Plenty of evidence supports the conviction of millions that the late Pope John Paul II was a saintly man.

He was reportedly a gentleman of fervent prayer and deep thought. I read most of what he penned while Bishop of Rome and was frequently moved by his insights.

His commitment to “a culture of life” was unfailing, and his role in toppling oppressive political regimes, both crucial and significant. Ever the loving pastor, he modelled a refreshing openness to the masses, an attribute that will help secure his place in history as “the people’s pope.”

Nevertheless, a healthy disdain for revisionist history prompts me to point out that, notwithstanding his numerous commendable qualities, Pope John Paul II’s record confirms he was just a man.

The nature of the extensive media coverage that accompanied the pope’s passing certainly would not have led one to that conclusion! In what has to have been the all-time greatest demonstration of political correctness by the international media, criticisms of the late pontiff were muted. “Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day,” came to mind as I scanned endless reports applauding the pope’s tenure.

There’s a glaring discrepancy between how John Paul II was remembered and the way Scripture portrays the holy men and women of old. The Old Testament in particular refuses to hide the sins of the saints.

Remember Noah, the only person in whom God saw some redeeming qualities prior to unleashing the great flood? Noah’s remarkable faith in building a large barge earned him a place in the Hall of Faith.

So it’s a head-scratcher when you come to the end of the Genesis account of Noah’s story. There we find him brewing and consuming enough moonshine to render himself totally plastered, drunk enough to sprawl naked in his tent thereby giving a son opportunity to commit sin, the nature of which is left to the reader’s imagination.

Remember Abraham, beloved patriarch to the world’s three monotheistic faiths? Shortly after we’re introduced to his commendable faith in Genesis 12, we see him in one of his weaker moments. Eager to save his own neck and ensure he’d be around to become the great nation God had promised, dishonest Abraham directs his wife, Sarah, to lie about her identity, thereby promptly landing her in the harem of an Egyptian king.

Nice guy! Women all over the world are eager to find husbands of such sturdy moral fibre.

Abraham repeats the tactic in Genesis 20, behaviour his son Isaac emulates a few chapters later. Daughter-in-law Rebekkah deceives Isaac in turn, transferring the birthright from Esau to Jacob. Abraham’s brother’s grandson, Laban, then tricks Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, initially giving him Leah as his wife instead of Rachel. Jacob returns the favor by ripping off Laban in an amusing tale of innovative agricultural breeding.

Get the picture? Right from the opening pages of Scripture, God wants us to comprehend that people of remarkable faith are also people with remarkable flaws!

Despite the late pope’s achievements, numerous former altar boys would likely agree that John Paul II’s apparent willingness to gloss over the sexual sins of numerous priests against those Jesus considered model citizens of heaven’s Kingdom lingers as a troublesome stain on an otherwise impressive papacy.