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John Paul II: The greatest pope of the 20th Century
Pope John Paul II gestures during Mass at the Vatican. The Pope was elected in 1978 and led the Catholic church until 2005. Net Photo
A French daily, Liberation once described Pope John Paul II as a “pop star” in a word play on his celebrity-like status. He was indeed a media superstar who visited more than 100 countries including Uganda during his reign and was estimated to have effectively circled the globe 27 times.
John Paul encouraged the people everywhere he went to move beyond their tribal thinking with his signature act of kissing the soil of each country, conveying in that act the idea that God regards all nations as holy. John Paul left behind a unique legacy. His love and outreach to human beings was crystallized in his philosophy of life that embraced all-from the powerless unborn child to the world’s greatest powers.
Lover of African culture
While early missionaries reviled everything African as profane, Pope John Paul’s declared position was the opposite. ‘There is no question of adulterating the word of God or of emptying the cross of its power, but rather of bringing Christ into the very centre of the African life and of lifting up all African life to Christ.
Thus, not only is Christianity relevant to Africa, but Christ in the members of his body is himself African.”
The Pope’s deep respect and appreciation of African culture and his commitment to what is called enculturation was best conveyed by his speech in Lilongwe, Malawi in May 1989.
He challenged Malawians to reject a way of living which does not correspond to the best of their traditions and their Christian faith. He told them to look at their riches and their own traditions instead of going beyond the continent for the so-called freedom of the modern way of life.
John Paul II used to admire African music and songs during his visits. For instance, in Kenya he once accepted the honour of being made an African elder, warrior and leader by occupying an elder’s stool and was adorned with a monkey hat and cap.
Against abortion
In his ad limina address to the visiting American bishops in October, 1998, John Paul upheld the philosophy of life, saying “society must learn to embrace the gift of life, to cherish it, to protect it and to defend it against the culture of death.
He relentlessly attacked abortion describing it as “a crime which can’t be morally justified by any circumstance, purpose or law.”
John Paul preached that the only place for sex is inside marriage, also the only place where children should be conceived, born and raised in love.
A peaceful world
John Paul II always pleaded for the poor and down-trodden in his pursuit of peace and justice. He condemned the US invasion and bombardment of Iraq. Violence negated John Paul’s philosophy of life. According to him, it could “never resolve the problems of a man.”
The death penalty
True to his philosophy that affirmed life and love, John Paul also took a stand on the highly controversial death penalty. The pope saw hope in the growing recognition that, “dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil.” Arguing that modern society had the means of protecting itself without denying criminals the chance to reform, John Paul appealed for a consensus to end the death penalty.
Christian unity
Pope John Paul II envisioned the reunification of all Christians and worked towards its realisation. He apologised for Roman Catholics’ past wrongs against the Orthodox Christians. John Paul’s ability to bridge the divide between religions was aided by his common touch and keen understanding of the power of symbolism, which inspired even those who sharply disagreed with him on issues of faith.
Visiting the Mosque
John Paul made history during his reign by becoming the first Roman Catholic leader to visit a mosque, pray at Judaism’s holiest site plus returning the relics of two revered Orthodox Christian saints, acts that excited all the three faiths.
Popular even in death
Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005 with his funeral capturing the world’s attention. It was televised all over the world and even to countries like Israel where 80 per cent of the population are Jewish, Egypt which is 90 per cent Sunni Muslim while in Tehran, some Iranians ignored a ban on satellite dishes to watch the funeral with no one raising a finger. Most surprisingly, world pariahs such as Hamas and Hizbollah too mourned John Paul II.
POPE JOHN PAUL II AT A GLANCE
• Born Karol Jozef Wojtyla on May 18, 1920 in Widowice, Poland, second son of a retired polish army sergeant and a mother of a Lithuanian origin and school teacher, he decided to become a priest after losing all members of his immediate family.
• Karol Jozef Cardinal Wojtyla was elected the first non-Italian pope in 455 years on October 16, 1978.
• At 26 years he had the third longest pontificate after St. Peter (35) and Pope Pius IX (31).
• He was the most widely travelled Pope in history, visiting 129 different countries and territories and spending 822 days (over two years) outside the Vatican.
• Held more than 1,160 general audiences at the Vatican attended by more than 17.64 million people.
• Read more than 20,000 addresses and nearly 100,000 pages of addresses.
• Beatified 1,338 people and canonized 482 people, all more than all his predecessors in the last four centuries combined.
•Appointed 231 cardinals and held talks with more than 1,590 heads of state or government.
• He was the first pope to visit the White House and in 1984 re-established diplomatic ties with the United States which had been broken in 1867.
• John Paul II re-established diplomatic relations with Great Britain after a 450-year break.
• He was beatified on May 1, 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI and canonised on April 27, 2014 by Pope Francis.
