John Paul II, the Great

In the summer of 1979, your humble Rumbler spent a week in Rome. In the course of the visit, I found myself in St. Peter's Square on a Wednesday afternoon. A sudden surge in the crowd and I found myself in the middle of a group of German tourists being herded toward a rope line. Fortune would shine on me as I found myself on the front line as Pope John Paul II approached on a small rolling platform. (This preceded the security measures that were put in after the attempted assassination by the KGB a year later.) An Italian woman behind me asked me to hoist her son onto my shoulders...I did this and moments later the Pope came over and blessed the child. I fumbled with my trusty Pentax that was around my neck hanging about waist high. The first shot in that roll of film was a yellow blur - the rope line. The second shot is above.

I have never, before or since, experienced charisma. I have been with many very powerful people and have never had this sense of awe and respect. It was palpable and strong. The Pope moved on to a stage and addressed the assembled crowd in Polish, Italian, English and German. The affection from the crowd towards this man was overwhelming. Twenty six years later, look at what he has accomplished. Along with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, this man brought down the Soviet empire without a shot being fired. At a point in time that could have been a repeat of Hungary in 1956 or Czechoslovakia in 1968, John Paul went to Poland and prevented the Solidarity movement from being crushed and Lech Walesa from becoming tank-tread grease.

This is a man who rightly apologized to the Jewish people for centuries of mistreatment by Christians...he prayed at the Wailing Wall. He keenly understood that salvation comes from the Jews and has been instrumental in turning attitudes even among the rabid "they killed Christ" wing of fundamentalist Christian sects. He reached out to all sects of Christianity and even to Muslims. He taught that the fundamental vision of Christ was that we have nothing to fear. If death has been conquered what is there to be afraid of?

Yes, he has been a "conservative" Pope. He has reinforced traditions of the Roman Church that are disturbing to those who wish the Church would "grow," i.e. become more lenient. There is a saying I keep on my desk: "God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage." I think John Paul would smile at that. Yes, there are problems in the Church that will have to be addressed. The shame of the pedophilia scandal will take years to get rid of...there is a disturbing shortage of priests in the developed world...much work lays ahead for the next Pope. But these problems do nothing to diminish the stature of a great, great man.

John Paul II began his papacy grasping the Shepherd's Cross, an image of Christ on a simple wooden cross whose cross-beams are sagging, and the blessing of "Be not afraid!" He ends it with the same simple dignity. A tireless champion for life, he is now showing us how to bear our crosses in death. A story I heard about last week's Good Friday Stations of the Cross (due to his illness, he was unable to attend in person for the first time, but they piped them into his apartment via television) is that at the Station where Christ is nailed to the cross, John Paul clutched the crucifix they had placed in his lap and hugged it. Symbolically he is showing us there is nothing to fear in suffering or death. I will miss him, but am comforted by the thought that Christ is holding the door open for him...they will hug, and Christ had better be ready for a bear hug from this robust, good man.

Rest well, good pilgrim, rest well!