Is the Canonization Process Infallible?

Today is the feast of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, a Capuchin friar who died in 1619. He had a great gift of preaching and also spoke Hebrew, so Pope Clement VIII asked him to preach to the Jews of Rome. Think of that! A pope who thought Jesus was serious about baptizing men of all nations and asked a brilliant saint to bring the Jews to Christ. As an important figure in the counter-reformation, St. Lawrence established Capuchin friaries in Germany and Austria that brought many Protestants to the faith, perhaps some of my own ancestors. He also had great devotion to St. Joseph. St. Lawrence wasn't canonized for over 250 years. Do you really think that the Vatican II popes should have been rushed to canonization, especially in view of the crisis in the Church which, one can reasonably argue, they aided and abetted?

Are canonizations infallible? 

If you have a big question mark about it, you are not alone. Peter Kwasniewski offers the views of a number of scholars in his 2021 book of essays on the subject, Are Canonizations Infallible?: Revisiting a Disputed Question. I have not read the book, but, in view of the recent rush to canonizations for the post Vatican II popes, I plan to.  Nicholas Kalinoowski in a 2021 review at OnePeterFive wrote:

The question of canonization’s infallibility has been debated with greater or lesser intensity for over 800 years. Nevertheless, it is events of recent years—the massive overhaul of the processes of beatification and canonization in 1983 and the subsequent tsunami of beati and sancti, among them some highly controversial figures—that have increased the sense of urgency in this conversation. Today, at a staggering rate, high volumes of saints are raised to the altars in what a modern journalist called the “saint factory.” Father John Hunwicke [one of the contributors] notes that Pope Francis has even joked, in rather poor taste, that “Benedict and I are on the waiting list [to be canonized].” This sort of quip from the Holy Father can only raise suspicion in pious souls that the exemplary heroic virtues, many miracles, and rigorous investigation which typified canonizations of the past have been waived for a participation prize—a “halo award,” in which the qualifications for winning have been substantially lowered, and even the meaning of “blessed” and “saint” is now no longer clear. If the heights of Christian perfection are suddenly densely populated, then does sainthood really fulfill its purpose of aiding the faithful by providing pure and potent manifestations of virtue, of singular success in living out a state of life?

Does the question, in fact, matter? Is a shrug and take-it-or-leave-it attitude an acceptable response? 

As a seeker of truth, I don't think so. Although no one is forced to adopt the cultus of a particular saint, isn't there a danger in saying that someone who actually performed acts that undermined the faith is a hero with exemplary virtues that should be imitated by the faithful?  It seems so to me. 

If you 're interested in pursuing the question, the SSPX has a podcast here. I haven't listened to it yet, but I've found their Crisis in the Church series excellent. You can also check out these article which may just add to your confusion. Some say, yes, the act of canonization is infallible, like this article by Donald S. Prudlo. Some say no, like Roberto de Mattei, to whom Prudlo was responding. 

We live in challenging times when seeking the truth often puts one in conflict with various voices in the Church. Should we just accept the word of "authorities?" I'm afraid for myself that often results in cognitive dissonance where what I'm being told seems to conflict with the facts. Reason tells me blind obedience is not a virtue. Like the Blessed Mother at the Annunciation who tested the angel (Remember, Satan can appear as an angel of light.), I want to make sure that what I'm being told is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The old canonization process was like a trial with a devil's advocate prosecuting the case against canonization. Today, the process seems more like a research paper that may only provide the positive side of the person in question. 

One more challenging dilemma in the crisis.