Last thoughts on Karol Wojtyla

so much has, is and remains to be written about Pope John Paul II that i am a bit intimidated by the prospect of adding my voice to the din.... still..for some reason i feel compelled to say a few words from my humble vantage point...

Karol Wojtyla is the only Pope I have ever known... I was seven when he became Pope and I can remember no other...i remember from the beginning being aware that he was a more dynamic figure than traditional Popes....he had a more vibrant personality if you will...

it feels strange to me, as i'm sure to many (catholics and non-catholics), that he is gone for in a sense he was always there... when i think of all the changes that happened in the 26 years of his papacy it is remarkable how consistent Pope John Paul II remained...

it is very easy from the vantage point of the United States or the developed world to look down on Pope John Paul II as having been a backwards Pope refusing to adapt to a changing world but the reality is that the world is always changing and what would the Pope mean if he always changed along with it? large segments of the US roman catholic church seemingly believe that much like the US owns and controls the world the affairs of the catholic church ought to respond to their particular nuances in belief...this idea is reminiscent of england's king henry VIII who placed demands on the church and when they were not met precipitated the schism in christianity by setting up the anglican church.. the catholic church has existed for almost 2000 years through empire after empire and the US is a relative new kid on the block!.. the general US party line on Pope John Paul II has been that he was (how strange to write that word "was") quite conservative...

however, when younger, and having lived overseas, i can attest to the fact that the Pope was viewed as an innovator.. certainly by no means "liberal" but Pope John Paul II did adapt to the world and pioneered many facets of the roman catholic church.. the man- and he was a man like you and me- travelled to 137 countries..these trips were very important and served to bring the Vatican closer to the people it supposedly serves..the visits served to promote dialogue and an interchange of ideas between the various national churches and the Vatican... i remember his visit to argentina in 1987, the widespread excitement, and the million people that came out to hear him speak...

he was also a pioneer of sorts in trying to bridge gaps that had emerged between the different strands of christianity and also between roman catholicism and other faiths.. his work in this regard is quite important considering the centuries of infighting that occured... his most important legacy may be his work to heal the important wounds that have existed between catholis and jews since time immemoriam; let us face it: jews and catholics have not gotten along from the time of jesus... some of the catholic church's actions over the centuries with respect to jews have been abominable .. i am talking about, for example, authorizing and encouraging christians to kidnap jewish children from their families and convert them... and while we do not know the full details there has remained a pall over the catholic church with respect to its role during world war II (this is in no way to detract from the good work of many catholic priests during the war)... john paul II's work to heal this rift culminated in his visit to the holy land (modern day israel) when he became the first pope- as far as i know- to visit the land from which jesus came... i think this will live on forever as his greatest action... i am also moved thinking about all that it must have meant to him to be there; one of those feelings words are unable to communicate...

much attention is currently being focused in the american media on Pope john paul II's role in the collapse of communism... doubtlessly, the roman catholic church and soviet styled communism, with its denial of a role for religion, were antithetical and its not surprising they came into conflict... in a sense the US and Pope John Paul II saw eye to eye on the evil of communism but probably for somewhat different reasons... the Pope wished the people's of eastern europe be free to believe in God..

did i have widespread disagreements with the party line during the papacy of Karol?.. affirmative.. i find the catholic church's views on birth control absolutely stupefyingly backwards and frankly almost criminal (particularly in light of the AIDS epidemic).. to continue to refuse to educate the impoverished on birth control and in that manner contribute to the birthing of millions of children into a dismal life boggles my mind... i realize the Pope would seriously admonish me for the words I have written but i stand by them.. i realize he would ask me who am i to judge what is a life worth living... these are serious issues, however, that are deserving of greater reflection within the Vatican... when impoverished single mothers with 11 children in argentina- and all over the world- become pregnant yet again i have to wonder if there is not a better way... the church's view on homosexuality, on women as ministers, on celibacy for priests, and on abortion are all complicated issues...its very easy from the perspective of a man living in the year 2005 to conclude that the catholic church is an instrument of control over people's lives and that the church's decisions in these matters base themselves on extending or continuing this control...more children equals more subjects...

but fundamentally, in spite of these very important issues and concerns, i think Karol was a good and decent man.. he brought joy to hundreds of millions of persons..he fulfilled his duties as Pope ably.. he was the first pope of the telecommunications age and the air transportation age (in its full flowering).. and was able to use these human innovations to reach people in a way that had not been done before... it would have been all too easy for this mortal to in the wake of the assasination attempt on his life in 1981 retreat to the confines of the vatican...or to as the symptons of a strained health (with parkinson's and just about every other problem) manifested themselves- as evidenced by the increasing stoop in his posture, the shaking of his hands, the quivering of his voice- to have elected to pass on his duties... but in the catholic church there is no precedent for that and i think it would have been difficult for pope john paul II to justify taking such action.. after all, as long as God continued to be with him on this earth it would have been impossible for the servant to - in a sense - somewhat, turn his back on him...

of course innovations in science also presented the Pope with new challenges.. when he assumed the papacy the US landmark court decision legalizing abortion was only a few years old... issues of stem cell research are complicated ones that challenge the traditional values of the church.... one can understand how the Pope dealt with this issues based on the context within which he was operating... some see science and the roman catholic church as being fundamentally at odds.. i don't believe Karol helped resolve this..

it is very easy for me to say that i grew apart from the roman catholic church because of its "backwardness"..but who is to say..this is a very convenient line of reasoning...perhaps the real reason has something to do with my own weakness...perhaps not.. i am also reminded of the Pope's virulent reaction in the early 1980s against the ideas of liberation theology which flowered in latin america and served to in some sense politicize the catholic church in order- the idea went- resolve the issues of poverty, injustice and corruption which took an incredibly large toll on long suffering large segments of latin america... it is very easy for me to recoil at the Vatican's reigning in and elimination of liberation theology strands within the church.. these "revolutionary" priests after all are in a sense my heroes and i believe their actions are in line with those of jesus himself... but, again, being the leader of the world's largest religion is a complicated business and the roman catholic church does not owe its existence to conforming to my expectations...... doubtlessly, it saddens me that in latin america i identify the church with an elite/establishment largely responsible for the misery of its people...

complicated issues... and yet... i will remember Karol Wojtyla fondly...