascend through several stages before cannonization. In the old days, during a time that we will call BI (Before the Internet), hundreds of years had to pass before anyone could be so honored. Establishing the validity of miracles (an interesting concept in itself) took considerable time and study. I suspect that the Church wished to ensure that no "unfortunate" information surfaced after St. Bono had a parish in the Bronx named for him. Even today, it will probably take more than a Google search before anyone gets the nod from the Vatican.

People wishing to be cured in Poland will pray to John Paul II and, if they are healed, that will be used as evidence that God is answering the prayers of this good person. The Church requires several such signs before conferring sainthood.

I am not anti-faith. What people believe is very much their own affair. It is troubling, however, that at a time when the Catholic Church is hemorrhage members in developed countries as a result of serious, tangible issues; Rome has misdirected the faithful toward the mystical. Has Karl Rove take a job with the Curia?

Naturally, None of this is official. The stated position of the Church is that places such as Wadowice and Medjugorje in Herzegovina (How did The Blessed Virgin find it?)have no special significance. Presumably, people are encouraged to pray anywhere they like but, for the moment, no particular benefit attaches to a visit to "unrecognized" sites.

People of faith in America and Europe love the rich traditions with which they were raised, but they also have intellect. They see a Church unwilling or unable to confront the issues that scream at them from their newspapers. What is the Vatican doing to stop AIDS in Africa. There is nothing in Scripture about condoms. And what about priest pedophiles. The Church was more than happy to see that issue recede into the distance.

People expect leadership - not perfection, and they can spot a cover-up from a fair distance. When a commercial product is found to be dangerous, companies try to get out in front of the news. The Catholic Church in America seems capable only of reaction. Instead of dealing decisively with the problems of religion's place in 2006, Rome debates the possibility of cannonizing Pope Pius XII. (See also "Hitler's Pope" by John Cornwall).

We already have Lourdes and Fatima. It's difficult to understand why God would cure your gout in France today and Poland tomorrow. This isn't like opening up a new WalMart. OK, so I'm going to hell, but you see the point. The Catholic Church needs to deal with the real issues of faith and religion in the 21st century and leave the miracles to a higher power.