Commentary; Posted: 4/20/05
Pope John Paul II ó large in life, large in death
John C. Blackford
Religion Columnist
Before they carried Pope John Paul II through the Door of the Dead to his burial place in St. Peterís Basilica, the twelve Vatican pallbearers slowly turned the cypress coffin so that he would face his flock one last time. The 300,000 or more mourners on St. Peterís Square ó a kneeling, standing, tearful and radiant throng of Croatian students, Filipino nuns, American teenagers and other pilgrims from countless countries ‚ómomentarily froze. Then came the thunderous cries: Giovanni Paolo! (John Paul) Santo subito! (Sainthood now). So went the last minutes of John Paulís funeral Friday, April 8: sadness and anticipation, silence and cheers. John Paul, the pontiff who became a global phenomenon, received a heroís send-off from the healthy and the lame, the privileged and the poor before being lowered privately into a simple grave beneath the basilica. Even after the coffin disappeared through the huge doors draped in black velvet, the people would not let go. They remained and applauded for ten minutes. The knell of the basilicaís 10-ton bell was followed by chimes from steeples throughout Rome. Hundreds of thousands of other mourners watched the funeral mass on TV screens at parks, plazas and fields in and around the city. Millions more watched from around the world. (From a report by Alan Cooperman and Daniel Williams of the Washington Post from the Vatican, and reprinted by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 9, 2005).
On October 16, 1978, Roman Catholic Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow, Poland, became the first Polish pope and first non-Italian pope in 455 years, and chose the name John Paul II. His death on April 2 at the age of 84 ended a 261?2 year reign, the third longest in papal history. John Paul II was a man of numerous interests, and the achievements of his pontificate were many. He spoke eight languages, he loved hiking and skiing; Time magazine called him ìThe Man of the Yearî in 1994, and his picture was on their cover a number of times. In 1992 he declared the Catholic Church had erred in condemning Galileo in 1633 because he supported Copernicusí theory that the Earth revolves around the sun. He condemned the 9/11 attacks on the New York World Trade Center, but criticized the USA for invading Iraq. In April, 2002 he summoned the American cardinals to Rome to discuss the sex-abuse scandal. In 1998 the Vatican issued an ìAct of Repentanceî for the churchís failure to deter the Nazi genocide against the Jews in World War II. He delivered the most sweeping papal apology everóin March 2000óin which he expressed repentance for the errors of the church over the centuries, citing wrongs against Jews, women, immigrants, the poor and the unborn. He reached out to the Greek Orthodox Church and to the Islamic world. During the years of his ministry as a Polish priest he took a strong anti-communist stance, at a time when the Soviets controlled the country. One commentator said three figures stand out in the downfall of Russian communismóRonald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II.
This pope traveled extensively. He visited 170 countries and covered over 723,000 miles (30 times around the Earth at the equator). His white heavily armored ëpopemobileî was transported wherever he went, and became a familiar sight. In 1981 a Turkish extremist shot him in St. Peterís Square in Rome, and after his recovery he publicly forgave his would-be assassin. He was the most influential and recognizable spiritual personage of the 20th century.
In the fall of 1996 it was reported Pope John Paul II had Parkinsonís Disease. He remained active, but his failing health became very apparent in the last two or three years. During this Lenten season he made several public appearances, but on March 31 he was given his churchís last rites, and six days after Easter Sunday his death came peacefully. It was followed by four days of public viewing of his body inside the basilica. Nearly two million filed by the casket, some of whom had waited up to fourteen hours in line. At the funeral many of the worldís leaders were in attendance. The United States was represented by President and Mrs. Bush, former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The president paid tribute to John Paul, saying he left a great, clear legacy of peace, compassion and a strong moral tone. As he flew home, Mr. Bush told reporters he was more personally affected by the funeral than he had expected. The president talks often about the power of faith in his own life, but as he reflected on John Paul and the ceremony that laid him to rest, he did so in unusually personal terms, saying that his presence at St. Peterís strengthened his own beliefs.
Interest now shifts to the selection of John Paulís successor. The Papacy is the oldest institutional agency in the world, whether viewed from the standpoint of religion or politics, or both, and its leadership affects not only the 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, but also non-Catholics. In a secret conclave at the Sistine Chapel in Rome the churchís leaders will ballot until a choice is made. 117 cardinals are eligible to vote (those over 80 do not vote), and of these John Paul appointed 114. When he was chosen John Paul II he was 58, and the youngest pope in 132 years, but several of the frontrunners are in their seventies, so an older pontiff may be elected. When a new pope has been elected, the ballots will be burned, and white smoke will come from the Chapel chimney, announcing to the crowd below and to the world there is a new pontiff. Whoever that will be, he will have the problem of how to match the appeal and visibility of John Paul. In the parlance of our day, he will be ìa tough act to follow.î
The death of this tremendous personage brought together briefly the diverse elements of humankind. In death he gave the world something of a sense of what it will be like on that day, when the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ will bring together permanently all peoples, and the petition of the Lordís Prayer, ìThy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven,î will be fulfilled.
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