There will be no St Gilbert of Beaconsfield – at least for now. Bishop Peter Doyle has decided not to proceed with GK Chesterton’s Cause for canonisation, after a thorough inquiry into Chesterton’s life, works and reputation, carried out by Canon John Udris.
The result of that investigation was revealed in a letter to the American GK Chesterton Society at the beginning of their annual conference last week.
In his letter, Bishop Doyle said that he based his decision on the facts, as he saw them, that there was no “local cult”, that he found no “pattern of personal spirituality” in Chesterton’s life and there was an issue of anti-Semitism which he deemed to be an obstacle, “particularly at this time in the United Kingdom”.
