Dear Ryan:

Well, these detractors to the Church, again and as usual, misinterpret and fail to understand the issues. The Church does not claim infallibility of pre-canon saints. It is only in the formal canonization that infallibility exists. 

As to the fantastic legends and folklore that surrounds from Saints (pre or post canon), the Church fully discloses the differences between what we know to be true about the Saints, what we think may be true, and what is pure legend. When decided who will be a Saint, the Church does not consider any legends or folklore. It looks to credible facts of the person's life, and to verifiable instances of miracles attributed to the candidate-Saint, which is required as part of the process of Sainthood.

In modern times we have all sorts of folklore, legends, and mthys about St. Nicholas. We collectively refer to these legends as Santa Claus. The fact that such myth develops around a real person does not diminish the life of the real person. And, when under investigation for sainthood the Church looks to what can be known the person, not the legends, myths, and folklore.

The Church also fully discloses that some of the Saints listed in the Roman Martyrology may not have actually existed. These Saints remain on the list as an historical reference, as whether they existed or not, it was thought by people, in times past, that they did exist and therefore did offer veneration.

Concerning veneration to a Saint that may not have existed, my response is "so what?" If a person has a devotion to a Saint that probably did not exist for whatever reason is God going to take that pilgrim's prayers and deposit them in the waste can? Of course not. God honors the faith of the person, and that, is what veneration of the Saints is all about anyway.

In the case of St. that you mentioned, the text of that article goes on to say that despite the legend, it is still "of historical value, since it contains the "Apology" presented by the Athenian philosopher Aristides to the Emperor Adrian (or Antoninus Pius), thus it remains in the Roman Martyrology for historical reasons. There is no claim to infallibility here.

The Patron Saint of this Internet Apostolate is St. Dallan.  The legend surrounding St. Dallan is he was beheaded and his head was re-attached to his body. We have chosen St. Dallan as the Patron Saint of our Internet Apostolate because of the severe attacks, verbal beatings, calumnies, libels, false innuendos, defamation of character, and other insults we receive every day in the Internet Apostolate. The reason for these attacks is that we proclaim the Truth of Christ, and the Truth of the Catholic Church in uncompromising  loyalty to the Magisterium and Pope of the Catholic Church. Since many do not wish to hear the truth and wish to re-invent the Church in their own image, they, in effect, behead us when we attempt to stand for truth in the face of their errors. We must then, reattach our head and keep moving forward for the cause of Christ and Church.

To put it bluntly, I do not care whether or not that legend is true; and it is not likely to be true. That is not the point. We were attracted to the story for the reasons given as they represent a meaning to us that is very apropos. This is part of the reason for myth—to make a point using both facts and fiction. Today we call this a "docudrama".

Concerning evangelizing others, always remember that the reason people will obsess over minutia is that they are either looking for any little ammunition to prove their bigotry, or the are looking for any little excuse to not consider the Catholic Church.

While we must do what we can to educate these numskulls, there is a limit. St. Paul instructs us, "But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels over the law, for they are unprofitable and futile" (Titus 3:9).

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary