Posted on 04/04/2005 11:41:07 AM PDT by lizol
Poles Awake to New World Without Pope
Mon Apr 4, 2:46 AM ET Europe - AP
By VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Writer
WARSAW, Poland - Amid grief at the death of Pope John Paul II, Poles began asking what they'll do now without the inspiring figure whose 26-year papacy offered moral guidance and helped bring the nation from behind the Iron Curtain to its new home in the European Union.
As they mourned Sunday in Masses throughout the country, Poles repeated a common refrain: the death of the national hero has left them feeling orphaned.
"This death is a shock to me," said Danuta Bialek, 50, a nurse mourning with tens of thousands in Lagiewniki, a sanctuary near Krakow. "He offered us enormous support and help, opening the world to us. I still cannot imagine the world without him."
When Karol Wojtyla was elected pope in 1978, his country was isolated from the West under an atheistic communist regime hated by most in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation. Today, his land is a democratic nation of regular churchgoers rooted firmly in the West. It is also a place that largely shares the late pope's conservative stances on ethical issues such as abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage.
John Paul's key role in that transition won him deep admiration and built up the self-esteem of a people beaten down by enormous suffering in World War II and by a loss of national autonomy under Moscow-backed communist rule.
With him gone, Poles now wonder what path their society will take. Will its deep religious tradition become eroded by the secularism that marks Western Europe? Will the loss of the unifying religious figure who promoted reconciliation between Catholics and Jews lead to a resurgence of anti-Semitism and xenophobia?
"Even if he's perceived in the West as very traditional and Catholic, in Poland he always supported the progressive part of the Church and also gave Poles the perspective that they are part of the world, that they should be more open, more tolerant," said Lena Kolarska-Bobinska, a political analyst and the head of the Public Affairs Institute.
The initial outburst of religious expression that erupted during the pope's illness and death may be followed by an erosion of religiosity in the future, Kolarska-Bobinska said.
"Many people adhered to religion because of him, because he was so unquestionably loved," she said "Even if he wasn't obeyed, he was important. He was present. I am sure with his disappearance, Poland will become more secular."
That love was visible everywhere here in the hours after John Paul's passing Saturday evening.
In Warsaw on Sunday, more than 100,000 Poles mourned John Paul at the square where he celebrated a landmark 1979 Mass that lent crucial support to opponents of the communist regime. Elsewhere in the country, huge crowds attended Masses and gravitated to other sites linked to his life and work.
"Poland has lost its mother," Lech Walesa, the leader of the anti-communist Solidarity movement was quoted as saying by the news agency PAP. "The Holy Father looked after Poland like a mother looks after her family. When a mother goes away, her family goes to pieces. I hope this won't be the case."
Several analysts said they worry a cultural war could break out between the conservative Catholics whose thinking is sometimes laced with anti-Semitism and progressive forces within the church.
"The pope combined national pride with a spirit of modernity and tolerance toward others," said Andrzej Rychard, a sociologist with the Polish Academy of Sciences. "This is something that we will absolutely be missing in Poland now."
Despite his passing, many Poles insisted his legacy will remain, like a deceased father whose spirit still defines family life.
"The pontificate of the John Paul II has been the most successful time for Poles in hundreds of years, said Adam Goralski, a 33-year-old mourner in Warsaw. "For the first time, we became a free nation in Europe."
Maybe now the Polish Catholics will focus on the true Savior, Jesus Christ, instead of worshiping a mere man. Popes come and go. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Why did you write this post ?
Did you really read the article or were you in a hurry to unleash this idiotic comment?
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