Saturday, April 01, 2017

St. Martin of Luther, patron of heretics ...

Like many of my friends, I try to live by the 11th commandment --- "If it sounds too good to be true, thou shalt share it on Facebook." But some news is just so riveting that a guy wants to blog about it instead.

I was delighted this morning to see that a favorite blogger of mine, the Rev. Bosco Peters --- an Anglican priest who hangs out under ordinary circumstances in Christchurch, New Zealand, and writes "Liturgy" --- had scooped the world of religion again. See this morning's post, headlined "Pope Francis to make Martin Luther a saint on October 31."

The Rev. Mr. Peters is widely known for these sorts of revelations, many of which occur for some reason on April 1. Back in 2010, for example, it was "Pope to be Archbishop of Canterbury for a day."

Here's the operative paragraph: "Pope Francis, always surprising people during the four years so far of his pontificate, is preparing to announce that Martin Luther is certainly in heaven. This is called equipollent canonization – where, by virtue of his position as the Vicar of Christ, Pope Francis can bypass the ordinary judicial process of canonization."

The leaked document by which the announcement eventually will be made, Bosco assures us, is entitled, "Stultus Aprilis."  If you follow this link, be warned, you will be in violation of the 12th commandment, "Thou shalt not check the accuracy of anything you share via social media."

Still no word, sadly, on the future of St. Thomas of Cranmer, patron of bonfires.

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