Pope John Paul II died recently of a series of ailments triggered by breathing problems aggravated by the flu and a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 84. The third-longest serving pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church at more than 26 years, John Paul was also the most traveled. He logged some 773,000 miles in trips to 129 countries and territories.
In addition, the Polish-born pope was the first non-Italian pontiff in nearly 500 years. John Paul was the first pope to enter a mosque and the first to visit Rome’s main synagogue. He wrote five books and 14 encyclicals on social, theological and moral issues, and survived an assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square in 1981.
The pope was recognized favorably by U.S. Evangelical leaders despite ongoing points of contention with the Catholic Church such as its devotion to Mary, its hierarchy, and a campaign by American bishops to end the death penalty here. Points of agreement between Evangelicals and Catholics over the years include opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research and doctor-assisted suicide.
Rev. Billy Graham called the pope “unquestionably the most influential voice for morality and peace in the world during the last 100 years.” “His extraordinary gifts, his strong Catholic faith, and his experience of human tyranny and suffering in his native Poland all shaped him, and yet he was respected by men and women from every conceivable background across the world. It was my privilege to meet with him at the Vatican on various occasions, and I will always remember his personal warmth to me and his deep interest in our ministry. In his own way, he saw himself as an evangelist, traveling far more than any other pope to rally the faithful and call non-believers to commitment. He was convinced that the complex problems of our world are ultimately moral and spiritual in nature, and only Christ can set us free from the shackles of sin and greed and violence. His courage and perseverance in the face of advancing age and illness were an inspiration to millions–including me,” Graham said.
Bishop William Skylstad, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said John Paul led a “truly remarkable life.” “For more than a generation, Pope John Paul had been the spiritual father of Catholics around the globe, a powerful force in world affairs, a moral compass in turbulent times. He was a voice for the voiceless and the vulnerable. He was a friend to humanity. At the very center of his being, Pope John Paul II was a priest and pastor,” Skylstad said.
Catholic League President William Donohue called the pope a “role model for the world.” “John Paul II’s unyielding commitment to speaking the truth will surely prove to be one of his most enduring legacies. In a world where moral relativism runs rampant, and the lies of postmodernist thought are trumpeted, nothing could be more counter-cultural than the pope’s speeches and writings on the existence of an objective and moral order. His courage, along with his intellectual acumen, was astounding,” Donohue said.
More than 200 foreign leaders and dignitaries attended the pope’s funeral in Vatican City, including President Bush, who became the first sitting U.S. president to do so.
On his return trip to the U.S. aboard Air Force One, the President told reporters he was glad he attended the funeral. “I think Pope John Paul II will have a clear and excellent legacy of peace, compassion and a strong legacy of setting a clear moral tone. My relationship with Pope John Paul II was a very good relationship. He was such a gentle man; and at the end of his life,he made his points to me with his eyes. It was hard to really understand him, because he was struggling. That’s why it’s really interesting for people to note that there was a lot of testimony–that his struggles at the end of his life and the dignity with which he struggled was a clear example of Christ’s influence in his life. I would define Pope John Paul II as a clear thinker who was like a rock. And tides of moral relativism kind of washed around him, but he stood strong as a rock. And that’s why millions -- one of the reasons why millions came to admire and love him,” the President said.
Rev. Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lutheran World Federation President, said John Paul’s commitment to the ecumenical movement will be remembered as the hallmark of his ministry. “His many encyclicals contain numerous references to his desire to advance the unity of Christ’s Church and he expressed longing for the day when all Christians could share the Body and Blood of Christ together. He even called for ecumenical conversations about his own papal ministry that he might better serve as a vehicle for Christian unity. In particular, Lutherans will always remember John Paul II as the pope who fostered an unprecedented growth in Lutheran/Roman Catholic relations. Healing the wounds laid bare during the 16th century Reformation took on new meaning as the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification was signed in 1999. We live in new hope that the Spirit of the Living Christ will continue that work and bring about an even stronger relationship between the two church bodies,” Hanson said.
The pope was also remembered fondly by pro-life and pro-family organizations.
Judie Brown, president of American Life League, stated, “Much will be written about him, but the one thing that stands out above all else, after 26 years of his pontificate, is the single, solitary fact that every single innocent human being is a person created by God, to be cherished, loved and respected, without compromise and without apology. He made that point over and over again in his many teaching documents. Pope John Paul II created a challenge that he has now left to every member of the human family: create a culture of life.”
National Right to Life Committee President, Dr. Wanda Franz, called the pope “an unfaltering voice for the unborn, the disabled and the elderly and was a strong defender of the right to life.” “His stalwart opposition to the evils of abortion, infanticide and euthanasia was grounded in compassion and love and he will be deeply missed. He helped bring the Catholic Church to the forefront of the battle against legalized abortion and euthanasia worldwide. In his public addresses, Pope John Paul II would often reaffirm the Church’s support for life from conception to natural death. He encouraged outreach to women who have had abortions, offering them help and healing,” Franz said.
Beverly LaHaye, founder and chairman of Concerned Women for America, noted, “In terms of the goals of our organization, this pope was a vital force on two different fronts: he was a peerless defender of life, marriage and the family and his leadership helped bring about the collapse of communism. His extraordinary leadership and his courageous stances have strengthened all of Christendom.”
Family Research Council President, Tony Perkins, said the pontiff “helped win the Cold War and was a champion for cultural issues throughout the world.” “Karol Wojtyla had a lifetime of service to this world. He provided leadership throughout the Cold War, which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end to modern communism in Eastern Europe. His passion brought leadership on many cultural issues, including traditional marriage and the protection of the unborn children. He also took a strong stance against embryonic stem cell research and human cloning,” Perkins said.
Many in the Jewish community had words of praise for the pope. Anti-Defamation League National Director, Abraham Foxman, said the pontiff’s “compassion, leadership and understanding forever changed the history of the Catholic Church’s relations with the Jewish people.” “Throughout his lifetime, the pontiff defended the Jewish people, both as a priest in his native Poland and for all the years of his Pontificate. In word and deed, John Paul II worked tirelessly to repair the Church’s painful 2,000 year history with the Jewish people. Pope John Paul II revolutionized Catholic-Jewish relations. He denounced anti-Semitism as a ‘sin against God and humanity.’ He was the first pope in history to visit the central synagogue in Rome, where he recognized Jews as elder brothers, announcing to the Chief Rabbi of Rome and Jews around the world: ‘I am Joseph, your brother.’ He normalized relations with the Jewish People and the Jewish state of Israel, and then made his historic pilgrimage to the Holy Land, (2000) where he visited Yad Vashem and prayed at the Western Wall,” Foxman noted.
Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, stated, “No pope did more for the Jews than John Paul II.”Likewise, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement Pope John Paul II as an advocate for justice and human rights. His message of international peace and interfaith reconciliation is one that will reverberate for decades to come.”
John Paul was not without his detractors. The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, in a statement, noted, “If one adds up the good versus the evil committed by the pope, there is no question he has done far more harm than good. The pope, given his visibility, had the power to transform the world for the better. But he chose, instead, to reiterate cruel medieval cant. With a few words, he could have moved the world forward, revoking the senseless Church doctrine against the use of contraception, abortion and sterilization that causes such acute misery, overpopulation and degradation of humanity.”
Also, Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice, said, on the temporal level, “this papacy was a profound disappointment for those who believe that Christ’s message of liberation, human freedom and more democracy, should apply not just to the world, but to the church itself.” Kissling also addressed some ongoing issues that John Paul II’s successor may wrestle with. “In light of the pope’s personal embrace of suffering, it is hard to reconcile his seeming lack of compassion for those in the church who have suffered so much at the hands of his administration: for married priests, for women who have lost their lives and fertility and health in botched abortions, for women who cannot feed the children they have, for theologians who struggle with the many aspects of church teaching, for those who minister to people with AIDS, for gay Catholics who long to be welcomed at the altar, for those sexually abused by priests, for women who are called to ordination,” Kissling said.
On day-two of their Conclave, the College of Cardinals elected German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new pontiff. The 78-year-old Ratzinger, one of the late John Paul’s closest advisers, took the name, Pope Benedict XVI. Ratzinger was Archbishop of Munich, before taking over as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith in 1981, and in 2002, became Dean of the College of Cardinals.
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