EWTN News reported on January 27, 2026 about the canonization cause of Joe Wilson, a Scottish teenager who died in 2011 at age 17. The article describes Wilson as inspiring contemporaries through diary entries expressing devotion to God and visits to Carfin Grotto shrine. Scottish bishops approved opening his cause last November, with postulator Valerie Fleming compiling materials for Vatican submission. The piece emphasizes Wilson’s “unusual maturity” in spiritual reflections and classmates’ perception of his sanctity, suggesting he could become “Scotland’s first millennial saint.”
Naturalistic Reduction of Sanctity
The campaign for Wilson’s canonization exemplifies the post-conciliar sect’s abolition of supernatural criteria for sainthood. Where the pre-1958 Church required virtus heroica (heroic virtue) proven through decades of scrutiny and miraculous interventions, this effort substitutes emotional sentimentality. The Codex Iuris Canonici (1917) demanded at minimum two confirmed miracles post mortem for beatification alone (Canon 2101), yet the article mentions no miraculous occurrences whatsoever. Instead, sanctity is reduced to peer approval: “The whole class turned around and pointed to Joe” as a modern saint. This democratization of holiness reflects the condemned Modernist error that “faith springs from the individual conscience” (Pius X, Pascendi Dominici Gregis 6).
Omission of Doctrinal Fidelity
Notably absent is any evidence of Wilson’s adherence to integral Catholic doctrine. His diary statement – “I will always be close to God, because he is the most important thing in my life” – expresses generic theism indistinguishable from Protestant emotionalism. The article celebrates his enthusiasm for Benedict XVI’s 2010 UK visit, failing to note this antipope promoted the blasphemous Assisi interfaith meetings. True Catholic saints like Dominic Savio (canonized 1954) demonstrated explicit anti-modernist fervor, with Savio’s spiritual notebooks containing precise meditations on Thomistic theology – a stark contrast to Wilson’s vague spiritual diary fragments.
Shrine Pilgrimage as Substitute for Sacramental Life
The piece emphasizes Wilson’s visits to Carfin Grotto, a 20th-century imitation of Lourdes, while remaining silent about his sacramental regularity. Before 1958, saints were recognized through objective markers: daily Mass attendance, frequent confession, rosary recitation, and Eucharistic adoration – all requiring communion with valid priests. The shrine’s description as “the Lourdes of Scotland” constitutes geographical arrogance, given Lourdes’ unique status as a Marian apparition site approved by Pius IX in 1862. Wilson’s alleged devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux rings hollow without evidence of embracing her “little way” of mortification – a concept conspicuously absent from the account.
Symptomatic of Conciliar Apostasy
This canonization effort manifests three key errors of the neo-church:
- Subjectivism: Elevating personal inspiration (“his writings are inspiring people”) over doctrinal content
- Chronological snobbery: The “millennial saint” designation prioritizes contemporaneity over timeless holiness
- Anti-intellectualism: Celebrating superficial piety while ignoring theological formation
As Pius XI warned in Quas Primas, when societies “remove Jesus Christ and His most holy law from their customs,” they create vacuums filled by counterfeit spirituality. The article’s climax – Wilson’s question “How reassuring is that?” about suffering souls attaining heaven – embodies the feel-good theology condemned in the Syllabus Errorum (Proposition 15). True saints like Joan of Arc or Thomas More never offered reassurance without first demanding repentance and doctrinal purity.
Contrast With Authentic Holiness
Compare this Modernist construct with the 1947 canonization of Blessed Maria Goretti. Her cause required:
- 53 years of investigation
- Documentation of 147 miracles
- Proof of defending chastity unto death
Whereas Wilson’s cause advances based on diary excerpts and peer approval – the very “evolution of dogma” condemned in Lamentabili Sane (Proposition 22). This accelerated canonization process serves the conciliar sect’s agenda to replace supernatural faith with natural virtue, fulfilling Paul VI’s 1975 admission that they were “abolishing the cult of saints” through counterfeit substitutes.
Source:
Another millennial saint? The story of Joe Wilson, the young Scot who inspired a generation (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 27.01.2026