GK Chesterton was an absolute, sparkling genius, beloved by friends and enemies alike. Petty modern writers may huff all they want, but this will not change.
The first part of your assertion is subjective and the second is really not true at all; for e.g. Orwell (neither a "petty" nor a "modern" writer) roundly called out Chesterton's flagrant antisemitism, as did many others in his own time.