Picture of the Pope, composed of small pictures of young people, who attended World Youth Days.
Posted on 04/03/2006 9:48:43 AM PDT by lizol
The JP II generation?
The commemorations of the death of John Paul II re-ignited some of the atmosphere of social solidarity that Poles experienced this time last year. But is there anything deeper to these manifestations of religious fervor?
Report by Michal Kubicki
03.04.06
As millions of Catholics around the world commemorated the first anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s death, in his native Poland the nation paused for a weekend of religious services, prayers and concerts in tribute to one of the greatest figures in Polish history. The atmosphere of unity was very much reminiscent of what we witnessed a year ago. But is there anything deeper beneath these manifestations of religious fervor. As you will hear in this report many Poles have some reservations if there is something like the J P II Generation in Poland.
All analysts of the pontificate of John Paul II agree that he was able to establish a special rapport with young people. He brought millions of them together for the World Youth Day celebrations, an event, which was for him a way to reach out to the next generation of Catholics. After the Pope’s death a year ago, one could sense a sense of unity among young Poles, involving not only believers. Some church leaders and sociologists began to speak of the J P II Generation. Is there such a generation in present-day Poland?
”There is the JP II generation. It was evident not only in how we got together after the Pope’s death but in how we approach his entire mission and his message to the young…
I can see no feature that would unite the present generation of young Poles. Looking back at the past year I think that very little has remained of that unique atmosphere…”
This economics student describes herself as a member of the J P II generation of people who were strongly influenced by the Pope…
”He was a great thinker and I believe that I should trust in his words. I feel I should study more carefully what he wrote. The pace of life now is so fast that it would be worth thinking over everything and getting something more from our life than just earning money.”
According to sociological surveys while as many as 86 percent of young Poles took part in last year’s events in tribute to the Pope, only 45 percent think we can talk of them in terms of a distinct generation and as many as 30 percent describe J P II generation as a media catchphrase. A Warsaw teacher Jurek Kaminski thinks the idea of a generation is a bit far-fetched.
”Youth is not different from other parts of society so there are young people who are believers and those who are not. I know of T-shirts with the slogan J P II Generation but here in Warsaw you actually don’t see them. Perhaps in places such as Lednica and Czestochowa you do. You can’t speak of a young generation as a whole as those who celebrate the figure of John Paul II. “
Polish MEP Konrad Szymanski thinks that the J P II generation is a genuinely new social phenomenon.
”You can seen the J P II Generation is some places like the Warsaw masses for the Pope, like Lednica, where you can find many professionally trained persons who are very devoted to the Catholic heritage and are looking for new clothes for this message. So I think this is the spirit of the generation, they would like to influence the reality, this is something new.”
According to Jonathan Luxmoore, a prominent writer on religious affairs in Central Europe, the notion – the J P II generation – refers not to those in their twenties but rather to the generation of their parents who were connected with the Solidarity revolution
“For me that is really the generation of John Paul II because it was most affected by his presence. As to the young people today that I’m not so sure about. I think that with all occasions like this, the national mourning, that has rather petered out. On the other hand, there will be personal memories, which remain of those exceptional days that April which will stay with people.”
There is no doubt that the 27 year long pontificate of the Polish Pope led to wide-ranging transformations in Poland.
It is difficult to say at the moment if young Poles who yesterday commemorated the anniversary of the Pope’s death will one day come to be referred to as a distinct generation.
Catholic ping!
ping
that's great - but why is it in English?
John Paul pray for us.
Maybe an English speaking oerson created it and sent it to the city???
oerson = Person
I don't know why it's in English. But It's me may be right.
Another possible explanation is, that all the small photographs probably show people from all over the the world.
And maybe the author wanted to make the message more "international".
Remembering John Paul II's legacy with fondness and respect.
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