04/08/05:

Pope John Paul II, 1920-2005

This was an extraordinary man.

Karol Jozef Wojtyla was the Bishop of Rome for such a long time that I’m afraid that I had begun to take his existence for granted. What I hadn’t given much conscious thought to was the fact that I, a longtime Protestant who had grown up in a strict Catholic family, was never able to ignore this Pope like I might have been inclined to otherwise. I formally converted in 1976; Wojtyla was elected Pope in 1978, while I was still in my fire-breathing, Martin-Luther-spouting, Rome-has-no-authority-over-me phase. Yet by the time John Paul II made his historic homecoming to his native Poland the following year, it was impossible to deny that the man did have a certain authority over me. And this authority did not spring from his being the head of my church—he wasn’t—or the successor of the apostle Peter, a claim of the papacy that I had always found dubious. When John Paul II exhorted millions of his countrymen to “Be not afraid!” in the face of the gray minions of Wojciech Jaruzelski’s communist state and the ruin it had made of Poland, it felt like the beginning of the end of something. Which, of course, it was. It was impossible not to admire a man who faced down tyranny not through political maneuvering or exegetical posturing à la liberation theology, but through the sheer force of his belief in the saving grace of Jesus Christ and its power to change lives. There was no craft or artifice in Karol Wojtyla, but there was a great deal of fire.

And there was his doctrinal conservatism, for which John Paul II had always been excoriated (even during his visitation and funeral) by those on the left. No women priests. Abstinence, not condoms, for AIDS-plagued Africa. No political office for priests. And most of all, no abortion or euthanasia. But Wojtyla was uninterested in remaking the Catholic church into an institution that would appeal to postmoderns—or, for that matter, to the reactionary forces on the right that pressured him to abandon Vatican II and return to the Latin Mass. I like to imagine, although I really don’t know, that John Paul considered the fate of the mainstream Protestant churches which had started going squishy-soft and trendy during the Sixties, following every fashionable political cause and watering down their doctrine, and contrasted them with the ever-growing Protestant Evangelical movement. Evangelicals stood for something; the mainstream, more and more, stood for pretty much whatever you wanted it to. And in a misguided attempt to attract postmoderns, the mainstream began to self-destruct.

Not so the Roman Catholic Church. And much of this, over the past quarter-century, can be directly attributed to the firm guiding hand of Pope John Paul II.

I did not always agree with John Paul II, not by any means. He aroused my ire most recently by opposing the Iraq war, and it was hard to understand how a pope who cared so deeply about the peoples oppressed by communism could apparently care so little about the Iraqis under Saddam Hussein. And he seemed to simply throw up his hands when confronted with the priestly pedophilia scandal—one of the gravest crises the Catholic church had ever faced—although by this time his health had declined to such an extent that he was barely able to function, much less effectively lead a church of a billion people. In point of fact, I even disagreed philosophically with John Paul’s refusal to ordain women, even if I have always worried that so many would-be female priests (and ministers, for that matter) are angry feminists with an agenda—and, in any event, as a non-Catholic it was hardly my place to comment on internal Catholic policy.

But with this Pope, the pros so far outweighed the cons as to practically reduce them to trivialities. Here was a man who, along with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, stared down the mightly colossus of communism until it blinked first, even after the KGB had tried to assassinate him; in fact, this merely had the effect of redoubling the Pontiff’s efforts. Here was a man who made it one of his foremost priorities to mend relations with the Jews, who established diplomatic relations with Israel and prayed at the Western Wall and gave anti-Semites the same withering staredown he had given communist dictators all over the world (this rapproachment with the Jews was also a remarkable lesson from John Paul to his own people, the Poles, who had never had much use for their own Jews). My father, a Catholic theologian, still marvels at the prodigious written output of this Pope and calls it “philosophical thinking of the first order.” And somehow, Karol Wojtyla still found time to master fifteen languages, to become an expert skier and mountaineer, and to travel the world many times over, not in the interests of politicking or pushing any personal agenda but to carry out what he had always thought was his primary mission: spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I have marveled over the past few days since John Paul’s death at the outpouring of grief from Jews and evangelical Protestants, who act almost as if they had lost of of their own. Perhaps this is because, again, this Pope never really had an agenda of his own beyond doing his prayerful best to carry out the assignment God had put before him. And in this regard he saw all inhabitants of Earth in the same light, whether they were men or women, Jew or Christian or Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu, whether they were the leaders of powerful nations or untouchables in rural India; they were God’s children irregardless and John Paul seemed to hope most fervently that he could unite them all one day. Of course it never happened, but the passion and energy with which the Pope crisscrossed the globe underscored the urgency he felt in Jesus’ command, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19). If ever there was a Christian who truly walked the walk, it was Pope John Paul II. May he rest in peace.

Posted by Alois on

Comments

[aridog]

Lovely post. An amazing man, as much for what he did as for what he didn't have in doing it...no army, no WMD, and no huge resource base. Even a pagan like me can appreciate grit and sand. He had it.

[Alois]

Thanks. I went through a real Catholic-bashing phase for about five or six years after my conversion, but I was unable to bash JPII. Which, in retrospect, says as much about the respect I had for the man as any of what I wrote here.

[Peg]

I am not Catholic but John Paul was an extraordinary man. He wanted to be like Christ. This is a parable with my G-pa. In fact they both had the same eyes that shine so blue as if they could see Heaven. They both smiled and where content as to know a secret between them and God. Which we must come to learn. It was the same message my G-pa proclaimed "Do Not Be Afraid". As the Pope forgave the man who tried to kill him was an act of real humanity and bravery and in appliance with what God wanted. My G-pa Rev. was age 91 with Parkinson held by a young man with a knife to slit his throat. Of coarse my G-pa spoke of the Lord and concerned himself with this boys sole. He was so beautifull. I see this in the Pope. This beauty of coarse is that of their own making. For God gives us all free choice. The Pope willfully fullfilled God's plan for him with such gracious beauty and everlasting memorance so we will see. He went to those there and beyound. He loved all people all God's creatures. This was how my Grandfather was. He would smile and his heart pump full of blood and be so happy to meet you. I seen him do miracles as I believe they both were themselfs anyways. What lifes they had. How they came to know Christ and their strengths. I just know God has two very good examples from this earth. The Pope at a very important status and my Grandfather very poor but they both were rich- Rich in Spirit. Pope John I feel may be the last one of his kind as I know my Grandfather is. God keeps those so dear so near. Love.. from Heaven above these are what these men are made of.. pure uncracked vesels God made. PegMI

[Peg]

I felt a real urge to write this I may be wrong in doing so. This article is about John Paul. Yet I am mentioning my Grandfather for the simili is that they both wanted to be and live as close to Christ beliefs or understandings of Jesus. I need to say this once again they stole that dignity away from my Grandfather. He wanted to die naturally. But all the papers I had did not save him. I'm glad John Paul got peace. He was for all people. Peg

[Peg]

I stayed up all night and watched and taped. As he grew sick. I loved it when he stood at the window and the birds of Peace flew back in. His love attracted all. He mentioned Terri S.. All the people that came and waited outside his window was a beautiful thing as we know the comfort he found in this. The songs at his service were so beautiful, like music from Heaven. I am not Catholic but he had my attention. Peg

[Peg]

This is so heavy and beutiful. John Paul II, did capture me and still does everytime I see even see him. The very last line. This urgency. Is also what I am speaking of. It is. I just went on Brian McLaren The Secret of Jesus site. I just dun't know! What a let down. I left a mesage all right. He believes he knows Jesus secret message. He does speak on -um a humanity of how we treat eachother. Doesn't seem to be the case. He is traveling all over and read the blogs. If you want answers buy this book this book. Your still not guranteed! My book you are! Just wants money! I think he should shout the message to everyone who is thirsting it. The Secret Message? Move on..It won't be a secret for long for God wants everyone to hear his word. The sooner the better. Let the truth be known! Amen John Paul II. God Bless your eternal life. , be back soon PegMi