Well, back to the topic. Saints were sinners? Sinners can become saints?
How about "everyone is human" and prone to sinning even while impressing the population with a saintly front. How do we know all the saints weren't 'sinning' in their days that they are recognized as saints? They could have been guilty of gluttony of some sort, or jealousy, or vanity. I can't see any human as capable of being completely devoid of the human tendencies called "sins".
This tendency of religions to label humans as only one way or another (sinner or saint) is hardly realistic. There is nothing wrong with having some faults, and it doesn't make one a 'sinner' in that they are 'flawed' somehow.
Only when those flaws lead to criminal behavior, then guilt should be preached on that criminal.
Telling people they are not 'worthy' because of a few sins is, well-how do I put it? Silly?
Striving to be a Saint is putting too much pressure on oneself. How does the pope live like he does and not get depressed? That knowledge of his 'sainthood' and being favored because of that by god is what keeps him from going insane with having to be perfect?
Popes are certainly saintly right?
My beef is with the labelling of 'sinner' for just being human. There is a line that can be crossed into 'sinner' for sure, but I think the line is seen as too close to having to be a saint in order to avoid the label sinner from what I've experienced.