Saint John Paul II?

The April 27th print edition of the National Catholic Reporter had this insightful letter from Richard B. Emond, Stafford, VA:

"The push is on to canonize John Paul II. In the accelerated, abbreviated process, the church is about to determine whether it has the one miracle required for beatification. If approved, it will then need another miracle to advance to canonization. I submit that it already has it, as it was truly a miracle that the church survived John Paul II."

I agree with his assessment of John Paul II's time in office: he single-handedly undid many of the best accomplishments of the Second Vatican Council. Whether the Catholic church will indeed survive him remains to be seen. Benedict XVI seems bent on leading his faithful down many cul de sacs, with little if any forward movement. Jesus is said to have assured Peter that "the gates of hell" would not prevail against the church. Time will tell whether Jesus also ruled out the self-destruction of Roman Catholicism.