This really sort of creeps me out that I was taught all this baloney when I was a kid.
It sounds like “being made a saint” is a popularity contest, especially after seeing the process in action for John-Paul and Mother Theresa.
The church is losing credibility on too many fronts
Popular, yes. But they also led holy lives dedicated to God. Sometimes in one's life, one is priveleged to see saintly (like these 2) or powerful people (Reagan, Thatcher) in action doing good and serving as example, people who also have some claim to popularity, all the more noticeable in our 'age of technology'. I don't think it's right to fault the Church for noticing what technology has made us privy to, the holiness of Pope John Paul and Mother Teresa.