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| His Holiness Pope John Paul II |
| The first Vicar of Christ, Bishop of Rome and Shepherd of the Faithful in the age of computers and mass media was Pope John Paul II, said to be the single most recognized person in the world during his globe-trotting reign. He was the spiritual leader of aproximately one-sixth of the world's population. Born Karol Wojtyla on May 18, 1920 from Wadowice, Poland, John Paul II was the son of a retired Austro-Hungarian army officer. Through Poland's suffering at the hands of the Nazis and Soviets, Karol was the sole surviving member of his family by the time he was only twenty one. He joined the Church and eventually became Archbishop of Krakow prior to his appointment as Cardinal. On October 16, 1978, at the age of 58, he was elected Pope after the brief reign of John Paul I. John Paul II was the first Polish Pontiff and the first non-Italian Pope in 456 years. He had a wealth of personal experience to draw from, due to his suffering as a laborer in occupied Poland, service as a university lecturer, his time as a bishop, cardinal and participant in the Second Vatican Council. His Holiness also held two doctorates in mystical theology and philosophy and spoke eight different languages. Throughout his years on the Throne of St Peter John Paul II masterfully brought modernization to the Church while not compromising on traditional beliefs. He travelled more than any other Pope in history and spoke out against such evils as communism, abortion, human cloning and divorce. Even when his health began to deteriorate in his later years, the Holy Father did not slow his busy schedule and continued to keep a well-defined policy on spiritual and social matters. Since John Paul II was a working man of humble origins, he had long been a champion of the rights of the less fortunate, while at the same time opposing the atheistic principles of communism which does not liberate workers but makes them slaves of the state. World leaders credit a great deal of the victory over communism in Eastern Europe to the influence and efforts of Pope John Paul II. However, he also spoke out against the failings of capitalism and the great materialism present in many western countries. On May 13, 1981, disaster struck when the Pontiff was shot by an assassin in St Peter's Square during a weekly audience. Doctors described the Holy Father's recovery as "miraculous". In 1983 the Pope visited his attacker in an Italian prison where the two talked in private for 20 minutes. During his reign there was hardly a country in the world with any Catholic population that did not recieve a Papal visit. The Holy Father also broke records for recognizing more saints than any other Pope. These have come from a much wider background of people from countries around the world, revealing the fact that anyone can become a saint. In matters of theology His Holiness was a tower of strength, refusing to change the truth of the Church in response to the often changing views of society. Efforts to allow women into the priesthood and lessen the fim stance taken on birth control were met with Papal dissapproval. The Pope also worked very hard with leaders from the other religions of the world to promote peace and cooperation. In response to the attacks on September 11th the Holy Father called on all religions to reject violence as a method of spiritual change and condemned those who murder the innocent in the name of God. However, with the increasing effects of age, surgery and parkinson's disease, Pope John Paul II, though he continued to work until the very end, was taken up to be with the Lord on April 2, 2005. At his funeral, crowds chanted "santo, santo, santo" (saint in Italian) and many are already speaking of him as Pope John Paul the Great. |
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