Two years later, John Paul II remembered

National Post - Canada ^ | Saturday, March 31, 2007 | Ian Hunter

[GMMAC]

Two years later, John Paul II remembered

Ian Hunter, National Post
Published: Saturday, March 31, 2007

The life of Karol Wojtyla, the relatively unknown Polish Cardinal who became Pope John Paul II, came to an end two years ago this Monday: April 2, 2005. And what a life it was.

Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev credits the late Pope for bringing about the end of communism. During his 27-year papacy, John Paul II conducted mass in the presence of countless worshippers; he was seen in the flesh by more people than any other human being who ever lived.

John Paul II held more than 700 audiences with heads of state. He wrote 14 authoritative encyclicals. In 1994 he wrote a best-seller (Crossing the Threshold of Hope) and, later, two volumes of memoirs (Gift and Mystery, 1996, and Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way, 2004).

The best account of this Pope's remarkable life is Witness to Hope by the American George Weigel, who was in Rome during the Pope's final illness and has written a moving account of his last hours.

On the evening of April 1, 2005, John Paul II suffered what his doctors called "severe septic shock." That night, the Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Ruini, said at an evening mass: "The Holy Father can already touch and see the Lord."

On April 2, John Paul's last day on Earth, he was weak but conscious. The 14 Stations of the Cross were read aloud at his bedside; at each station the Pope's lips were seen to form "Amen."

When he heard the sound of the -- mostly young -- people gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray for him, the Pope sent this message out to them: "I have sought you out. Now you have come to me. I thank you."

At about 3:30 p.m., the Pope said in Polish: "Let me go to the house of the Father." At 8 p.m., Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwicz celebrated the Easter vigil by the Pope's bedside. At around 9 p.m., the Pope took his last breath.

George Weigel writes: "Stories circulated that John Paul's last word, as the Mass concluded, was 'Amen.' Those who had lived through this final drama in the dramatic life of Karol Jozef Wojtyla knew that, spoken or unspoken, he had died an 'Amen' ['So be it'] as he had lived an 'Amen' for the 26 years, five months and 17 days of one of the most remarkable pontificates in two millennia."

Two years have passed since his death; now the question can be asked: What sort of Church did John Paul II leave behind him?

Substantial books have been written dealing with this question, with George Weigel again at the forefront: God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church (Harper Collins, 2006). Let me mention just three points. First, a Church with a renewed mission.

Pope John Paul II always emphasized that the Church does not have a mission; the Church is a mission. What mission? Preaching repentance, forgiveness and the good news of the Gospel. The Pope was fond of saying: "Jesus Christ is the answer to the riddle that is every human life." No wonder that the only other contemporary evangelist who could possibly be mentioned in the same breath with him, Billy Graham, called John Paul ll "the great Christian witness of the 20th century."

Second, the Pope's legacy is contained in Encyclicals, apostolic letters, addresses and homilies; most of all in the magnificent Catechism of the Catholic Church published under his authority in 1992. Indisputably, he strengthened the Church's sacred Magisterium. In a world seduced by the post-modernist fantasy that truth does not exist, and thereby a world suffocating in moral relativism, this may be John Paul II's most enduring achievement.

Third, the Pope's engaging personality, personal integrity and intellectual depth brought many converts. His idea of World Youth Days -- which Toronto witnessed first-hand in 2002 -- gave young people (often chanting "John Paul II, we love you") a place to come together to consider the claims of the Church. Never mind that the Pope sometimes chanted back: "John Paul ll, he loves you"; invariably he drew the attention of the young away from himself to the One who was the focus of his own devotion.

As Protestantism continues its collapse, more than 200,000 people annually convert to Catholicism just in North America. Many of these could properly be called "J.P. II converts." I know; I'm one.

Ian Hunter is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Law at Western University in London, Ont.

[GMMAC]

As Protestantism continues its collapse, more than 200,000 people annually convert to Catholicism just in North America. Many of these could properly be called "J.P. II converts." I know; I'm one." ~ likewise, GMMAC

[GMMAC]

PING!

[Chode]

[GOP_Lady]

Thank you for posting this awesome photograph. I can't believe he was taken from us two years ago. I still admire and miss my fellow Polish-Catholic so much. God bless him. He's earned his reward in heaven big time. :-)

[Chode]

amen...

[STARWISE]

God love you, John Paul II .. missing you still.

Pope John Paul II Sings Abba Pater

[Mila]

For those who are interested, here is an account of a miracle that may well begin the late Pope's journey to sainthood.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/45855.html

[trisham]

Wow. Incredible thread and photos!