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John Paul II's Beatification [134]
Pope John Paul II will go down in history as one of Christendom’s greatest popes, whose intense spirituality, intellectual brilliance and physical stamina were beyond dispute. Although a profound thinker, he never lost the common touch, brought the papacy to the people and earned the nickname ‘Pilgrim Pope’.
The Polish-born Pontiff has been acclaimed by many as one of the leading moral authorities of recent centuries. He was the first pope to enter a Jewish synagogue and a Muslim mosque, asking forgiveness for the transgressions Christians had committed over the centuries. He constantly stressed that Jewish, Christians and Muslims ‘all worship the same God, but we are moving towards him along somewhat different roads.’
A great promoter of ecumenism, John Paul II gathered the leaders of all the world’s major religions in Assisi, Italy, to pray together for world peace. His moral authority was a major spiritual force driving Poland’s peaceful Solidarity revolution which ultimately led to the collapse of the Soviet bloc and put an end to the cold war and arms race.
Always concerned with human dignity and the sanctity of life, he opposed all forms of killing: capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia and war. When asked to bless the American-led invasion of Iraq, he only replied: I will pray for the children and others who will die and suffer in the war. John Paul pioneered World Youth Day which attracted crowds of up to a million and more around the globe.
He developed easy rapport with young people, because he did not talk down to them but tried to understand and empathize with their cares and problems. He warned them against the propaganda of cheap commercialism and passing fads, urging them to seek higher values. The night before he died, thousands of young people filled St. Peter’s Square, chanting SANTO SUBITO (instant sainthood) demanding his immediate canonization. His fast-track beatification, as Pope Benedict XVI himself admitted, in part came as a response to that grass-roots yearning.
