“I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness….” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
Karol Jósef Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II, was a tireless and dignified advocate for life and freedom from millions. He outlived two of the greatest evils of modern history: Naziism and Soviet oppression. He stood with immense courage, he suffered with grace, and he died with dignity.
He truly lived in the example of Jesus. It takes a great man, a great soul, to forgive someone who had tried to murder him, to meet with that person and offer unconditional forgiveness. They say that power corrupts — yet John Paul II is an example of someone who when given a great amount of power and influence used those abilities towards the betterment of our world. While the man may have passed on, his legacy will live on.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23)
Amen.
I believe this is only half of the story. Yes I extend sympathy to Roman Catholics who feel loss at this time and I will grant that the Pope did do many good works and to a degree helped further modernization of the Roman Catholic Church. However it is hard for me to accept his beatification of Pius IX, his backing away from ecumenism with the Episcopalians (by continuing to refer to Protestant churches as ecclesial communities), his opposition to birth control in Africa in light of AIDS, and his systematic targeting of theologians within the church close to Liberation Theology and Ecumenical movements. These legacies will all be equally strong in my mind as his more positive features. I am personally glad to be in Turkey right now because I feel so much of the Western media is failing to look critically at his legacy. I am sorry for the man, and agree he lived his life with dignity. However his legacy will be very mixed in mind.
I for some reason left out my frustration with the Pope’s lack of transparency in handling child abuse cases within the clergy from the above post. I feel that upon his passing he should be analyzed with a more critical eye.