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Pope Paul John Paul II – Friend or, Foe
Posted by: | CommentsPope John Paul II had ascended to Papacy on the 16th of October 1978, and since then to the last day of his life he had either been hailed as a hero or, has been accused and condemned with many controversies. He has without doubt been one of the most influential leaders of the world but at the same time he had been criticized over a number of unforgivable issues. This has brought many people to ponder whether to consider him a Friend or, Foe to the world.
To talk about why the Pope should be considered a Friend is as good as asking ‘why do we need air to survive?’ The Pope’s contribution to humanity is more than just commendable. He had almost laid down his life to free his homeland Poland of totalitarian communist regime. He was the spiritual influence behind the peaceful revolution that eventually uprooted the Soviet hegemony from not only Poland but all of Europe as well.
Pope John Paul II encouraged youth all over the world to utilize their potential for the betterment of the society as well as themselves. He initiated the World Youth Day and celebrated it himself around 19 times including his homeland Poland. For the People of Cracow where he was an Arch Bishop for 15 years people regarded him as a kind and gentle soul who ‘always had time for his flock’.
Internationally, the Pope was commended by Mikhail Gorbachev (then leader of the Soviet Union) as being the spiritual force behind the collapse of the ‘Iron Curtain’. He has also been presented with the ‘Medal of Freedom’, the highest civilian honor of America, by George W Bush in June 2004 for his dedication towards freeing the world of communism.
Irrespective of the fact that he has been the reason of spiritual inspiration and upliftment for millions, he has also been criticized and vehemently opposed because of his controversial stands on basic issues. Firstly, he faced an uproar when he expressed his views against abortion and artificial contraception, and ended up being the ‘Feminist’s Foe’. He was also criticized when he closed the doors of the Catholic Church on the topic of Women’s ordination. The Pope somehow portrayed the picture of being anti-women.
When the cases of sexual abuse of little boys and young monks by the clerical and higher Church authorities had come up, he had barred all investigation into the issue and has been accused of brushing these pervert cases under the Vatican carpet. Many called this act unforgivable.
He has also been called very autocratic and totalitarian in his ways of dealing with the Catholic Church matters. He treated the Arch Bishops as mere assistants while he ruled every nook and corner of their area in his way to which the former had to comply. It has been reported that it was because of the rigid authoritarian way of Pope John Paul II that many people had quit church altogether.
Whether friend or foe, the Pope remains a part of the lives of millions as their sole spiritual guide. Many have claimed that keeping a 24” bronze statue of the pope has filled their hearts and their houses with blessed aura.
The Attempt of Assassination of Pope John Paul II
Posted by: | Comments13th May 1981, St. Peters Square, Vatican City, the assembled spectators watched in shock and horror as Pope John Paul II (temporarily) succumbed to the impact of raging bullets. The shot was fired by a trained sniper from Turkey, Mehmet Ali Agca, as the Pope was entering St. Peters Square. Four bullets from Browning Hi-Power 9mm semi-automatic pistol, hit the Pope in his abdomen, perforating his colon and small intestines multiple times. Regardless of the number of bullets fired at him, all of them failed to rupture his mesenteric and abdominal arteries. He lost as much as three fourths of his blood and collapsed on his way to Gemelli Hospital.
Many wondered as to what the motivation towards this dreadful act could be. There was one reason that was strongly advocated since early 1980’s by Michael Ledeen was that the assassination attempt had been designed by Moscow. He also stressed that the KGB had instructed the Bulgarian and east German secret services to accomplish this mission.
The KGB had feared the failure of Soviet domination over Poland (and East Europe) following the support of Pope John Paul II to their Solidarity movement. Therefore removing the Pope from their way to perpetual autocratic and totalitarian rule seemed to be the best idea.
Mehmet Ali Agca, once caught had many conflicting claims to divert the investigation procedure of the authorities. In turn, he helped open up many different leads relating to this issue. Agca was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Italian court. In the year of 1983, a couple of days after Christmas, the Pope went in person to meet Agca in the prison he was held captive. According to sources he spoke to Agca for 20 minutes to which he had sworn secrecy, and forgave the assassin for his attempted sin.
May 12th 1982, a second assassination attempt was made on him in Fatima, Portugal, when a man tried to stab him with a bayonet. The assailant was a traditional Spanish priest, Juan Maria Fernandez y Krohn. The reason that he stated for this attempt was that he was opposed to the changes brought about by the second Vatican council. He called the Pope an agent of Communist Moscow and the Marxist Eastern Bloc. Juan, following this incident had to leave priest hood and had served three out of six years of imprisonment. For obvious reasons he was treated for mental illness.
Pope John Paul II was also the target of Al-Quaeda funded operation Bojinka. This attempt was supposed to be made on his visit to Philippines during the World Youth Day. But fortunately this attempt was foiled before it could materialize.
Beautiful 24” bronze statues of the Pope add a sense of peace and security to the house where they are displayed. This unique collector’s item can also be presented to close friends and relatives and can be considered a very thoughtful gift.
Pope John Paul II and the Sex Abuse Case
Posted by: | CommentsThe world is not ignorant about the presence of lecherous priests in the world but, who would have guessed that the Catholic Church also hosts a few of these perverts of the highest order. Among the most serious cases are the ones involving Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer an Austrian friend of the Pope. The Cardinal was accused of molesting over 2000 boys and young monks in his overall career span. Even then he sailed through the situation because there were no sanctions placed on him.
The next case was related to Marcial Maciel Degollado, the Mexican founder of the ‘Legion of Christ’. This person was accused of not only molesting young boys but fathering a number of children through innumerable women. The reason why Pope John Paul II was disapproved was for obstructing investigation in both these cases. In fact he had been criticized for promoting those individuals who had sex abuse cases pending against them.
Covering up of these cases have been considered to be worse than the crime itself. Cardinal Ratzinger under the auspices of Pope John Paul II had written a letter stating that all sex abuse cases in the Catholic Church be sent to his department and be subject to pontifical secrecy. He had also tried to persuade the Pope to bring them to book, but his opponents in the Vatican managed to block any further enquiry into the issue. In the words of the Present Pope Benedict XVI, ‘the other side had won’.
When the child abuse cases in the Catholic Church had first come to light, the Pope had an acceptable ‘bad apple’ explanation to provide. He said that even as priests some brothers are afflicted by sins that betray the grace of ordination. It is because of these few bad cases that the other brothers, who are conducting their office in the most virtuous manner, with honesty and integrity which sometimes result in heroic self sacrifice, are also tarnished. Although he showed his concern and sympathy to the victims and their families, he called upon the rest to embrace the ‘mysterium crucis’ and commit more fully to the search of holiness.
While H.H Groer was removed as Arch Bishop of Vienna in 1995, Pope Benedict finally managed to oust Maciel in 2006. Further investigations have proved that Maciel had sent pots of money to buy support in the Vatican.
One can give many reasons as to why Pope John Paul II had brushed all this rubbish under the Vatican carpet. It may be that he did not want the people in general to loose their faith on the Church, or it could also be that he believed that some (not all) of these cases were made to frame people in high Vatican offices. Whatever the excuse may be, people will question him for not dealing with these perverts in strict hands. History will show that it was actually Pope Benedict XVI and not Pope John Paul II who had initiated ‘purification’ of the Church.
‘Beautifully crafted’ 24” bronze statues of Pope John Paul II give out an aura of peace and tranquility. This collector’s item is also considered a very thoughtful gift for loved ones’
Pope John Paul – The Polish Hero
Posted by: | CommentsKarol Jozef Wojtyla who is known to the world as Pope John Paul II was born in Poland on 18th of May 1920. He was the first and the only Polish Pope. Pope John Paul II was a man of very humble beginnings and who could predict that he would emerge as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. He has got infinite achievements in his life time which is bringing him closer and closer to sainthood.
Although the fact that he is the first and only Pope that Poland has produced is enough to make this country and its people proud, there are a few very important reasons that gave Pope John Paul II the position of a Polish hero. If put into simple words the Pope was instrumental in putting an end to communism in Poland and eventually the whole of Europe.
Communism was based on atheistic ideology which tried to curb the rights of the Polish people to follow their faith and had imposed absolute primacy of the ‘law of the market’. The Catholic Church had rejected such totalitarian and atheistic ideologies since the very beginning. Pope John Paul II acted like a catalyst in causing peaceful revolution in Poland. He is also known as the spiritual inspiration behind the downfall of the communist regime. According to Lech Walesa, the founder of ‘Solidarity’ the Pope had given the courage to the people to rise up and stand for themselves.
In the year of 1989, December, Pope John Paul II met President Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the mighty Soviet Union, and the latter commented that the collapse of the ‘iron curtain’ could not be possible without the Pope’s spiritual guidance. He was also awarded the Medal of Freedom (that is America’s highest civil honor) in June 2004 by President George W Bush. What made Poland and its people proud was the citation that accompanied the medal, which said: ‘The son of Poland, whose principled stand for peace and freedom has inspired millions and helped to topple communism and tyranny’.
The Pope had played a vital role in harmonizing relationship of Christianity with other faith like Judaism and Islam. In fact he was the first Pope in history to enter a mosque. Even after suffering life threatening injuries (after being shot in the year of 1981) the Pope continued fearlessly and full of love and devotion to eradicate misery and tyranny form not only his homeland (Poland) but the whole world also.
People of Cracow, where he served as Arch Bishop for 15 years, he was lovingly called ‘Uncle’, a kind, warm and gentle soul who ‘always had time for his flock’. Although Pope John Paul II has departed for his heavenly abode, people still feel his aura around themselves with artifacts resembling him, the best among which is a 24” bronze statue which beautifully captures every single detail of this great soul.
Pope John Paul II and the Media
Posted by: | CommentsThe mid-20th century witnessed the rise and development of media, and even the Catholic Church could not deny its impact. Pope John Paul II recognized the development of media as one of the greatest steps of progress made by the modern society. Whether television, radio or, internet, the Pope knew how to put them into best use. He was one of the most media friendly personalities of the 20th century.
In Italy, Pope John Paul II was known as ‘Il Papa Del Sorriso’ or, the Smiling Pope; and ‘Il Sorriso di Dio’ meaning God’s smile. Time magazine referred to him as the September Pope. As much as the Pope was interested in the media, the media too was bowled over by the Pope. Every international visit of the Pope became a media event and more people gathered to see him in person than would gather to see a rock concert!
Documentaries and movies have been made on the life of Pope John Paul II (especially from the time he was elected as the Sovereign of the Vatican to the last day of his life). These films narrated stories about this extraordinary man full of love and compassion and they succeeded in moving the toughest of hearts. The media pronounced him as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century.
The Pope used the media to its fullest to get his message out to greater number of people all over the world. The year when John Paul II became Pope (1978) was the same year when instant global television was first made available and it received full support of the Pope since the very beginning. In 1987, 23 satellites linked him to 16 countries, where an estimate of one billion people watched him deliver ‘A Prayer for World Peace’. The Pope had also come out with his own music video where he was featured singing and reciting psalms and gospels.
Pope John Paul II Media Institute was set up with the goal of training Christians who have interest and skill in digital media. The Pope also urged the media to be evangelized. He had also authored of a number of books and publications reflecting his views and teachings through which he reached millions around the world. ‘Crossing the Threshold of Hope – Daily Meditation by Pope John Paul II’; ‘Draw Near to God – Daily Meditation by Pope John Paul II’; ‘The Gospel of Life – Evangelium Vita’, are a few to mention.
Pope John Paul II has left an impression on the world which will carry his legacy on for centuries to come. His statues have been carved in pure bronze, which are cherished and possessed by those who wish to feel the divine aura of this great soul around them.
