Pope John Paul II: Reflections

‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’ Matthew 25:21

The passing of Pope John Paul II about an hour ago marks the end of worldwide death watch like the world has never seen. Then again, this Papa (I rather like the Italian translation) has perhaps touched more people than anyone else in history with the exception of Jesus Christ himself. Even yours truly - an atheist-turned-Methodist - has been praying for the Papa.

It was September 14, 1987 when Pope John Paul II made a visit to the Phoenix area and held mass at ASU's Sun Devil Stadium. Although I didn't attend the mass, I had seen a map published in the newspaper showing the route his motorcade would take from the stadium to the bishop's residence. I figured this was the only time in my life that I'd ever see a real live pope. When the TV news reported that his motorcade was on the move, I drove to the intersection of Central Avenue and Glendale and stationed myself on the northeast corner. I knew I was in the right place because shortly after I and others arrived there, Secret Service agents also showed up. We knew he'd come by shortly.

Coming from the west came the familiar - but nonetheless curious - sight of the popemobile. The motorcade turned north on Central towards the bishop's residence nearby. And there he was, standing (or sitting?) within that clear, bulletproof box. We waved at him, and he waved back to us - to me! I will never forget that night. Hard to believe that was almost eighteen years ago.

Interestingly enough (to me, anyway), we have been to each other's hometowns - I was in Krakow in 1990 and I have a few pictures of the church where he served as archbishop.

The Papa was an extraordinary man. Some say he was controversial in his views when in actuality he was merely upholding the Gospel. He stood firm against the tyranny of Communism, first in his native Poland. From then on, a virtually bloodless revolution overthrew the Communist regimes of Europe. He averted a war in South America (the peace treaty was even signed in the Vatican) and pushed for humanitarian reforms in many dictatorships. He apologized on behalf of all Christianity for not doing enough to stop the Jewish Holocaust. He apologized on behalf of all Christianity for the Crusades against Islam. Pope John Paul II did what all Christians are asked to do - humbly asking for reconciliation - and assertively asking us to do the right thing.

During his life, Karol Jozef Wojtyla was an outstanding example of a Christian. In his final days, the Papa also demonstrated an outstanding example of how to die with dignity. The grief we share is for ourselves, not for him. For surely is sharing in his Master's happiness.