The Mysterious 'Indefinite' Pause in Fulton Sheen's Cause for Canonization, and What We Learn from It
With Fulton Sheen set to be Beatified, let's look back at what almost derailed his cause for canonization, and the barrage of suspicion and conspiracy theories were proven wrong.
We’re all celebrating the news that Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification is finally moving forward after a long and painful delay. But it wasn’t long ago that the same delay was treated by some as fodder for suspicion, speculation, and bold claims about the Church’s motives for stalling Sheen’s cause for sainthood, and why these Bishops were “really up to”.
Let’s take a brief look at the history and facts surrounding this drama that’s lined with some surprising details you might not have even heard before. It’s a story that reveals a hidden malady in the Church that no one is mentioning.
The Case of Fulton Sheen
History
The Diocese of Peoria announced February 9 that the Vatican has given the green light for Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification to move forward. After a six year delay, Sheen’s beatification can now take place as originally planned. No date has been set yet.
Sheen was originally to be beatified on December 21st, 2019. Then, with less than three weeks’ notice, the Vatican postponed the ceremony indefinitely.For those who loved Sheen, including myself, this was a punch to the gut, followed by a wait that was agonizing.
Information Vacuum
The postponement was surrounded by confusion and mystery. And as often happens in information vacuums, conspiracy theories (and theorists) rush to fill the gap.
Monsignor James Kruse from Peoria accused the Rochester diocese of “sabotaging” the. Some wondered if Church politics were at play. Others suspected the Vatican simply didn’t want to elevate a man who’d been so outspoken about things that made modern Church leaders uncomfortable.
But the real concerns from Rochester were of even greater cause for unease, and they were kept quiet probably to protect Sheen’s reputation during the investigation.
The concerns focused on Sheen’s handling of two cases involving priests accused of sexual misconduct.
The Case of Gerard Guli
The first case involved Gerard Guli, a former Rochester priest accused of abusing adults in the early 1960s, before Sheen arrived in the diocese. According to documents from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, in 1963 the Diocese of Rochester received an allegation that in 1960 Guli committed abuse or misconduct against adults. Guli had been ordained in 1956 and from 1963 to 1967 served in parishes in West Virginia. He returned to Rochester in 1967 to help his sick parents. Fulton Sheen became Rochester’s bishop in October 1966.
Guli reportedly asked Sheen for an assignment in 1967. The concern from the Diocese of Rochester was that Sheen might have given Guli a parish assignment despite the 1963 allegation. But according to Monsignor Kruse, Sheen never gave Guli an assignment. This was confirmed by Guli himself.
The documents clearly showed that Sheen’s successor, Bishop Joseph Hogan, gave Guili a new parish assignment, and it was at that assignment that Guli offended again.
In 1989, Guli was arrested for an incident of abuse involving an elderly woman while serving at Rochester’s Holy Rosary Parish. He was subsequently laicized.
The Case of John Gormley
The second case involved Father John Gormley, who reportedly sexually abused minors in 1969. According to Monsignor Kruse, the abuse was reported to Sheen before his retirement as bishop of Rochester, and Sheen immediately removed him from ministry and never gave him another assignment.
Sheen is Clean!
Monsignor Kruse said in 2019 that an investigation had cleared Sheen of any wrongdoing. By December 2024, Msgr. Jason Gray of the Sheen Foundation confirmed “Sheen is clean” and that “not one accusation has been raised that impugned Sheen.”
How Soon They Forget
For years, those who distrusted the Church convinced themselves that the Church was unjustly blocking Sheen’s cause. “They don’t want him to be a saint.” “He makes them look bad.” These assumptions came from an attitude of suspicion toward the Church and its mechanisms. For years I found myself addressing these comments and statements, occasionally even in some opinion pieces on independent Catholic news sites. My suspicion was always that there might be something in his record related to the abuse crisis—probably administrative, not that he himself committed abuse. But people who preferred conspiracy theories didn’t want to hear it. Now the full story is revealed, and the cause moves forward.
But no one seems to remember that it wasn’t too long ago that they were throwing knives at the Catholic Church for “politicizing” Sheen and “scandalizing” the faithful for stalling Sheen’s case. Sadly they probably won’t even learn from the grave mistakes they made in crucifying the Church for doing what the Catholic Church is supposed to do—proceed with canonization cases with care, precision and respect.
Personally I think it’s beautiful that, at first, the Church seemed to want to guard Fulton Sheen’s reputation by avoiding some big, bold announcement of the reasons for postponing Sheen’s beatification. That’s the Church being a mother, not a secret villain.
There’s something fitting about the delay, painful as it was. Fulton Sheen often exhorted people to patience, trust, and to surrender to God’s will rather than our own. “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God”—that prayer from Psalm 143 could have been Sheen’s daily meditation. And now, those who love him and long to see him raised to the altar have had to practice what he preached: trusting God’s timing, not ours.
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God be with you all!
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