# Saintly duties
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saintly-duties/2314
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 17, 1999, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saintly-duties/2314 "1999-07-17T20:22:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 22, 1999, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saintly-duties/2314/21 "1999-07-22T14:01:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Shall we petition the Vatican to cannonize Cecil?
Uh, I think you mean _canonize_, right? I think “cannonize” sounds like it should mean “prepare to be shot from a cannon.”
* * *
Live a Lush Life
Da Chef
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### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 23, 1999, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saintly-duties/2314/22 "1999-07-23T06:29:00Z")
Regarding the nutty behaviour of Saints of old:
1. Many of the stories are legendary (i.e., no hard historical evidence to back it up). That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re untrue…
2. Compared to the behaviour of their contemporaries (Christian and non-Christian), their so-called looney behaviors (by our standards) were rather tame. It’s not like they were binding their feet, stretching their neck, or cutting up their genitalia…
3. And compared to behavior of our our times, it’s not like they vomited to stay thin; went into hock in order to gamble; drank themselves into a stupor; ruined their hearing listening to too loud music; used LSD to short circuit their brain; or voted Republican.
Peace.
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### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 30, 1999, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saintly-duties/2314/23 "1999-07-30T22:05:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Shall we petition the Vatican to cannonize Cecil?
Yes. He is, after all, a man of high caliber.
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### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [August 1, 1999, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saintly-duties/2314/24 "1999-08-01T06:34:00Z")
Astorian, I could be wrong here, but I know that St. James was martyred, and I think he may have been beheaded. That probably explains the hatmaker thing.
Moriah, the idea of praying to saints for special favors may have a medieval construct, but I was specifically told that by a priest about 25 years ago, when I visited him to ask some questions about doctrine. His explanation was that if you want something from your parents, sometimes you ask one of your siblings to ask them for you. He said it works that way in Heaven, too. One of the reasons I decided against converting.
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### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [August 3, 1999, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saintly-duties/2314/25 "1999-08-03T03:26:00Z")
thirdwarning posted,
> [@](#):
>
> Moriah, the idea of praying to saints for special favors may have a medieval construct, but I was specifically told that by a priest about 25 years ago, when I visited him to ask some questions about doctrine. His explanation was that if you want something from your parents, sometimes you ask one of your siblings to ask them for you. He said it works that way in Heaven, too. One of the reasons I decided against converting.
Prior to Vatican Council II (1962-5), most of the RCC was stuck in thinking in medieval constructs. So, this priest you talked to got a good, medieval training. It is unfortunate that he didn’t update his philosophical or theological knowledge with the reforms of VII.
As a matter of record, the RCC does not officially promote back-door entrance into heaven cronyism. But, it is still a pop belief difficult to stamp out.
Peace.
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### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [August 4, 1999, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saintly-duties/2314/26 "1999-08-04T07:23:00Z")
[[I could be wrong here, but I know that St. James was martyred, and I think he may have been beheaded. That probably explains the hatmaker thing.]]
Now THAT reveals twistedness, whether in humor or otherwise!
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