In 1978, the jaws of a billion Catholics dropped when the
College of Cardinals elected a Polish pope. Up until that point,
it was assumed that the successor to Pope John Paul I would be an
Italian.
Soon, however, we were delighted by the novelty of the choice of
this cardinal from behind the Iron Curtain. Karol Cardinal
Wojtyla of Krakow was not listed as a likely candidate for the
papacy but the Holy Spirit was at work and inspired the
convocation to select the man that ultimately proved perfect for
our precarious times. That the combination of this Polish Pope
and President Ronald Reagan successfully defeated communism may
be disputed but not by anyone with an open mind.
There have been four other popes in my lifetime. Pope Pius XII,
ne Eugene Pacelli, the pope of my childhood, was a distant
figurehead during the time when Latin dominated our religious
rites and the Church itself was full of ritual and ceremony. But
the papacy was shrouded in mystery and that has led to much
speculation about the Pope's reign during World War II.
Pope John XXIII, ne Angelo Roncalli, was a roly-poly friendly man
who completely upset the apple cart of worshippers by
inaugurating the Second Vatican Council. His ecumenical movement
was and still is regarded as a betrayal of the faith, but I
consider it the culling of the faithful. Those who were in the
church solely for the external trappings and rituals fell by the
wayside while those who truly understood the meaning of our faith
were steadfast.
Many regarded Vatican II as a modernization of the church when in
fact it was a throwback to the very beginning of the church. The
masses were now to be in the vernacular. The priest would be
facing the congregation. No more meatless Fridays except during
Lent. Many other changes were made in ritual but never dogma.
Unfortunately, many Catholics liked the mindless rules and ritual
and became disenchanted with what they consider the
"newfangled" church.
I was in high school when Vatican II was being introduced and I
recall my teacher, a Sister of Charity, telling us that while
Jesus had said He would be with us till the end of time, he never
promised how many would still be in the church.
Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini) was the first Pope to
visit the United States, but he had little charisma. He was a
brilliant man and wrote a remarkable encyclical, Humanae Vitae,
which discussed the church's position on sexuality and birth
control. It was a groundbreaking document, but the man himself
remained a distant pontiff and while we might have respected him,
we never really learned much about him.
John Paul I (Albino Luciani) was only in that sacred office for
one month before he died under mysterious circumstances. Once
again, the Vatican seemed to be a place of secrecy and intrigue.
The weekend vigil coverage of John Paul II's illness and
subsequent death was extraordinary. I can't recall anything like
this happening over the transition of the papacy and that is
because this Polish Pope was unlike any other that I've known. He
unveiled the papacy. He was a visible pope who traveled the globe
and welcomed the youth of the world into his heart. My son who
traveled to Denver to see him described a stadium full of
teenagers and young adults cheering his arrival in the helicopter
as if he were a rock star. "John Paul II, We Love You,"
was their enthusiastic chant wherever he appeared.
Youth groups here held raffles and washed cars to raise funds to
travel around the world to see and hear him speak. These were not
luxury pilgrimages but required miles of walking in heat and
sleeping on cold grounds to hear his words because they knew how
much he loved and respected them. He spoke to them about their
importance in charting the future of the world. In Denver 1993,
he said to them, "I have great confidence in you, I have
great pride in you: I am filled with encouragement, I am
overflowing with joy."
Considering the battles we've had lately on the issue of the
value of human life, it's well worth us to remember his parting
message to America that year: "America, land of the free!
Use your freedom well! Use it to cherish and support, with all
your strengths and capacity, the dignity of every one person!
America, defend life so that you may live in peace and
harmony."
Indeed, John Paul II will be a very difficult act to follow.