First canonized saint to have an abortion?

Status
Not open for further replies.
N

NoelFitz

New member
Some days ago a friend sent me a video concerning Dorothy Day. It was very moving and powerful, telling the story of a wonderful person, who in these difficult times has relevance. It showed that the Catholic Church is serious when it believes in the forgiveness of sins and the great work one lay-person can do that has meaning for today.

When my Pastor was a young priest he went to NY and worked with Dorothy, and this had a tremendous influence on his spirituality and ministry throughout his life.

Even though she had an abortion this ‘Servant of God’ is on her way to canonization.

What do you think?

** ** ** &

Yesterday it was reported in Sainthood cause for Dorothy Day picking up steam in U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The sainthood cause for Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, believes it could have all of the documentation prepared at some point next year to send to the Vatican Congregation for Saints’ Causes.

It would represent the culmination of an effort begun informally in 1997, but in earnest in 2002. After that, the process is largely in the Vatican’s hands - but also in God’s.

Part of message I received:

The first is a film, available on Youtube, on the life of Dorothy Day. You will find it here
or simply google the title Revolution of the Heart: The Dorothy Day Story. It is an inspiring and thought provoking story.
 
Last edited:
God can forgive any sin. Look at Venerable Matt Talbot who spent years drunk. I saw an article questioning canonizing someone like him solely for the sins he committed which to me seems wrong. They argued it wouldn’t send a good message to others. That’s ridiculous. To me it sends a message that you can indeed become a saint, regardless of your sins.

Whatever sins you’ve committed, he can make them white as snow though they be as red as scarlet.
 
Last edited:
St. Augustine claimed to have committed “every sin known to man”. Now he is a Doctor of the Church.
 
Any sin can be forgiven (except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.)

If King David could commit adultery and murder and be forgiven, anybody can be forgiven, if there is repentance.

ICXC NIKA
 
Member of the Dorothy Day Guild here. Her life is a great witness of healing and forgiveness. I’m pretty sure when she is canonized, she will be a patron for single mothers.
 
The canon of saints includes many who were once sexually promiscuous, pagans, persecutors of the Church and murderers. That one guilty of abortion should be added to these should scandalize no one, but glorify the Mercy of God which transforms terrible sinners into great saints.
 
Peter publicly denied Christ.
Paul abetted, if not actually participated, in the stoning of Stephen.
Augustine and Ignatius of Loyola …let’s just say they each enjoyed himself and others, as did many many saints.
Maybe Francis of Assisi, too…a little less clear how much he enjoyed himself.

The point is - sinning is human. And the greatest saints were certainly sinners during their lives, at some point at least. Now, that’s a cause for hope isn’t it.
 
She was immensly remorseful for the abortion and it shaped her whole life thereafter. She called it “the great tragedy of [her] life”.

And I’m not getting your “Even though she had an abortion…” statement at all.
It’s not news that the Catholic Church forgives sinners and sometimes even canonizes them. St. Augustine probably did much worse things than Dorothy Day, yet he’s a great saint. We have several saints who were murderers and a beati who was a High Priest of Satan. It’s not some new thing that a person sinned grievously, repented and later became a saint. You seem to be suggesting that it’s somehow controversial that we’d consider canonizing someone who once had an abortion that they regretted.
 
Last edited:
In his Confessions St Augustine said he never fell into drunkenness.
 
fhansen said:
And that should be one reason for them to be our heroes and heroines-because we can relate to them.
Click to expand...
Well said.
I agree so much with what you wrote.
Sometimes on CAF I feel many see me as a semi-Catholic, as I believe in conscience one can be a Socialist and vote for Democrats. But when I see a post by you I read from someone who seems sensible, fully Catholic and courteous.
johnnykins said:
Maybe Francis of Assisi, too…a little less clear how much he enjoyed himself.
Click to expand...
Maybe he enjoyed running around the streets naked.
Tis_Bearself said:
I can see where having a husband and son and mother-in-law like she had would literally “drive a saint to drink” so I admire her for giving it up.
Click to expand...
A priest in a homily in our Church claimed (as far as I can remember) that St Monica might have been a bit of a nag, which is define as one who harasses ‘(someone) constantly to do something that they are averse to’ (Webster).

.
 
I agree with everything said here.

I’m curious what her miracles have been.

My only concern about this is that it’s going to be used by the left to claim that clearly abortion is pleasing to God. She should be canonized, regardless, if she meets the requirements. I just foresee many using it to claim that it proves abortion is fine, rather than seeing that God forgives sin, even abortion.
 
@Poet Well she obviously wouldn’t be the first saint used wrongly.
One example that is always popular in new age circles is st.Hildegarde.
 
Last edited:
Poet said:
I’m curious what her miracles have been.
Click to expand...
She’s not at the point where they’re looking for miracles yet. As I understand it, they have spent some years just gathering and looking at all her writings to send them off to the Vatican for theological inquiry. Dorothy is a Servant of God right now and as a first step, she needs to be named a Venerable. “Venerable” generally means that the person’s life has been examined and there’s no showstoppers, and also that their writings have been gathered and thoroughly examined and they did not write anything contrary to Catholic teaching, or anything that would otherwise shed doubt on their cause.

For some saints, it’s a really short process to gather their writings and send them in, because the saint didn’t write much. However, Dorothy was an author and wrote lots and lots of stuff. That’s why it took so long to even get it together. And the Vatican is likely to spend a long time, probably a few years, reviewing and analyzing all of it.

If she reaches the point of “Venerable” (For which you don’t need a miracle), then the Church becomes interested in miracles to get her to the next levels of Beatified and Canonized. I really wouldn’t look for all this to be happening any time soon because of the amount of review effort it will probably take to get her to Venerable status. These articles always make it sound like sainthood is just around the corner. Unless you’re a global figure on the order of Mother Teresa or Pope JPII, it’s not.
 
Last edited:
Tis_Bearself said:
You seem to be suggesting that it’s somehow controversial that we’d consider canonizing someone who once had an abortion that they regretted.
Click to expand...
I think any Catholic (or anyone else, for that matter) who actually understands what the Church teaches about sin and forgiveness should not have a problem.

The difficulty I see is the press. There is nothing the liberal press likes so much as a chance to stir a pot. Reporting has now been replaced almost wholesale from a recitation of facts to editorializing on that which they may or may not even correctly state (the facts). They vary from “pick and choose” to outright lies, and I await their take on any movement toward sainthood with a mixture of scorn and trepidation of the general press’s reaction.
 
Radical metanoia is a unique gift of Christianity.

Saul was a murderer who became an apostle.
Augustine was a philanderer who became a Doctor of the Church.

Study this impressive man - Alessandro Serenelli. He murdered St. Maria Goretti, and after rehabilitation in prison became a Capuchin friar and was canonized himself.

If Dorothy Day is canonized she can serve as another such example.

Only Christ our True God can bring about such beautiful 180 degree changes in sinners!

Deacon Christopher
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top