Dear Manuel —

You get the prize for the most interesting question in a while.

Most theologians say that canonizations are infallible. Anything infallible must be believed with divine and Catholic faith by Catholics. Thus one could argue that Catholics are obliged to believe in canonizations.

However there is a minority who do not go with the infallibility of canonizations. It has never been formally defined that canonizations are infallible, and canonizations started in the 11th century, or so, so the process and the canonizations are not apostolic in origin. Infallibility pertains to tenets in the deposit of faith revealed to the Apostles. Thus it is hard to see how the sainthood of someone who lived long after the Apostles can be considered a valid object of an infallible definition.

Also, no one has ever been declared a heretic or excommunicated for refusing to accept a canonization. You are welcome to be a test case. : - )

If the refusal to accept a canonization is tied to doctrine, you could be in for charges of heresy.

For example, if you refused to believe that Pope John Paul II was a Saint because he forbade the ordination of women, that would be a problem, or if you denied St. Edith Stein's sainthood because she was an ethnic Jew.

My advice is don't leave the Catholic Church over a canonization but don't make waves or raise a ruckus either. Just keep it under your hat.

Eric