Joy Behar promotes a stunningly ignorant stereotype of Catholic sainthood on The View.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this, for anti-Catholic bigotry is still broadly socially acceptable.
But to her point, I'd like to make some observations. The first is a simple one. Catholics do not worship statues. Nor do we worship saints. I suppose I could walk through the explanation of the difference between dulia and latria which St. Augustine -- who was not known for hearing voices in his head, by the way -- made in the fourth century, by way of explanation to the ignorant Romans, but I think I'll leave that for Ms. Behar's homework assignment. She clearly is in need of doing some reading on theology and history; she makes no new arguments here, but simply rehashes things which were answered in ancient times by men more educated than me. That Joy Behar is as ignorant as a Roman should not surprise me; we are all born into ignorance. Some of us choose to educate ourselves, but there is no compulsion to learn; a freedom for which I suppose I ought to be thankful.
But more importantly, she makes a characterization of Catholic saints as simply being in need of anti-psychotic medications. The reason we have no saints, in her argument, is because there is now sufficient medication to prevent otherwise psychotic people from hearing voices in their heads.
By way of rebuttal, I'd make two observations.
First of all, there are many types of Catholic saints. Some are known for having visions and hearing voices, certainly. Some were educators. Some chose to help the poor. Some founded hospitals. Some advanced philosophy to the point where their works are still considered relevant today. Some renounced worldly things to show mercy to the dying. Some wrote books about architecture. Some of them have names that are virtually synonymous with kindness and charity.
In short, there are as many different types of Catholic saint as there are types of people; I read about the saints every day as I do my Liturgy of the Hours, and I am most impressed by the sheer catholicity of Catholic saints, above all else. They come in all types, from all walks of life. They are recognized for service in all manner of human endeavor. To dismiss them as simply being in need of medication displays a poverty of understanding and knowledge that frankly, is sad.
They are not in need of medication.
They are the medication.
They are the medication for a world in which we think only of ourselves, care only about how we look, and think only of money and our own pleasure. They are the medication for a world which is so bored, rich, ignorant, and dismissive that it can employ people like Joy Behar to tell us how to be bored, rich, ignorant and dismissive.
The world is in need of the Catholic saints. Profoundly so. Now more than ever.
Second, I would also suggest a reason why there are so few saints today. It is because too few of us do anything of merit for our fellow human beings, and so few of us are holy, that God cannot speak to us. We harden our hearts and we speak of His lack of pity. We blind ourselves and we speak of His invisibility. We think only of ourselves, and claim He cannot be seen in others.
I pray to the saints every day and ask them for help. And today, I ask them to help remove the terrible shackles of ignorance that blind Joy Behar to their merits.
Hat tip to Hot Air.