April 8, 2005

April 8, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 1

www.charlottediocese.org

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

A tribute to the Holy Father

The Catholic News & Herald presents a special commemorative edition to honor the life and legacy of Pope John Paul II.

Established Jan. 12, 1972

by Pope Paul VI April 8, 2005

Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

vOLUME 14

no. 26

In Christ’s embrace Pope John Paul II 1920 - 2005

Pope John Paul II was world’s conscience, modern-day apostle

by JOHN THAVIS catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II, who died April 2 at age 84, was a voice of conscience for the world and a modern-day apostle for his church.

To both roles he brought a philosopher’s intellect, a pilgrim’s spiritual intensity and an actor’s flair for the dramatic. That combination made him one of the most forceful moral leaders of the modern age.

As head of the church for more than 26 years, he held a hard line on doctrinal issues and drew sharp limits on dissent.

For many years he was a tireless evangelizer at home and abroad, but toward the end his frailty left him unable to murmur a blessing.

The first non-Italian pope in

455 years, Pope John Paul became a spiritual protagonist in two global transitions: the fall of European communism, which began in his native Poland in 1989, and the passage to the third millennium of Christianity.

The new millennium See APOSTLE, page 12

CNS file photo by Joe Rimkus Jr.

Above: Pope John Paul II gestures to the crowd at World Youth Day in Denver in 1993. The pope died April 2 at the Vatican. He was 84. He led the Roman Catholic Church for 26 years. Left: Bishop Peter J. Jugis passes a bust of Pope John Paul II at the start of a Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral April 3.

Remembering a pontiff

Local clergy reflect on memories of pope KEVIN E. MURRAY

Cathedral in Charlotte April 3 and spoke of the pope in his homily.

“Someone has asked me what direction the church will take now that the Holy Father has passed away,” said Bishop Jugis. “The direction the church takes in every age is the direction of

Jesus Christ.”

“The church always looks to Jesus. He is the way in every era and every day of the church’s life,” he said.

The bishop recalled how Pope John Paul II responded when he was asked what direction

Papal achievements

Mourning after

Perspectives

Encyclicals; women in church; Jewish relations; communism

Hometown burdens; new challenges

Local Catholics reflect on Pope John Paul II

by

editor

Photo by David Hains

CHARLOTTE — As people flock to the Vatican to bid farewell to Pope John Paul II, members of the Diocese of Charlotte are mourning their pontiff.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis celebrated Mass at St. Patrick

| Pages 6-7

| Pages 15-16

See REFLECTIONS, page 8

| Pages 8-9, 18-19

2 The Catholic News & Herald

papal character

April 8, 2005

New traditions

Pope invented his own variety of papal customs

by JOHN THAVIS catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — If there’s anything Pope John Paul II loved more than following traditions, it was inventing new ones.

During his pontificate, the Polishborn pontiff filled his calendar with annual events of every variety: hearing confessions, baptizing babies, visiting Rome parishes or holding youth rallies, to name a few.

That’s on top of the traditional papal ceremonies he inherited when elected in 1978. Only when his health and mobility seriously declined in his later years did he cut back — reluctantly — on several of these self-styled customs.

In 1980, he instituted the practice of hearing confessions in St. Peter’s Basilica on Good Friday, apparently becoming the first pope in history to hear the confessions of ordinary Catholics.

The year before, he began writing an annual Holy Thursday letter to priests of the world, as a sign of his special concern for the priesthood and the burdens of pastoral ministry.

Visible presence The pope liked to move around,

and in 1979 he revived the practice of leading an Ash Wednesday procession on Rome’s Aventine Hill, before placing ashes on the foreheads of cardinals, bishops and religious at the Basilica of Santa Sabina. The Lenten season “cannot pass unnoticed,” he remarked during the ceremony.

For many years on March 19, feast of St. Joseph, he traveled to an Italian factory or other workplace to highlight church concerns about the world of labor.

“In some of these events and meetings, the pope wanted to be more visible,” said one Vatican official, adding that the pope’s presence gave events “a sense of a ‘happening.’”

The pope also wanted to be seen engaged directly in pastoral action, not sitting behind a desk in his private library.

Founding Father The events often had a sacramental character. Soon after he was elected, he began ordaining bishops in a lengthy liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica on the feast of the Epiphany. Later, he made an annual tradition of baptizing babies from around the world in a Mass marking the

CNS file photo by Arturo Mari

Pope John Paul II reaches out to a man at a home run by the Missionaries of Charity in Kingston, Jamaica, Aug. 9, 1993. The pope, who identified with sick and suffering people and offered comfort to them wherever he went, established World Day of the Sick Feb. 11, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. feast of the baptism of the Lord.

World Youth Day, launched by the pope in 1986, has become one of the most popular international celebrations on the church calendar. Every two or three years, Pope John Paul presided over a mega-gathering of young people.

The pope also established the World Day of the Sick Feb. 11, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, for which he prepared an annual message.

In 1997, he instituted a World Day of Consecrated Life, celebrated Feb. 2, feast of the Presentation of the Lord, and celebrated Mass to inaugurate it.

One of Pope John Paul’s biggest innovations was his pastoral visits to Rome parishes. Pope Paul VI paid occasional visits to churches in his diocese, but this pope made it systematic, calling on more than 300 parishes. In 2002, when ailing health made such visits too cumbersome, he amended the tradition to have representatives of Rome parishes visit him at the Vatican. It was a natural choice for the Polish pope — he had visited parishes week after week as archbishop of Krakow and considered it one of the best parts of his job.

For many years, the pope also revived the custom of a Dec. 31 papal visit to a Rome church to offer a year-end “Te Deum” of thanksgiving.

Another tradition Pope John Paul brought to the Vatican was a simple one that resonated with Catholics all over the world: a Christmas tree and a Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square, just below the papal window. Like thousands of others, he visited it during the Christmas season.

Private moments Not all the pope’s new traditions were publicized, however.

On his birthday, he usually invited cardinals in Rome who were over age 80 to a lunch and some open talk about church issues. It was a sign that he appreciated their input, even though he maintained the rule excluding them from a conclave because of their age.

For many years, just after Christmas, the pope often paid a couple of barely noticed visits to two other groups: He met with garbage collectors at a small office near the Vatican and with nuns and homeless people at a shelter operated by Missionaries of Charity in the Vatican.

CNS file photo by Arturo Mari

Thousands of young people cheer Pope John Paul II during the 1992 World Youth Day in Czestochowa, Poland. An estimated 1.5 million youths from 80 countries attended the first international World Youth Day. The event, launched by the pope in 1986, became one of the most popular international celebrations on the church calendar.

April 8, 2005 Volume 14 • Number 26

Publisher: Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis Editor: Kevin E. Murray Staff Writer: Karen A. Evans Graphic Designer: Tim Faragher Advertising Representative: Cindi Feerick Secretary: Deborah Hiles 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203 Mail: P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237 Phone: (704) 370-3333 FAX: (704) 370-3382 E-mail: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

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April 8, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 3

papal character

Outspoken and revereNd

As dominant figure on world stage, pope used his moral leadership communism.

More than any previous pontiff, he pushed religious teachings into the center of public debate, arguing that universal moral norms — such as the sanctity of life — are not optional for contemporary society.

The pope’s bold words and gestures won acclaim, but not from all quarters.

As his pontificate wore on, his message increasingly went against conventional thinking on issues like abortion, gay marriage and genetic research.

When it came to war, the pope gave no comfort to those pressing for the use of military force.

His outspoken opposition to the U.S.-led war on Iraq in 2003 was based on the conviction that both sides should have done more to settle the dispute peacefully. He mobilized an unprecedented, though unsuccessful, diplomatic effort to help prevent hostilities and to preserve the role of the United Nations in global peacemaking.

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by extremists acting in the name of Islam, the pope led a spiritual campaign against all violence in the name of religion. He convened a meeting of Muslims, Christians, Jews and others in Assisi in early 2002; the gathering produced a joint statement against terrorism.

Fighting for life Pro-life issues brought out a fighting spirit in the Polish-born pontiff. In 1994, for example, he challenged U.N. population planners on abortion and birth-control policies and steered an international development conference toward a moral debate on life and family issues.

The pope and his aides took some flak for that. But as he aged, he seemed more determined than ever to speak his mind, applying church teaching to technical questions such as economics, biology and demographics, and prodding individual consciences on what he has called a worldwide “moral crisis.”

“The Gospel of Life,” his 1995 encyclical on pro-life issues that he addressed to “all people of good will” and sent to government leaders around the

CNS photo by Chris Sheridan

Pope John Paul II addresses the United Nations in New York during his first visit to the United States in October 1979.

by JOHN THAVIS catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II spent more than 26 years as a dominant figure on the world stage, using his moral leadership to promote human rights, condemn ethical failings and plead for peace.

He had the ear of presidents, prime ministers and kings, who came in a steady stream for private audiences at the Vatican.

Although the pope’s fading health in later years made these one-on-one meetings less substantive, his encounters with U.S. and Soviet leaders in the 1980s and ’90s gave a spiritual impetus to the fall of European

globe, reflected the pope’s sense of resolve.

“To speak out on an issue like abortion confirms this pope’s leadership in a dramatic way,” said Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls. “If a pope doesn’t try to awaken ethical responsibility, what is his value?”

The pope’s pro-life stand also virtually excluded the death penalty, and he made frequent appeals against executions in the United States. After one dramatic plea during his visit to St. Louis in 1999, the sentence of a Missouri deathrow inmate was commuted.

Global stage During jubilee celebrations in 2000, the pope continually prodded and pressured global financial powers to forgive at least part of the Third World debt — a request that added a moral dimension to the issue and helped bring about debt relief for some of the poorest nations.

The pope conferred with presidents, stood up to tyrants and preached to crowds of more than a million people.

Almost immediately after his election in 1978, he began using the world as a pulpit: decrying hunger from Africa; denouncing the arms race from Hiroshima, Japan; and promoting human equality from caste-conscious India.

As Poland’s native son, he had a special interest and a key role in the demise

of European communism. For years he criticized the moral bankruptcy of the system, to applause in the West. His visits to his homeland helped light the fire of reform, which eventually led to the first noncommunist government in the Soviet bloc.

In an astute political move, he cultivated an ally in Mikhail Gorbachev, whose “glasnost” policies set the stage for the breakup of the Soviet Union — and the return of religious freedom.

But the pope was also a sometimesunwelcome critic of capitalism, warning that the profit motive alone would never bring justice and cautioning about the effects of “globalization” in the postcommunist era.

Modern leadership is often a question of personal rapport, and Pope John Paul met with world figures across the spectrum. During his pontificate, every U.S. president made a pilgrimage to the Vatican, including President George W. Bush in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

The pope’s door almost always was open to the world’s powerful, a policy that brought controversial figures to his private library — among them Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Cuban President Fidel Castro and former Austrian President Kurt Waldheim.

Many observers, including former U.S. ambassadors to the Vatican, said Pope John Paul’s influence on world events was tremendous. They praised his political savvy, reflected less in the public realm than in behind-thescenes efforts by Vatican diplomats.

The pope’s tenure saw a near-doubling of the number of countries with which the Vatican holds diplomatic relations.

At the same time, his flair for the dramatic gesture helped make him the mosttelevised pontiff in history. That was a form of global influence that this pope never underestimated. Millions watched him walk through crowds of African poor or visit a shantytown family in Latin America. As the pope once said, one reason he kept returning to these places was that he knew the cameras would follow, spotlighting human problems around the globe.

Relentless efforts The pope was a consistent critic of war and a booster of peace, and during his pontificate the Vatican issued major statements calling for disarmament. His aides successfully headed off a shooting war between Chile and Argentina in 1978.

But sometimes the pope’s peace efforts went unheeded, to his bitter disappointment.

That was true not only in Iraq; his warnings about conflagration in the Balkans and his horror at ethnic fighting in Africa illustrated the limits of papal influence.

When Pope John Paul first addressed the United Nations in 1979, he emphasized that harmonious international relations were deeply tied to a proper understanding of freedom and respect for moral precepts.

That was a message he honed over the years, in face-to-face meetings with world leaders and in public speeches.

Returning to the United Nations in 1995, frailer but just as forceful, he again insisted that the “family of nations” must be founded on strong moral principles and warned of “unspeakable offenses against human life and freedom” in today’s world.

The pope never stopped prodding the world’s conscience, nor did he shy away from appealing directly to heads of state.

4 The Catholic News & Herald

papal travels

April 8, 2005

Globetrotting for God

Slowed by age, pope refused to give up world travels

by JOHN THAVIS catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — Although slowed by age and infirmity before he died, Pope John Paul II refused to give up one of his favorite pastoral duties: traveling the globe.

Visiting 129 countries on 104 trips outside Italy, he redefined the nature of the papacy and its once-stable ministry. Earlier popes were carried on chairs at the Vatican; this one jetted around the world, taking the universal church to such out-of-the-way places as Papua New Guinea, Madagascar and Alaska.

Averaging four major trips a year, the pope logged more than 700,000 miles and spent about 6 percent of his papacy outside the Vatican and Italy.

Every year his aides told him to slow down — and every year the pontiff penciled in more trips. In 2002, despite summer heat and declining health, the pope crisscrossed North and Central America for 11 days to meet with youths in Toronto and canonize saints in Guatemala and Mexico.

Perhaps the most personally satisfying trip was his Holy Year 2000 pilgrimage to biblical lands, which began in Egypt with a visit to Mount Sinai and continued with stops in Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. The pope walked in the footsteps of Christ and the Apostles and made a historic visit in Jerusalem to the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest place.

A year later, extending his biblical pilgrimage, he made unprecedented papal stops in Greece and Syria, meeting with Orthodox in Athens and visiting a mosque in Damascus, Syria.

Even when his failing health made it difficult for him to walk and speak, the pope plowed ahead with trips to out-of-the-way places like Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, where he was pushed on a wheeled platform and lowered from airplanes on a modified cargo lift. In 2004, when he no longer could walk, he visited Switzerland and Lourdes, France.

Around and back again From the beginning, Pope John Paul made it clear he enjoyed being out of the Vatican and mingling with the faithful.

He treated reporters to unprecedented flying news conferences, strolling through the press section of his plane and fielding dozens of questions.

Asked about his globe-trotting papacy in 1983, he replied: “Yes, I am convinced ... that I am traveling too much, but sometimes it is necessary to do something of what is too much.”

On other occasions, he said simply, “I must visit my people.”

His top aides said the pontiff aimed to strengthen the links between the church in Rome and particular church communities around the globe. From the mountains of Peru to the plains of India, he spoke the local languages, gave pep talks to local pastoral workers and canonized local saints.

His speeches, sermons and liturgies often were televised in the host countries, giving him a unique opportunity to evangelize and stand up publicly for minority Catholics.

Some of his warmest receptions came in Africa, a continent where his 14 visits helped spur a period of tremendous growth for the church. He once told reporters he kept returning to Africa in order to bring the journalistic spotlight to its sufferings. A crowd in Burkina Faso held up a banner in 1990 that welcomed him as “a great friend.”

In a 1980 trip to Latin America, he underscored the church’s commitment to the poor by walking into a shack in a Rio de Janeiro slum and chatting with the residents.

Moments earlier, in a spontaneous gesture, he had taken off his gold papal ring and offered it to the poverty-stricken local parish.

He visited with victims of Hansen’s disease in Guinea-Bissau and blessed young AIDS sufferers in Uganda and the United States. These stops provided rare glimpses of papal emotion, and his hugs for the sick were often front-page pictures in newspapers around the world.

The pope’s seven trips to the United States featured festive celebrations and emotional highlights, such as the time he met the 375,000 young people who visited Denver in 1993 for World Youth Day. The pontiff and politics From a pastoral point of view, some of his toughest trips were in Europe, a continent the pope declared in need of re-evangelization. In places like the Netherlands in 1985, he got an earful from Catholics unhappy with church positions on issues such as birth control and priestly celibacy.

International politics sometimes colored Pope John Paul’s travels. In Nicaragua in 1983, the pope tried to shout down Sandinista activists who began chanting political slogans during a Mass. In Haiti on the same trip, he delivered a stern rebuke to dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, who eventually was forced out of office.

In his native Poland, the pope’s early visits — which drew massive, politically energized crowds — were credited by many for re-igniting the pro-democracy movement that broke the communist hold on power in 1989.

During his 1998 visit to Cuba, one of the last bastions of communism, he strongly defended civil and church freedoms and said he hoped the visit would bear the same fruits as his Polish trips.

Yet even after the fall of European communism, invisible walls kept Pope John Paul from visiting his flock in several places. At the top of the list was Russia, where Orthodox leaders kept saying the time was not ripe, and China, where the government refused to recognize the pope’s authoritative role.

Whether in Muslim Morocco, Bud-

CNS photo from L’Osservatore Romano, Arturo Mari

Pope John Paul II visits Uganda in February 1993. The pope’s 104 trips outside Italy made Pope John Paul II by far the most widely traveled pope in history.

April 8, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 5

papal travels

In U.S. visits, pope urged Catholics to use freedom responsibly by

less sensitive, less caring toward the poor, the weak, the stranger, the needy?” he asked.

And with a challenging response to his own question, he replied, “It must not.”

CAROL ZIMMERMAN catholic news service

WASHINGTON — In Pope John Paul II’s seven visits to the United States, he continually urged Catholics to use their freedom responsibly and to preserve the sacredness and value of human life.

In football stadiums in New York and California, a Hispanic barrio in Texas, a historic farm in Iowa and dozens of cathedrals, the pope challenged Americans to rediscover their country’s religious roots, which sought to guarantee individual freedom and human dignity.

He frequently quoted long-standing icons of American culture, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, words of Thomas Jefferson, the Pledge of Allegiance, and even the song “America the Beautiful.”

During his September 1987 visit to South Carolina, he praised the American tradition of freedom, but called on Americans not to lose sight of freedom’s “true meaning.”

“America: You cannot insist on the right to choose without also insisting on the duty to choose well, the duty to choose in truth,” he said at an ecumenical service that drew 65,000 people to Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. Father Frank O’Rourke, pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro, and David Hains, director of communications for the Diocese of Charlotte, were television commentators during the pope’s visit.

Challenging changes The pope first came to the United States in 1979, visiting Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington and Des Moines, Iowa.

He met with church and civic leaders, including President Jimmy Carter at the White House, but he also took the time to personally greet many of the thousands who flocked to the sidelines, hoping for a handshake or even just a glimpse of him.

But the pope’s first U.S. visit also was not without tension. During the last day of his trip he met with about 7,000 women religious

CNS file photo by Chris Sheridan

Pope John Paul II addresses a press conference with President Jimmy Carter in the Rose Garden of the White House Oct. 6, 1979. He was the first pope to be received at the U.S. presidential residence.

in Washington and was challenged by one of them to expand women’s role in the church.

Although the pope had stopovers in Alaska in 1981 and 1984, his next major visit to the United States was not until 1987, when he visited Columbia, S.C., Miami; New Orleans; San Antonio; Phoenix; Los Angeles; Monterey and Carmel, Calif.; San Francisco; and Detroit.

That year, the pope told Americans at a departure ceremony at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport: “The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless ones.”

During a visit in 1995, the pope reminded his listeners at Giants Stadium in New Jersey not to forget the words emblazoned on the base of the statue, symbolizing the nation’s initial willingness to care for the poor and immigrant.

“Is present day America becoming

death.”

The pope returned to the United States in 1999 for a pastoral visit to St. Louis.

In his 31-hour stay in the country’s heartland, the pope met Mark McGwire, home run champion for the St. Louis Cardinals, prior to leading a prayer service for youth in the city’s hockey arena. The next day he celebrated Mass at an enclosed football stadium for 120,000 people in what has been described as the largest indoor Mass in the country.

He challenged young people not to delay living out their faith.

“You are ready for what Christ wants of you now. He wants you — all of you — to be light to the world,” he told them.

He strongly urged American Catholics to be “unconditionally pro-life” in taking stands against abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide, capital punishment and racism.

In usual fashion, he also urged St. Louis Catholics to take up a renewed spirit

Meeting the masses He not only spoke to huge crowds, but addressed smaller groups of religious leaders, black Catholics, Native Americans, Catholic educators and Catholic health care workers.

In Los Angeles, he noted that many Catholics “are selective in their adherence to” church moral teachings. He said it was wrong to think that dissent poses no obstacle to Catholic participation in the sacraments.

In San Francisco, the pope ignored the conventional wisdom of the day to reach out and touch AIDS patients, shaking their hands and embracing a 4-year-old boy who had contracted the deadly disease through a blood transfusion shortly after birth.

At World Youth Day in Denver in 1993, the pope spoke to hundreds of thousands of young people and encouraged them to bring Christ to the world.

“At this stage of history, the liberating message of the Gospel of life has been put into your hands,” he told them.

During his three-day stay in Denver, the pope also met with President Bill Clinton.

In 1995, in a visit just to the East Coast, the pope stopped in New York City; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Baltimore and Newark, N.J. He celebrated Mass in New York’s Central Park and various sports stadiums, including a racetrack in Queens.

In a formal talk to the U.N. General Assembly and in off-the-cuff remarks to schoolchildren, the pope urged people to work and pray for peace.

He also took an unexpected detour down Fifth Avenue to greet the throngs of people eager to see the pontiff up close.

Spreading the light In a prayer service in Newark the pope thanked God for the “extraordinary human epic that is the United States.” And before leaving, he again urged Catholics to “love life, cherish life, defend life, from conception to natural

6 The Catholic News & Herald

papal achievements

Pope John Paul II looked closely at role of women in church

by CINDY WOODEN catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — In authoritative theological documents and in heartfelt pastoral letters, Pope John Paul II looked at the role of women in the church and in the world more closely than any other pope in modern history.

On topics as diverse as the priesthood, motherhood, abortion, work, religious life and peacemaking, women were a recurring and often controversial subject for the pope.

During his more than 26-year pontificate, as women consolidated their place in some of the highest echelons of temporal power, the pope and the Catholic Church were the objects of continuous criticism about the status of women in the church.

The issue of women and the priesthood generated discussion and dissent within the Catholic Church and became a major ecumenical stumbling block when some churches in the Anglican Communion began ordaining women.

Nevertheless, during Pope John Paul’s pontificate, women took over pastoral and administrative duties in priestless parishes, they were appointed chancellors of dioceses around the world and they began swelling the ranks of “experts” at Vatican synods and symposiums.

In 2004, for the first time, the pope appointed two women theologians to the prestigious International Theological Commission and named a female Harvard University law professor to be president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Equal and different While defending women’s rights and their “equal dignity” with men, the pope also highlighted the ways women are and should be different from men.

Women and men have complementary natures, he taught, and their “diversity of roles” in the church and in the family are a reflection of that reality.

The pope’s teaching on complementarity formed the basis for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s 2004 document on male-female collaboration in the church and society.

Describing discrimination against women and male-female rivalry as results of sin, the document said the differences between the sexes are part of God’s plan for creation — not social constructs — and that church and society benefit when the gifts of both are recognized.

While decrying discrimination against women and urging their promotion in all spheres of community and

CNS file photo by Joe Rimkus Jr.

Three young women greet Pope John Paul II at World Youth Day in Denver in 1993. In authoritative theological documents and in heartfelt pastoral letters, the pope looked at the role of women in the church and in the world more closely than any other pope in modern history. social life, the pope unequivocally reaffirmed the teaching that the church cannot ordain them to the priesthood.

‘The Dignity of Women’ The basic elements of his teaching on women are found in his 1988 apostolic letter, “Mulieris Dignitatem” (“The Dignity of Women”), his 1994 apostolic letter, “On Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men Alone,” and his 1995 “Letter to Women.”

But his thoughts on women also could be found in significant segments of his weekly general audience series on sexuality and on the structure of the church, his 1988 apostolic exhortation on the laity, his 1995 message for World Peace Day, and his messages to the leaders of the U.N. conferences on population and on women.

Even one of his annual heart-toheart letters to the world’s priests dwelt on the topic of women, particularly on the importance of women — mothers, sisters and friends — in the lives of priests.

The starting point of “Mulieris Dignitatem” was what Scripture had to say about women, especially Eve and Mary, and Christ’s attitude toward

women in the New Testament.

In the letter, the pope argued against outdated cultural views that God meant women to be subject to men. Both were created in God’s image and likeness with equal dignity, he said.

The fact that God chose a woman, the Virgin Mary, to play such an important role in the world’s salvation leaves little doubt about the God-given dignity of women, the pope wrote.

In his 1994 apostolic letter on ordination, Pope John Paul said the church’s ban on women priests is definitive and not open to debate among Catholics.

The all-male priesthood, he wrote, does not represent discrimination against women, but fidelity to Christ’s actions and his plan for the church.

The pope’s document reaffirmed the basis for ordaining only men: Christ chose only men to be his Apostles, it has been the constant practice of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, and the magisterium’s teaching on the matter has been consistent.

Working for change Pope John Paul took his teaching directly to the world’s women in a 1995 letter in which he thanked them for all they have done, apologized for the church’s failure to always recognize their contributions and condemned the “long and degrading history” of sexual violence against women.

Evaluating the women’s liberation movement as being generally positive, the pope called for changes to make women’s equality a reality in the world. He called for equal pay for equal work, protection for working mothers and fairness in career advancement.

But he also mentioned a growing concern in his thinking and teaching: a belief that modern societies were denigrating motherhood and penalizing women who chose to have children.

While the pope carefully avoided discussing women exclusively in terms of their possible roles as virgins or mothers,

April 8, 2005

During his papacy, pope published 14 encyclical letters VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II published 14 encyclical letters: 1. “Redemptor Hominis” (“The Redeemer of Man”), 1979: On Jesus Christ and the dignity his redemption brings to the human race.

2. “Dives in Misericordia” (“Rich in Mercy”), 1980: On God the Father and the meaning of God’s mercy.

3. “Laborem Exercens” (“On Human Work”), 1981: Social encyclical on workers’ rights and dignity marking the 90th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical “Rerum Novarum.”

4. “Slavorum Apostoli” (“The Apostles of the Slavs”), 1985: Affirming Eastern Europe’s Christian culture in a commemoration of Sts. Cyril and Methodius on the 1,100th anniversary of St. Methodius’ death.

5. “Dominum et Vivificantem” (“Lord and Giver of Life”), 1986: On the living presence of the Holy Spirit in the church and the world.

6. “Redemptoris Mater” (“Mother of the Redeemer”), 1987: On Mary’s role in the mystery of Christ and in the church.

7. “Sollicitudo Rei Socialis” (“On Social Concerns”), 1987: Second social encyclical, marking 20th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s social encyclical “Populorum Progressio.”

8. “Redemptoris Missio” (“The Mission of the Redeemer”), 1991: On spreading the Gospel as the central and permanent mandate of the church.

9. “Centesimus Annus” (“The Hundredth Year”), 1991: Third social encyclical, analyzing the social situation in the light of communism’s collapse on the 100th anniversary of “Rerum Novarum.”

10. “Veritatis Splendor” (“The Splendor of Truth”), 1993: First papal encyclical in history on the foundations of moral theology.

11. “Evangelium Vitae” (“The Gospel of Life”), 1995: On abortion, euthanasia, embryonic experiments and other threats to human life, its sacredness and dignity.

12. “Ut Unum Sint” (“That All May Be One”), 1995: On the importance of striving for Christian unity.

13. “Fides et Ratio” (“Faith and Reason”), 1998: On philosophy.

14. “Ecclesia de Eucharistia,” 2003: On

April 8, 2005

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papal achievements

History may see pope as catalyst of communism’s

Pope’s death brings unprecedented outpouring of Jewish thanks, praise

by JOHN THAVIS catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — In the view of many political commentators, history will best remember Pope John Paul II as the spiritual godfather of communism’s demise.

Although he refused to claim personal credit for the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and its decline elsewhere around the globe, the pope was keenly aware that his moral prodding — especially in his native Poland — helped redraw the ideological map in the late 20th century.

“I think the crucial role was played by Christianity itself: its content, its religious and moral message, its intrinsic defense of the human person. All I did was recall this, repeat it and insist on it,” the pope said in a 1993 interview.

His election in 1978 as the first pope from behind the Iron Curtain immediately sparked interest in Washington and apprehension in Moscow, two poles of a renewed Cold War. For decades the Vatican had followed a policy of quiet negotiation with communist regimes, in order to win realistic concessions on religious rights. Many thought the new pope would throw out this “Ostpolitik” in favor of more aggressive approach.

But in the end, Pope John Paul made “Ostpolitik” his own. He kept up the quiet negotiations, but in documents and speeches around the world he began making not-so-quiet pronouncements about communist ideology and practice.

In 1984, for example, the pope publicly criticized Moscow for not letting him go to Lithuania for religious celebrations. The same year, a Vatican document approved by the pope referred to communist regimes as the “shame of our time.”

The real testing ground of East European freedom was Poland. When the pope visited his homeland in 1979, he helped ignite a sense of spiritual purpose that nurtured the political hopes of the Solidarity labor movement. After martial law was imposed and Solidarity outlawed, the pope returned to a discouraged nation in 1983, but in talk after talk raised the country’s morale and political resolve.

Back once again in 1987, he repeatedly praised the original Solidarity ideals, hammered the government’s labor record, called for religious freedom and said Marxism had lost credibility.

“Save your strength for the future,” he told a crowd of millions in Gdansk, where the pro-democracy movement had begun.

Two years later, a revived Solidarity swept to political power in historic free elections, and European communism unraveled.

CNS file photo

Crowds cheer in the streets of Warsaw, Poland, on June 4, 1979, waiting for the arrival of Pope John Paul II on his first visit to Poland as pope. The pontiff’s visits gave energy to the Polish people and helped to eventually topple communism in Poland. ideology weakened, the regimes sometimes advertised their more liberal approach by offering concessions on religious freedom.

The pope adopted the same strategy during his historic pastoral visit to Cuba in 1998, encouraging President Fidel Castro to make political and religious reforms while urging the international community to stop isolating the Caribbean nation.

While much of the world was caught off-balance by the rapid disintegration of communism, the Vatican seemed better prepared. The pope spoke the languages of many of the region’s people, and that made a huge difference.

The pope realized that the moral victory over communism marked the start of a delicate reorganizational phase for the church and its pastoral mission. In the space of a decade, he called two special synods for Europe to discuss evangelization plans in the wake of the Soviet collapse and emphasized that the demoralizing effects of a half-century of communism could not be erased overnight.

He also rejected ideological triumphalism. Rather than dance on communism’s grave, he preferred to warn that unchecked capitalism held its own dangers — especially in the countries emerging from Marxist shadows.

He made a point to visit 18 former Soviet republics or satellites in the years before his death.

From 1980 onward, the United States sent high-level officials to brief the pope about Soviet policies in Poland and elsewhere. The Vatican never denied that these meetings took place, but denied the claim of a U.S.-Vatican “holy alliance” to thwart communism.

In fact, when the first big cracks appeared in the European communist facade, the pope turned East, not West, for help.

His overtures to Soviet reformer Mikhail Gorbachev culminated in their historic meeting at the Vatican in 1989 and led to the restoration of church rights throughout the Soviet bloc.

When the Soviet Union disintegrated, the Vatican took advantage of the situation by quickly establishing diplomatic relations with the newly independent countries. As the pope remarked, it was clear that Marxist ideology was “completely exhausted.”

A key part of the pope’s strategy was to encourage communist countries to sign human rights accords, then insist that they live up to them. The Vatican, for example, repeatedly invoked the Helsinki Agreement and the 1989 Vienna follow-up accords when discussing the human rights situation in Eastern Europe.

Another factor working for the pope was that the Vatican’s “blessing” was important to countries seeking economic and political favor in the West. As communist

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The April 2 death of Pope John Paul II brought an unprecedented outpouring of condolences, praise and blessing from religious leaders of the Jewish community.

Their comments indicated how deeply Catholic-Jewish relations have been affected worldwide by the Catholic Church’s first Polish pope — who as a youth personally experienced the tragedy of the Nazi Holocaust of the Jewish people in World War II and as pope transformed that experience into an intense Catholic theological reflection on God’s eternal covenant with Jews and the sinfulness of Christian anti-Semitism.

Many consider what Pope John Paul II did to advance reconciliation between Catholics and Jews as one of the hallmarks of his papacy. Four moments stand out particularly for their symbolism: — 1979. In Poland, he prayed at the Auschwitz concentration camp. He paused at the Hebrew inscription commemorating the Jews killed there and said, “It is not permissible for anyone to pass by this inscription with indifference.”

— 1986. He went to a Rome synagogue to pray with the city’s Jewish community. Noting Christianity’s unique bond with Judaism, he said, “You are our beloved brothers ... you are our elder brothers” in the faith of Abraham.

— 1994. He attended a Vatican-hosted concert commemorating the Holocaust, Hitler’s World War II effort to exterminate all Jews.

— 2000. After meditating at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, he placed in the wall a written prayer to God expressing deep sadness for all wrongs done to Jews

by Christians. It ended, “Asking your forgiveness, we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant.”

Under Pope John Paul, the Vatican published guidelines on how Catholics should teach and preach about Jews and Judaism and issued a major document on the Holocaust that expressed repentance for the Christians’ failure to oppose the persecution of Jews.

In 1985, the pope went to the Great Synagogue of Rome. It was believed to be the first time since Peter that a pope had entered the Rome synagogue, and symbolically it marked a watershed in CatholicJewish relations.

During his jubilee pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the sight of the aging, stooped pope praying as he pressed a trembling hand against the ancient stones of the Western Wall struck a chord with Jews around the world.

At the pope’s urging, the Vatican es-

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local response

Local clergy reflect on memories of pope REFLECTIONS, from page 1

the church might take with his pontificate.

“We can do no more than the Holy Father did from the beginning of his pontificate in 1978 than to look to Jesus for direction, for wisdom, for comfort,” said Bishop Jugis. “Jesus Christ is the way for the church and also the way for humanity.”

As prayers and Masses were being scheduled and offered for the pope in all 92 parishes and missions of the Diocese of Charlotte, Bishop Jugis asked “all people of good will to join in prayer at this time.”

Bishop Jugis studied for the priesthood in Rome and was ordained by Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Basilica in 1983.

Bishop Jugis has traveled twice to the Vatican since becoming bishop in 2003. During his 2004 “ad limina” visit, the bishop had a private audience with the pope.

“I came away from the meeting awed and humbled,” said Bishop Jugis. “It was a very holy moment.”

“For 26 years, the Holy Father has shepherded the church with great wisdom,” said the bishop. “His faith and confidence in Christ have inspired countless numbers of people around the world to a deeper love for God. His zeal to make Christ known has taken him to all areas of the globe.”

The pope visited the United States seven times. Msgr. Anthony Marcaccio, pastor of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro, recalled the crowd’s reaction to the pope during his visit in Baltimore, Md. “The whole place went to its feet, wild with anticipation, knowing the liturgy was about to begin,” said Msgr. Marcaccio.

“The people’s sentiment for their shepherd is hard to describe — somewhere just short of an electric shock,” he said. “Their love and affection so permeated the stadium that we all felt very much ‘alive.’”

Msgr. Marcaccio also accompanied Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin on his “ad limina” visit to the Vatican in the 1990s.

“I’ll never forget the intimacy of that moment with the Holy Father and Bishop Curlin,” said Msgr. Marcaccio.

During the visit, Bishop Curlin mentioned the monsignor’s mother had been diagnosed with cancer.

“Then the Holy Father made the sign of the cross on my forehead and, with the utmost paternal affection, held my face and pronounced he would pray for my mother,” said Msgr. Marcaccio.

“His tenderness at that moment, in the midst of a busy schedule, had a profound

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impact on me.”

“During my years as a bishop, I was fortunate to have had several private meetings with Pope John Paul,” said Bishop Curlin. “He was always concerned with the pastoral information offered to him.”

“What a privilege to have occasions to concelebrate Mass with him in his private chapel in the Vatican,” said Bishop Curlin.

“He was totally absorbed in his awareness of the presence of the Lord in the Eucharist.”

“One of my cherished memories was to be privileged to be able to celebrate Mass with the Holy Father and one other priest, and then to proclaim the Gospel to the pope,” said Father James Hawker, pastor of St. Luke Church in Mint Hill and vicar for education in the Diocese of Charlotte.

In the early 1990s, Father Hawker was a consultant to the Vatican Congregation for Clergy and traveled to the Vatican several times. He concelebrated Mass with Pope John Paul II three times.

“It was quite an experience to talk with him,” said Father Hawker. “As a man of deep spirituality and enviable scholarship, he reflected the mind and the heart of the Lord Jesus. He was a magnificent witness; truly a witness of hope who lived his commitment to the Gospel of Life.”

Father Hawker vividly recalled the pope’s 1979 visit to Boston, where he spoke to the youths during a heavy rainfall and offered them the “option” of Jesus Christ.

“For the pope, Jesus was the only option — Jesus was the way, the truth and the life,” said Father Hawker. “But in the culture, in today’s society ... he was speaking to young people within the context of their living of life. And it was a powerful homily, especially in the pouring rain.”

“He has encouraged and enlivened the youth to take their place of responsibility,” said Father Roger Arnsparger, pastor of St. Barnabas Church in Arden.

Father Arnsparger traveled to the Vatican to be present at the pope’s funeral.

The pope’s death, he said, means for the Catholic Church “a greater understanding of the holiness of life and the holiness of death.”

“It teaches us to place our eternal life at the top of our priorities,” he said. “It teaches us that God will continue to lead us to eternal life as the next pope takes the place of service to the church.”

Bishop Jugis decided to celebrate three observances to “pray for the repose of the soul of the Holy Father” — Masses at the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville April

Statements from area bishops on pope

The Catholic Church has lost a most faithful pastor and teacher with the death of Pope John Paul II. For more than 26 years, his was a voice of clarity and constancy in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in calling humanity to live in and to work for peace, in challenging the men and women of our world to both recognize our dignity as children of God and to promote the inalienable rights that flow from that human dignity from conception to natural death.

He visited and encountered more people in his missionary outreach than all of his predecessors combined. He was a giant in the religious world and his passing brings great sorrow to the hearts of all Catholics.

— Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta

dignity and worth of all human beings, especially those challenged by sickness, infirmity, suffering and age. With patience, fidelity and serenity he showed us how to rest our hope for our ultimate triumph over death and suffering in the eternal and unconditional mercy and love of God. — Bishop Joseph Gossman of Raleigh

Pope John Paul II has often been acknowledged as one of the most influential leaders in the 20th century. He played a major role in the fall of communism. Millions have seen and heard him preaching the Gospel during his worldwide pilgrimages. His defense of the sanctity of all human life has proven a light in a world darkened by the culture of death.

His death fills my heart with memories of this good and holy priest of God. May the Lord grant him eternal peace and joy. And may the Holy Virgin, so dearly loved by Pope John Paul, welcome him into the company of the blessed in heaven.

— Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin of Charlotte

He will be remembered as the man who almost single-handedly toppled communism, especially in his native Poland. He was always concerned with the rights and dignity of the human person. He was also a promoter of peace, a peace brought about by dialogue, not by military power.

Pope John Paul II was a moral leader for the ages. That was what attracted so many young people to this man, even in his 80s, when he was crippled with illness. He said what he meant and he meant what he said. Young people sensed that the advice he gave them was intended to help them live happy, productive lives.

Even as his health and mobility declined, Pope John Paul continued a rigorous schedule. As he entered his final illness, he was determined to demonstrate the value of suffering when it is placed within the context of how Christ suffered for us.

He was a man of vast accomplishments. But perhaps he will be best remembered as a man of prayer and as someone who ardently promoted the dignity of the human person.

— Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah

To the world’s billion Catholics, he was a shepherd, their Holy Father.

He was the voice of conscience on moral and ethical issues: war, the death penalty, abortion and euthanasia. Having lived under two totalitarian governments, fascism and communism, he never stopped speaking out on behalf of the millions of people who never have a voice in global affairs.

Increasingly he emphasized in his writings and pronouncements the power of prayer and his conviction that personal holiness can change the world. Above all he felt called to be the servant of the Gospel for the hope of the world.

He was never more faithful to his calling than by the witness of his own life.

He inspired the whole world to see the

Today we mourn the passing of this great and holy man, our spiritual leader representing Jesus Christ on earth, our Holy Father. And we also celebrate his life, a life of love, of witness to the hope and truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

He was unstoppable, a man of great spiritual energy, even in time of serious illness. In the face of two bullets from an assassin, in the face of arthritis and Parkinson’s disease, he still felt compelled to travel to various parts of the world. He suffered tremendously, but always linked his sufferings with the sufferings of the Lord.

As one takes to heart the words of the pope, one can begin to understand the reason behind the greatness of Pope John Paul II, his life, his suffering, and his death.

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North Carolinians recall Pope John Paul II “My greatest respect for Pope John Paul II was his interest in the values and ideals of youth. I have had the fortunate opportunity to meet several politicians, entertainers and actors, but meeting him surely has been a highlight of my life.

“My grandmother died the following year (after I met the pope) and I had the rosary that I was handed by him placed in her hand so that she could be buried with it. I was told that I would later regret it, but I have the memory of meeting him, and my grandmother has the gift that he gave me.”

— David Bradin, 1995 graduate of Charlotte Catholic High School “Pope John Paul II was a very holy and prayerful man. You cannot help but feel the essence of the holiness just being around him.

“Two of Pope John Paul II’s greatest legacies for the Catholic Church are the gift he has given us of enduring pain and his acknowledge of the youth.

“Pope John Paul II was loved by everyone. He has given the world an image of not only what religion should be in an individual’s life as it is practiced, but how religion is practiced by someone who is a leader in the world.’

— Deacon Ben Wenning, director of permanent diaconate for Diocese of Charlotte “I wouldn’t have traded the experience of seeing Pope John Paul II for anything ... being in his presence was amazing. I still get choked up thinking about it.”

— Amy Blakley, director of religious education, St. Stephen Church in Elkin.

“Never have I witnessed the outpouring of love, devotion and affection

of such enormous crowds as everywhere Pope John Paul II was seen.

“When the pope entered the room ... it appeared that he was surrounded by a special light, but it was the radiance of his face that caused that effect. I will cherish that memory forever.”

— Peggy Wesp, executive director, Charlotte Sister Cities “I traveled to Rome in 2000 for a short Jubilee pilgrimage with a friend from church. After visiting St. Peter’s, we stopped in the gift shop. We had not been there long when suddenly the sister announced they had to close quickly for security because the pope was coming by to speak to a special group of pilgrims visiting. Sister told us to go in and get a seat and we could see him.

It was such an unexpected privilege and blessing! I will never forget that most very special day to be so close in the Holy Father’s presence.”

— Gina Parsons, finance accounts payable, Diocese of Charlotte “I remember how awestruck each member of our group was to be in Pope John Paul II’s presence. He was a busy man but still took the time to ask us where we were from and what we were studying before blessing the group.

“Although our encounter lasted just moments, he left a lasting impression on me. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to meet and to shake the hand of the Holy Father.

“My meeting with Pope John Paul II was one of the most amazing encounters of my life. I can recall my excitement the night before, when we learned of our audience the following day. I’m not sure if my mother appreciated the col-

Courtesy photo

Deacon Ben Wenning, director of permanent diaconate for Diocese of Charlotte, shakes hands with Pope John Paul II during a 1993 visit to the Vatican. Deacon Wenning recalled how the pope spent 20 minutes in private prayer prior to and following celebrating Mass with a group of airport chaplains in his private chapel. lect call from Italy, but she accepted the charges, and was remarkably calm after hearing the news. I was noticeably less calm, considering the circumstances.”

— Sean Kelly, 1995 graduate of Charlotte Catholic High School

Courtesy photo

David Bradin, a 1995 graduate of Charlotte Catholic High School, shakes hands with Pope John Paul II during a 1997 visit to the Vatican. Bradin had traveled to Rome as part of a class studying the Vatican as a nation state. Bradin and two other CCHS graduates, Sean Kelly and Matthew Bloch, were part of a group of 10 men who traveled to Italy from Hampden-Sydney College.

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papal Timeline

Courtesy Photos

Every five years, bishops from around the world are required to make “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their respective dioceses. The “ad limina” visits bring the entire U.S. episcopate, including bishops from the Diocese of Charlotte, to Rome in 14 regional groups.

During the last round of “ad limina” visits, which began in March 2004 and ended in mid-December, U.S. bishops spent more time meeting than praying, but the mood of the visit was set by the concelebrated Masses and individual time with Pope John Paul II. Bishop Peter J. Jugis, making his first “ad limina” visit in late March 2004, shortly after his ordination, said he was “very much in awe” at being alone with Pope John Paul II, but described the meeting as a “very human exchange and conversation.”

Bishops of Charlotte pictured above with Pope John Paul II (from left) are Bishop Michael J. Begley, Bishop John F. Donoghue, Bishop William G. Curlin and Bishop Jugis.

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In memorium

April 8, 2005

A modern-day apostle APOSTLE, from page 1

brought a surge in global terrorism, and the pope convened interfaith leaders to renounce violence in the name of religion.

While condemning terrorist attacks, he urged the United States to respond with restraint, and he sharply criticized the U.S.led war against Iraq in 2003.

As pastor of the universal church, he jetted around the world, taking his message to 129 countries in 104 trips — including seven to the United States. He surprised and pleased millions by communicating with them in their own languages, until his own powers of speech faltered toward the end of his life.

At times, he used the world as a pulpit: in Africa, to decry hunger; in Hiroshima, Japan, to denounce the arms race; in Calcutta, India, to praise the generosity of Mother Teresa. Whether at home or on the road, he aimed to be the church’s most active evangelizer, trying to open every corner of human society to Christian values.

Within the church, the pope was just as vigorous and no less controversial. He disciplined dissenting theologians, excommunicated self-styled “traditionalists,” and upheld unpopular church positions like the pronouncement against artificial birth control.

At the same time, he pushed Catholic social teaching into relatively new areas such as bioethics, international economics, racism and ecology.

Pushing forward In his later years, the pope moved with difficulty and tired easily, all symptoms of a nervous system disorder believed to be Parkinson’s disease.

By the time he celebrated his 25th anniversary in October 2003, aides had to wheel him on a chair and read his speeches for him. Yet he pushed himself to the limits of his physical capabilities, convinced that such suffering was itself a form of spiritual leadership.

He led the church through a heavy program of soul-searching events during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, fulfilling a dream of his pontificate. His long-awaited pilgrimage to the Holy Land that year took him to the roots of the faith and illustrated the church’s improved relations with Jews.

He also presided over an unprecedented public apology for the sins of Christians during darker chapters of church history, such as the Inquisition and the Crusades.

In a landmark document, the apostolic letter “Novo Millennio Ineunte’’ (“At the Beginning of the New Millennium’’), the pope laid out his vision of the church’s future and called for a “new sense of mission’’ to bring Gospel values into every area of social and economic life.

Over the years, public reaction to the pope’s message and decisions was mixed. He was hailed as a daring social critic, chided as the “last socialist,’’ cheered by millions and caricatured as an inquisitor. The pope never paid much attention to his popularity ratings.

Pope John Paul’s personality was powerful and complicated. In his prime, he could work a crowd and banter with young and old, but spontaneity was not his specialty.

As a manager, he set directions but often left policy details to top aides.

His reaction to the U.S. clerical sex abuse scandal in 2001-02 underscored his governing style: He suffered deeply, prayed at length and made forceful statements emphasizing the gravity of such a sin by priests.

He convened a Vatican-U.S. summit to address the problem, but let his Vatican advisers and U.S. church leaders work out the answers. In the end, he approved changes that made it easier to defrock abusive priests.

The pope was essentially a private person, with a deep spiritual life — something that was not easily translated by the media.

Yet his pontificate has been captured in some lasting images. Who can forget the pope wagging his finger sternly at a Sandinista priest in Nicaragua, hugging a young AIDS victim in California or huddling in a prisoncell conversation with his would-be assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca?

From Krakow to the Vatican Karol Jozef Wojtyla was born May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, a small town near Krakow, Poland. He had lost both parents and only brother by age 20. Even at a young age, he was deeply religious and contemplative.

An accomplished actor in Krakow’s underground theater during the war, he joined the clandestine seminary after being turned away from a Carmelite monastery with the advice: “You are destined for greater things.”

Following studies in Rome, he returned to Poland for parish work in 1948.

When named auxiliary bishop of Krakow in 1958 he was Poland’s youngest bishop, and he rose quickly through the ranks, becoming archbishop of Krakow in 1964.

He also came to the attention of the universal church through his work on important documents of the Second Vatican Council.

Though increasingly respected in Rome, Cardinal Wojtyla was a virtual unknown when elected pope Oct. 16, 1978. In St. Peter’s Square that night, he set his papal style in a heartfelt talk — delivered in fluent Italian.

The pontificate began at a cyclone pace, with trips to several continents, flying press conferences, an encyclical on redemption, an ecumenical visit to the Orthodox in Turkey and several meetings with world leaders.

On May 13, 1981, a Turkish terrorist’s bullet put his papacy on hold for several months. The assailant served 19 years in an Italian prison before being sent back to Turkey. He once claimed Bulgarian and Soviet involvement — charges that were never proved in a second trial.

Setting milestones The pope was soon back on the road, eventually logging more than 700,000 miles. His 14 visits to Africa were part of a successful strategy of church expansion there; in Latin America he aimed to curb political activism by clergy and the inroads made by religious sects.

Despite misgivings inside and outside the church over specific papal teachings, he was warmly welcomed in the United States, where he drew half a million young pilgrims in 1993 for World Youth Day festivities in Denver.

But he also used one of his U.S. visits to focus on the key issue of dissent. In 1987, he told Americans it was a “grave error” to think disagreement with church teachings was compatible with being a good Catholic.

The pope later approved a universal catechism as one remedy for doctrinal am-

CNS photo from L’Osservatore Romano

Pope John Paul II delivers his “urbi et orbi” (to the city of Rome and the world) message on Easter in 1993. biguity. He also pushed church positions further into the public forum.

In the 1990s he urged the world’s bishops to step up their fight against abortion and euthanasia, saying the practices amounted to a modern-day “slaughter of the innocents.”

Not everyone agreed, but his sharpened critique of these and other “anti-family” policies helped make him Time magazine’s choice for Man of the Year in 1994.

His earlier social justice encyclicals also made a huge impact, addressing the moral dimensions of human labor, the widening gap between rich and poor and the shortcomings of the free-market system. At the

pope’s request, the Vatican published an exhaustive compendium of social teachings in 2004.

The pope was a cautious ecumenist, insisting that real differences between religions and churches not be covered up.

Yet he made several dramatic gestures that will long be remembered: They included launching a Catholic-Orthodox theological dialogue in 1979, visiting a Rome synagogue in 1986 and hosting world religious leaders at a “prayer summit” for peace in 1986.

In 2001, he became the first pontiff to visit a mosque.

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In memorium

Mourning and the media

With death of Pope John Paul, Vatican changes many procedures

by JOHN THAVIS catholic News service

VATICAN CITY — When people around the world turned on their TV sets April 3, they saw live coverage of the body of Pope John Paul II lying in Clementine Hall for a private viewing by Vatican officials.

That was unheard-of in the past, and it’s one of the many ways this papal death is breaking new ground at the Vatican.

The dead pope’s image has traditionally been considered something to be protected from the media, with strict permission needed to take photographs. This time, outside photographers were invited in quickly, and a live TV feed was offered to networks all over the world.

The Vatican seemed to understand that for the pope who traveled the world while alive mourning his death was a global event.

Those who came to the Clementine Hall for the private viewing included diplomats and their families. Decorum was maintained, but the mourners included one man wearing a backward baseball cap and several young people in jeans.

The Vatican also turned a page when it came to the clinical details of the pope’s death. In the not too distant past, a prelate used a small silver hammer to ascertain papal death, striking the pontiff three times

CNS photo from Reuters

A young girl blows a kiss as the body of Pope John Paul II is carried through St. Peter’s Square en route to St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican April 4. The body of the pope lied in the basilica for public viewing until the April 8 funeral for the pontiff. on the forehead while calling out his name.

This time, instead of the silver hammer, papal doctors used an electrocardiogram to make sure the pope was dead. Then the Vatican released the full contents of the death certificate, an unprecedented move.

The pope’s wide popularity in life created a logistical problem for the Vatican

when he was on his deathbed: Tens of thousands of the faithful streamed to St. Peter’s Square to pray.

The first night, the Vatican closed the square, but it was opened on the two successive nights. Vatican officials joined the prayer vigils, improvising from the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica.

These were moments that no one had scripted. The night the pope died, the small group of Vatican officials stood on the steps

and looked at each other briefly to decide what to do, then announced the pope’s death to the crowd.

Most of the tens of thousands who came to pray at the Vatican were young people.

On lampposts, column bases and TV screen stands, they began leaving flowers, candles, personal notes and drawings as remembrances to the pope. The usually strict authorities allowed these homemade shrines to grow and were careful to leave them in place.

The pope’s death was announced to journalists in an unprecedented way — in an e-mail. That created confusion in the press office, where several dozen reporters were preparing to spend another night April 2. Most had been expecting a personal announcement by the director of the Vatican press office, Joaquin Navarro-Valls.

For years, the Vatican has had an arrangement with major agencies, including Catholic News Service, whenever there is big news: A cell-phone alert tells them to check their e-mail inboxes for an urgent Vatican statement.

So after the pope died, reporters’ cell phones beeped and the e-mailed death announcement began appearing less than a minute later — or longer, depending on the order of arrival.

In fact, chaos reigned in the press office for several minutes; those who had not received an e-mail pleaded desperately for confirmation from the agencies that did.

The Vatican spokesman showed up much later, to fill in the details.

In the Internet age, which was born during Pope John Paul’s pontificate, the Vatican also marked his passing by changing its home page to the theme of “Sede Vacante” (“Vacant See.”) The site featured an elaborate series of pages detailing the highlights of Pope John Paul’s life and papacy.

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Missionaries of Charity already praying to Pope John Paul, nun CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE CALCUTTA, India — The Missionaries of Charity nuns have already started praying to Pope John Paul II, according to their superior.

“We are not only continuing to pray for him, but also have already started praying to him,” said Sister Nirmala Joshi, who succeeded Blessed Teresa of Calcutta as head of the congregation.

The late pope developed “a spiritual friendship” with Mother Teresa, who launched the congregation in 1950 to work among the poorest of the poor. He beatified her in 2003, just six years after her death in 1997.

All Missionaries of Charity houses around the world are praying to the pope, Sister Nirmala told UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand, April 3.

The nuns had begun praying intensively for the pope as news spread of his worsening health. Sister Nirmala said they first prayed for his recovery, but when they realized “that was not to be, they prayed for all the graces the Holy Father may need to accept God’s will.”

The 84-year pope’s health deteriorated sharply April 1, with a high fever brought on by a urinary tract infection.

He died April 2 in Rome.

“We thank God for the gift of our Holy Father. We pray for the repose of his soul and ask him to pray for us, for he is much more powerful now being in heaven,” Sister Nirmala said.

Hundreds — including a crowd of journalists and television crews — attended a Mass for the pope April 3 at the Missionaries of Charity motherhouse.

Sister Nirmala said she would attend the pope’s funeral April 8 at the by

Vatican. She said she had met Pope John Paul many times after Mother Teresa’s death and during the founder’s beatification process.

“They were beautiful memories, each a special memory,” said the nun, who converted from Hinduism as a young adult.

Her most memorable memory, Sister Nirmala later told UCA News, was when the pope called her by name, “Sister Nirmala, Missionaries of Charity,” when she was in a crowd.

She said the pope would “continue in heaven what he started here — a life of tremendous love for God and the whole of humanity.”

Asked if Pope John Paul’s death would be a setback to Mother Teresa’s canonization process, Sister Nirmala said: “No, it is God’s work. Moreover, with the pope in heaven, it will be speeded up.”

In Mother Teresa’s case, Pope John Paul waived the normal five-year waiting period to begin the canonization process.

Sister Nirmala said the late pope gave her congregation a home inside the Vatican, where the nuns now manage a shelter for women, a convent and a soup kitchen. The pope also gave them another home, also on Vatican property, where they care for unwed mothers.

Inside the Calcutta motherhouse chapel, a photograph of the pope was placed under a huge image of Jesus hanging beside the altar.

Someone had drawn on the blackboard outside the chapel a cross and lilies with the words, “Our dear Holy Father went home to God — 9:37 p.m.

(Rome time) and 1:07 a.m. (Indian time).”

CNS file photo by Arturo Mari

Pope John Paul II greets Mother Teresa of Calcutta at the Vatican in June 1997. The nun, who devoted her life to the care of Calcutta’s poor in India and founded the Missionaries of Charity, was beatified by the pope Oct. 19, 2003. The process leading up to her beatification was the shortest in modern history.

April 8, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 15

In memorium Hometown hero

In pope’s hometown, local residents ‘bear the burdens of by

JONATHAN LUXMOOE catholic news service

WADOWICE, Poland — The rector of the main basilica in Pope John Paul II’s hometown has urged residents to be “strong with hope and faith” in order to “bear the burdens of loss” after the pope’s death.

“While praying especially hard, we must also learn to use the freedom he gave us,” Father Jakub Gil told mourners at evening Mass in the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Wadowice April 3.

“We are afraid now of daily life without the pope, who watched over us, just like Christ on the Mount of Olives. We are afraid that, without the Holy Father, we will be unable to cope,” he said.

“At the last moment of his life, he was with us,” Father Gil told parishioners. “In his hour of death he remembered his hometown.”

Up to 10,000 people remained in the town’s main John Paul II Square throughout the day after an all-night vigil that followed news of the pontiff’s death.

A family friend, Zofia Silkowska, whose father attended the same school as the pope and died last November, said other friends of the pontiff were in mourning.

“We can’t close ourselves in pain — when we look at other people, we should realize our problems are only minor,” Silkowska told Poland’s Zycie daily April 4. “The pope is no longer with us, but his wisdom still is. We should remember his words and live them out.”

A Passionist sister told Catholic News Service that local priests said an extraordinary number of people received Communion after the pope died and that the basilica had received a steady stream of visitors.

All cultural and sporting events in the town were canceled; local schools sent children home early March 31 after news of the pope’s worsening health.

News of the pontiff’s death was met by the tolling of church bells.

A mother comforted her sobbing teen-

age daughter outside the basilica, telling her the pope “will still be with us.”

Meanwhile, an elderly woman said Wadowice residents had prepared themselves for the pope’s death, but were still reacting in shock.

“We knew it would end some day, but it’s still hard for us to accept the news,” she said.

For the third day, police kept vehicles out of the town’s main square, where road signs point to nearby Auschwitz and Bielsko-Biala, in whose hospital the pope’s brother died of scarlet fever in 1933.

The square’s council building, decorated with pictures of the then-Karol Wojtyla as a child and seminarian, carried a banner stating “Wadowice council — always faithful to John Paul II.” A 12-year-old boy at Wadowice’s secondary school said he and his friends were all “very sad” and that they had attended church several times since news of the pope’s death.

Milena Kopczyk, 20, said local people were “proud and amazed” that their town had produced a pope and said Wadowice would always be a “very special place.”

“His heart has always been with us,” she said.

“People will learn to cope with their loss,” she said. “After this long and painful goodbye, they’ll also remember him as he once was — strong, robust and healthy.”

Father Gil told Poland’s national daily Rzeczpospolita April 3 that he has played the role of “spiritual leader” for Wadowice residents.

“I feel I’m bearing the pain and suffering of others — it’s a cross that will be less heavy the more people share it with me,” he said.

Rzeczpospolita said many Wadowice inhabitants had recalled their last pilgrimage to Rome in March, adding that the pope’s last public words in Polish from his clinic window had been “witam Wadowice” (“welcome Wadowice”).

1 6 The Catholic News & Herald

future of the papacy

Next pope to face challenges over priests, governance,

by JOHN THAVIS catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — Although Pope John Paul II leaves behind a legacy of pastoral accomplishments, his successor will also face a number of challenges in areas of church governance, missionary strategies and priestly ministry.

The challenges are expected to loom large in the cardinals’ daily discussions ahead of the conclave, where they will assess church priorities and begin to look at potential papal candidates.

Some of the discussion will focus on unfinished papal business, such as the ongoing tension between dialogue and mission, especially in countries where Christians are a minority.

The cardinals are also expected to examine ways to improve lay formation and counter dissent on church teachings about sexuality and marriage, and they will no doubt take a close look at the increasing pastoral burden on priests and the implications for the church’s 1.08 billion members.

Based on interviews, speeches and cardinals’ meetings in recent years, here are six themes that many see as crucial for the next pope: — Collegiality and church governance. At almost every major meeting of bishops and cardinals in recent years — most notably at the last discussion assembly of cardinals in 2001 — some of the most interesting debate was on how the universal church relates to local churches.

It is clear that some bishops are not completely happy with the level of cooperation they receive from offices of the Roman Curia. They have asked for more input on things like selection of bishops and preparation of Vatican documents and more flexibility in matters like liturgical translations.

Some think the Synod of Bishops should be overhauled to make it a more open and influential forum for discussion. Others note that Pope John Paul was never much of a hands-on manager of Vatican affairs; they say the church would be well served by someone able to

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pull the reins of the Roman Curia when necessary.

— “Clash of civilizations.” This clash is not the tensions between the Muslim world and the West, but what cardinals see as the growing gap between popular Western culture and traditional Christian values.

Cardinals meeting in 2001 spoke candidly about the difficulty of proclaiming the Gospel in pluralistic societies where religion is no longer passed on from generation to generation. The phenomenon is internal as well as external, since many Catholics do not understand or accept church teachings on some controversial issues.

Church leaders say the problem is especially evident in European and North American society; they point to legal abortion, a growing acceptance of euthanasia and legislative efforts to approve same-sex marriage.

But the issue also resonates among cardinals from developing countries, where sterilization and contraception campaigns have drawn sharp church criticism. Some fear globalization is helping to spread secular values to the Third World.

Many church leaders believe Pope John Paul did a good job spelling out the moral arguments behind church teachings and drawing clear lines on dissent.

They say the challenge that remains is to educate the Catholic laity and encourage them to accept and live those teachings, which will ultimately have a greater social impact than pronouncements by the hierarchy.

— Mission, witness and dialogue.

In the second half of Pope John Paul’s pontificate, the Vatican emphasized that evangelization means proclaiming Jesus Christ as the unique savior, even in places where Christians are a small minority.

Many local bishops would place the emphasis elsewhere — on dialogue and witness as the most effective ways of communicating the Christian faith. That is especially true in Asia, a continent Mercy Drive, Belmont, NC 28012.

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considered prime evangelizing terrain but where efforts to date have been somewhat disappointing to the Vatican.

The debate has taken on a new dimension in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the so-called “war on terrorism,” as minority Christian communities try to achieve or maintain legal rights in countries where Muslim fundamentalism is spreading.

Given all that, the cardinals’ assessment on this issue could have important consequences for the future path of interreligious and ecumenical dialogue.

— Ordained ministry. Under Pope John Paul, the pastoral burden on priests increased dramatically; there was one priest for every 1,800 Catholics in 1978, and about one priest for every 2,700 Catholics in 2005.

The ratio was even higher in many developing countries, where some Catholics have had to go without Mass or the sacraments for weeks at a time.

The situation has led a number of bishops to ask that the Vatican consider

April 8, 2005

relaxing the priestly celibacy rule in the Western church. Few if any church leaders believe that the next pope will consider women’s ordination as an option, since Pope John Paul ruled it out in a definitive way.

A separate but related issue is the selection of priesthood candidates, which drew particular attention after the sex abuse scandals of recent years. Two Vatican documents long under preparation — one on psychological screening of seminary candidates and another on homosexuality — were left in suspension by the pope’s death.

— Bioethics. The moral questions raised by the rapid advances in science and technology are expected to multiply during the next papacy.

While church teaching on the sanctity of life is clear, some of the issues — such as genetic therapy — involve complex questions of personal identity and biological integrity that theologians are only beginning to examine.

Pope John Paul responded by

April 8, 2005

future of the papacy

The Catholic News & Herald 17

In the interregnum

Pope John Paul II’s death sets in motion period of transition VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The death of Pope John Paul II set in motion a complicated period of transition, an interval marked by mourning, a slowdown in Vatican operations and the election of a new pope.

Regulated by ancient traditions and recent rules, the period between popes — known by the Latin term “interregnum” — began moments after the pope’s death April 1.

It ends when the College of Cardinals, meeting in a closed-door conclave, chooses a successor and announces it to the world.

That could come as early as 15 days after the pope’s death or, if the conclave drags on, it could be much later.

The rules governing the interregnum are matters of church law, not dogma, and were last revised by Pope John Paul in a 1996 apostolic constitution.

The document confirmed that as long as the Holy See is vacant, the universal church is governed by the College of Cardinals, which cannot, however, make decisions normally reserved to the pope. Such matters must be postponed until the new pope is elected.

And until there is a pope, the Roman Curia — the Vatican’s network of administrative offices — loses most of its cardinal supervisors and cannot handle any new business.

The College of Cardinals is to deal solely with “ordinary business and matters

which cannot be postponed.” At present, there are 183 cardinals, and all of them were asked to meet in Rome to help administer the transition period.

The College of Cardinals does this through two structures: a general congregation, in which all the cardinals were to begin meeting daily; and a particular fourmember congregation, consisting of the chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, and a rotating team of three cardinal assistants.

Only those cardinals under age 80 — a total of 117 — will be eligible to vote in the coming conclave.

As chamberlain, Cardinal Martinez Somalo is to administer the goods and temporal rights of the Holy See until the election of a new pope. His duties also included verifying the pope’s death, sealing the pope’s private rooms, taking possession of papal palaces at the Vatican and elsewhere, and informing leading churchmen of the pope’s death.

He also was to make arrangements for Pope John Paul’s burial, unless the pope left his own instructions in this regard.

Meanwhile, the dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, had the duty of informing the other cardinals of the pope’s death and convoking them for the first congregations, as well as informing the diplomatic corps and the heads of nations.

The cardinals in charge of major

CNS photo from Catholic Press Photo

Cardinals are pictured behind a screen as they gather in the Sistine Chapel for the conclave of October 1978. The College of Cardinals has been asked to meet in Rome to help administer the transition period until a new pope is elected.

Vatican departments have lost their positions with the death of the pope, although they may be brought back to their jobs by the next pontiff. During the interregnum, most curial offices are to be overseen by the secretaries of each department, who are generally bishops.

Thus the Roman Curia keeps functioning, but at a slower pace.

Pope John Paul’s apostolic constitution instructed the Curia to avoid action on “serious or controverted matters,” so that the next pope will have a free hand in dealing with these issues. The Vatican’s tribunals continue to process marriage and other cases, and the Vatican’s diplomatic representatives remain in place.

One of the first items that will face the College of Cardinals when it meets in daily

congregations is arranging for the pope’s body to be taken to St. Peter’s Basilica to be exposed for homage by the faithful. It also sets the time for the funeral rites, which are celebrated for nine consecutive days, with burial to take place between the fourth and sixth day after death.

All cardinals take an oath to maintain strict secrecy regarding everything related to the conclave, even after it is over.

The cardinal electors are to begin the conclave 15 to 20 days after the pope’s death. All are expected to arrive in Rome by that time, unless a serious reason is presented.

The word conclave comes from Latin, meaning literally “with key,” and reflects the previous tradition of locking the cardinals in an area where they would spend day

1 8 The Catholic News & Herald

April 8, 2005

Perspectives

A collection of columns, editorials and viewpoints

The life and death of ‘John Paul the Suffering, devotion are examples to follow ferer should suffer for and with Christ; showed the world that suffering was redemptive and salvific as he suffered in reparation for the sins of the world that despises those who have a less-thanperfect quality of life; and displayed his selflessness by joining his personal suffering to the Cross of Christ.

Thus, Pope John Paul, in imitation of Christ, gave all of humanity the perfect example to follow.

In the 1930s, a young nun, known today as St. Faustina Kowalska, in Krakow, Poland, had visions of Jesus, who revealed himself as Divine Mercy. One of the requests that Jesus made was to have a feast day for him under the title of Divine Mercy.

It was a little-known Polish bishop by the name of Karol Woytyla who took on the cause of Divine Mercy. Years later, after he became known as Pope John Paul II, he made the second Sunday of Easter the feast of Divine Mercy.

Because of his devotion to the Blessed Mother, Pope John Paul also changed the rosary by adding the five Mysteries of Light. These took into consideration important events that occurred between the start of the ministry of Jesus and his Passion.

On his deathbed, just before he died, on the first Saturday of the month dedicated to the Blessed Mother and on the vigil of the feast of Divine Mercy, Pope John Paul said, “I have gone to you. Now I am waiting and you have come to me.”

News commentators refer these words to the youth who were gathered to pray for him during his last hours.

But it seems more likely that the pope was talking to and about Jesus and our Blessed Mother who promised faithful disciples that they would come to escort all those who encouraged devotion to Divine Mercy and to the rosary through the threshold of heaven.

Now is the time to say goodbye to our pope, ‘John Paul the Great.’ It is time to honor this saint among saints for his continuous celebration of life and for all those things he accomplished for the church and the entire world throughout his 26 years as pontifex maximus.

Deacon Potkay is permanent deacon at Holy Infant Church in Reidsville.

Guest Column DEACON GERALD POTKAY guest columnist

Pope John Paul II was my pope because he was the head of my church, the church of the Apostles. He was my pope because he was the pope for all people; he brought Christ to the entire world. And he was my pope because, like him, I have a Polish heritage.

From the beginning of his papacy, Pope John Paul brought life and vigor into the church. He reached out to young and old alike, reached out to all peoples of all nations and all religions; he was the man for our times in which much controversy exists over morals, or the lack thereof.

To this end, the pope spoke for the weakest of the weak. He spoke for the culture of life as he tried to protect human life in all its stages from conception to natural death. To him, all life was precious. And he lived his own life with dignity until his death.

For a little over two weeks, the world was fed wall-to-wall coverage of two deaths. The first death was directed by the world — human law took precedence over natural law and the law of God when it decreed that Terri Shiavo must be put to death by starvation and dehydration. This woman was not sick.

She was not being kept alive by machines. She was merely in need of food and water and she became a bother to the cold world because her quality of life did not meet its standards.

She was no longer to be tolerated by this world of power and greed.

Therefore, she was cruelly murdered by the crassness of the world as she was deprived of those necessities that must be afforded to all life. However, her silent suffering spoke volumes to the very world that condemned her as she demonstrated that it was her desire to live her life to the fullest, especially during her last 13 days.

The second death was that of Pope John Paul II, whose suffering started in 1981 with his attempted assassination.

And he carried that accumulating suffering with dignity and honor, including the insertion of a feeding tube denied by law to Terri Shiavo.

In so doing, the pope demonstrated to the world that suffering should not be shunned; revealed how the suf-

Pope John Paul II’s teaching moment in the Positive messages on Catholicism abound then and now Media relations means supplying news organizations with information and answering relevant questions; in my case, about the Catholic faith and the Diocese of Charlotte.

It’s often a little like juggling a live chicken, an axe and a bowling ball. Media relations are important because in the wired world, the media is the gathering place for our grief. We watched as a single, worldwide community as Pope John Paul II lay gravely ill and then died.

This week we are immersed in news stories about our faith. All over the diocese, priests and the faithful have been contacted by news organizations with questions about the Holy Father, our faith and the future.

Father Roger Arnsparger, pastor of St. Barnabas Church in Arden, called Monday to tell me of his plans to attend the Holy Father’s funeral in Rome.

With his permission, I called several news organizations. Usually it takes several attempts to interest a reporter in a story about our church. In this case, the reporters jumped on the idea and immediately called Father Arnsparger’s cell phone.

This week all things Catholic are “in” as far as the media is concerned.

What a teaching moment for us!

Catholicism hasn’t been this “cool” to non-Catholics in the Carolinas since 1987, when a supercharged Pope John Paul II event took place in Columbia, S.C. His Holiness made a brief visit to the University of South Carolina, and then led an ecumenical service at Williams-Brice Stadium before 70,000 people.

At the time, I was a television reporter in Charlotte. Over the 14-month period between the announcement and the event, I made myself the station expert on all things Catholic. My reward was to be the station’s anchor for the

Catholics & the Media DAVID HAINS guest columnist

coverage in Columbia.

I was joined in the skybox anchor booth by Father Frank O’Rourke, thendirector of diocesan parish life and worship and current pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro. An expert commentator, Father O’Rourke helped us understand that the Holy Father was reaching out to people of all faiths with the eternal message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

The thing that surprised me the most about seeing in person Pope John Paul II was his small physical stature.

Like most Catholics, I’ve always viewed him as a giant of a person, but physically he was not very tall or imposing.

He spoke for about 20 minutes in a gravelly, accented voice that was a little hard to understand. But his message, which centered on Christian unity and the importance of marriage and the family, ended with a quote from Scripture that gave everyone in attendance at the stadium and watching on TV some homework: “Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is brother and sister and mother to me” (Mt 12:50).

In a papal reign full of teaching moments, this one touched the people of God in the Carolinas.

David Hains is director of communications for the Diocese of Charlotte.

Courtesy Photo

David Hains (left), then-WSOC-TV field anchor and current director of communications for the Diocese of Charlotte; Bill Walker, WSOC-TV anchor; and Father Frank O’Rourke, then-director of diocesan parish life and worship and current pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro, share a light moment during coverage of the visit of Pope John Paul II to Columbia, S.C., on Sept. 12, 1987.

The Catholic News & Herald 19

April 8, 2005

Inspiration and example A seminarian’s perspective on the death of Pope John Paul II On Saturday, April 2, the seminarians of the Diocese of Charlotte gathered in Latrobe, Pa., with Bishop Peter J. Jugis for the ordination of two Charlotte seminarians as transitional deacons. The day proved to be historic because of the death of Pope John Paul II. It was in God’s divine providence that the seminarians were all together on this life-changing day.

Most of us have experienced only this one pope. He has been an inspiration and example for us, and nearly every seminarian I know would say that the pope had a part in his decision to enter the seminary and persevere.

I know that this is true for me. I can remember having the privilege of visiting Rome in the Jubilee Year 2000 and seeing the Holy Father canonize the Mexican martyrs of the early 20th century. It truly was amazing how each person felt a connection with him, despite the fact that tens of thousands were gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

I came back from that trip invigorated by seeing him and the universal church, and three months later at 20 years of age entered the seminary.

Many others have memories of the pope’s many World Youth Day celebrations. He was a person who believed deeply in the youth and their ability

Guest Column JOHN PATRICK CAHILL guest columnist

to transform the world. Young people responded by the millions because they sensed in him sincerity and confidence.

He had no fear of communicating the fullness of truth that he had received from Christ.

In the past few years, with his health failing, the pope had inspired the world to endure joyfully the sufferings that God sends as a gift.

After Saturday’s ordination, Bishop Jugis gathered all of the Charlotte seminarians and priests who were present. He spoke to us about the gift that is seminary formation and that we should all strive to use this time we’ve been given to become the priests that God is calling us to be.

He then led us in prayer for our Holy Father. It was in the final hour of Pope John Paul II’s life that the seminarians for the diocese were gathered with

Signs of grace Pope’s struggle was symbol of hope, sacrifice of all ages and races. He was a man who joined in the underground resistance against the Nazis, bounced back from an assassination attempt and played a vital role in ridding his native Poland — and the world — of the Soviet regime.

But on this most holy of Sundays, it was all he could do to raise a feeble hand in blessing.

It was hard to watch the pope shuffle toward death. It is harder still to see old age and illness creep up on our own friends and family members, robbing them of their strength, pride and independence.

Even worse, we are forced to grapple with mortality in a culture that recoils from it and has, in fact, built big business out of trying to restore what we’re naturally bound to lose — from hair and sleek physiques to life itself.

Our instinct, clearly, is to add to our lives whenever possible, not to subtract from them.

And yet, it was none other than Jesus who allowed himself to be stripped of everything, as we were reminded on Good Friday. His clothes were taken, he was mocked, his friends ran away, he was tortured and near death when he

In her autobiography “The Long Loneliness,” Dorothy Day recounts the decline and death of Peter Maurin, an itinerant laborer and self-taught philosopher who teamed with her to found the Catholic Worker Movement. She remembers how painful it was to stand by as Maurin’s once boundless energy and formidable intellect withered away over the last five years of his life.

“The fact was he had been stripped of all,” Day wrote in her 1952 book. “We are to be pruned as the vine is pruned so that it can bear fruit, and this we cannot do ourselves. God did it for him. He took from him his mind, the one thing he had left, the one thing he perhaps took delight in.”

Day’s words came to me as I followed news coverage of Pope John Paul II’s attempt to deliver his traditional blessing on Easter Sunday. Hampered by throat surgery, the pope made an agonizing effort to speak to the throngs assembled in St. Peter’s Square, before giving up and simply making the sign of the cross.

The pope was a man who was truly a titan of our age, a man renowned for his tremendous vigor and dynamism and unique ability to connect with followers

Bishop Jugis, praying for the pope’s soul and that God’s will might be done. We prayed he would know God’s presence and comfort as he passed from this life to the reward he deserves for his tireless work for the church.

It is a unique time to be in the seminary. We are saddened by the fact that the only pope we have ever known has gone from this world, but we are inspired by his saintly life and example.

Pope John Paul II gave all to Christ and constantly encouraged everyone to do the same, because this gives each human life meaning.

We are excited about the unity he so beautifully accomplished and are confident in the continuity of our Catholic Church and her teachings that the pope so boldly proclaimed to the world. This is a cause for rejoicing in the sense that God has been glorified by one of his faithful sons who cared so much for his flock.

He constantly promoted vocations to the priesthood and religious life by explaining by words and example that one’s life is truly fulfilled when handed over to Christ. He assured us that God is never outdone in generosity despite the struggles and crosses the vocation carries.

What a blessing and gift Pope John Paul II has been to the Catholic Church. I will forever remember his last hour in this world, and how our bishop and seminarians were joined with him in prayer.

John Patrick Cahill is a graduate of Charlotte Catholic High School and a second-year theologian at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Pennsylvania.

Guest Column STEPHEN MARTIN guest columnist

cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” — the lament of an anguished man pruned down to his very core.

From this devastation, however, arose our salvation.

As difficult as it is to accept, perhaps Dorothy Day’s words are right on the mark. Perhaps it is not only fitting but absolutely necessary that the pope, once a magnificent athlete, became so weak that strong winds threatened to topple him, that the remarkable communicator and fluent man of languages was so ravaged by disease that he had trouble speaking at all.

His many gifts were taken away little by little, stripping him bare as the end drew near. All too often, our society tells us that this is an indignity. I could not shake the feeling and the hope that it was really a sign of grace.

Stephen Martin is a member of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro.

The accessible pontiff Evangelization Matters FRANK VILLARONGA guest columnist

Much has been written about Pope John Paul II in the past few days, and much will be written in the weeks to come. I would like to focus on the pope from the point of view of evangelization.

Pope John Paul II traveled throughout the world. I did not have the privilege of actually meeting the pope, but I did see him three times — during his 1987 visit to my “home turf” of Miami, a 1997 World Youth Day in Paris, and finally during a pilgrimage to Rome during the Jubilee year.

One of the things I remember about the pope was how accessible he was — even when you were not able to meet him personally, by seeing him in one of his many public appearances, you felt as if you had actually met him.

It is in this light that we can learn an important lesson in evangelization: be accessible.

Pope John Paul II knew this. In the encyclical “Redemptoris Missio,” he speaks of a “new evangelization,” a way of reaching out to others that is new in fervor, new in expression and new in methods.

Pope John Paul wrote of evangelization as “the primary service which the church can render to every individual and to all humanity in the modern world, a world which has experienced marvelous achievements but which seems to have lost its sense of ultimate realities and of existence itself.”

He echoed this theme in the apostolic letter “Tertio Millennio Adveniente,” the three-year preparation for the Third Millennium, and the subsequent jubilee celebration was ushering in a new evangelization in the 21st century. The church’s early mission of “going into the world and making disciples of all nations” is still very relevant today.

How does one begin this daunting task?

One solution is what has been referred to as “ministry of presence,” a ministry in which the pope excelled. He showed us by his example how important it is to go out into the world.

His final challenge to us may lie in his death. The eyes of the world are upon Rome; however, in a very real way, the eyes of the world’s various communities are on us — the Catholics of the world.

This is the time in which to be Catholic is to have a special connection with the events in Rome. It is a bond we share with other Catholics and it is a reality that will be evident to those in our own communities. It is a time not to talk about theological differences and debate dogmas, but rather to visibly share our own experience of this holy man and of our faith.

There are many misconceptions about Catholicism in North Carolina. We have a unique opportunity to be open, be accessible to others and, if necessary, answer questions. It is an opportunity for dialogue.

The world is watching Rome, and the world is watching us.

Frank Villaronga is director of evangelization and ministry formation for the Diocese of Charlotte.

April 8, 2005

The Catholic News & Herald 20

pope john paul ii

A life of living

Pope’s vocation emerged after life as actor, laborer, playwright

by JOHN THAVIS catholic news service

VATICAN CITY — Over the last several years of his pontificate, Pope John Paul II revealed an aspect of his personal life that he did not want history to overlook.

In autobiographical books and in selected talks, the pontiff emphasized that what kept him going was not the power of the papacy but the spiritual strength that flowed from his priestly vocation.

“With the passing of time, the most important and beautiful thing for me is that I have been a priest for more than 50 years, because every day I can celebrate Holy Mass!” he told some 300,000 young people in Italy in 1997.

While many writers have recounted the pope’s early life as a semi-political pilgrimage under Nazi occupation and communist domination in Poland, the pope himself remembered those years as a crucial time of spiritual formation.

In his 1996 book, “A Gift and Mystery,” he recalled how the sense of being called to the priesthood filled him with joy, but it also cut him off from acquaintances and other interests. In one of the most moving passages he ever wrote as pope, he said he still feels a debt to friends who suffered “on the great altar of history” during World War II, while he studied in a clandestine seminary.

Karol Wojtyla, the future pope, lived an unusually varied life before his priestly ordination. As a teen, he split stone at a quarry, wrote poetry and supported a network that smuggled Jews to safety during the German occupation of Poland.

As a young priest, he was a favorite with students at Lublin University who flocked to his classes and joined him on camping, hiking and canoeing trips.

As the second-youngest cardinal ever named by the Vatican, he ran an informal office and celebrated holidays with Krakow actors.

It should have been no surprise that he would redefine the traditional role and demeanor of the papacy by traveling extensively, continuing to enjoy outdoor activities and taking on a wide range of political and moral issues.

As a high school student in his hometown of Wadowice, in southern Poland,

CNS photo from the Vatican

Pope John Paul II (center, in red boots) prays with a group of skiers before heading down a slope in this 1984 file photo. The pontiff, who enjoyed skiing in his native Poland before his election, was able to slip away to ski only a few times as he led the worldwide church.

Wojtyla impressed classmates by the intense way he would pray in church, a habit of deep meditation that remained with him for life.

The Nazi takeover of Poland in September 1939 meant an end to all religious training and cultural activities, but Wojtyla attended an underground university in Krakow and helped set up a clandestine theater group that performed in stores and homes.

In addition to the quarry, he worked in a chemical factory — experiences that provided material for his poetry and papal writings on labor. He participated in daily Mass, spiritual exercises, Marian devotion and Bible study.

Soon after his father’s death in 1941, Karol withdrew from the theatrical group and began studying for the priesthood, a decision that surprised many of his friends, who tried to convince him his talent lay in the theater.

He studied in a clandestine seminary operated in a cardinal’s Krakow residence in defiance of Nazi orders forbidding religious

education. The archbishop saw him as a future church leader.

Yet the young man who wrote poems and a doctoral dissertation on the mysticism of St. John of the Cross was attracted to monastic contemplation. Twice during these years he tried to join the Discalced Carmelites but was turned away with the advice: “You are destined for greater things.”

He was ordained Nov. 1, 1946, just as the communist regime replaced the Germans at the end of the war.

After earning a doctorate in ethics, Father Wojtyla was assigned in 1948 to Poland’s rural village of Niegowic for a year before returning to Krakow. There he devoted much of his attention to young people — teaching, playing soccer and inviting university students to his house for discussions.

After earning a second doctorate in moral theology, Father Wojtyla began teaching at Lublin University in 1953.

He published more than 100 articles and several books on ethics and other subjects, and at age 36 became a full professor at the Institute of Ethics in Lublin.

Father Wojtyla’s interest in outdoor activities remained strong, and younger companions called him “the eternal teenager.” Groups of students regularly joined him for hiking, skiing, bicycling, camping and kayaking, accompanied by prayer, outdoor Masses and theological discussions.

Father Wojtyla was on a kayaking trip in 1958 when, at age 38, he was named an auxiliary bishop of Krakow — the youngest bishop in Poland’s history. He continued to live a simple life, shunning the trappings that came with his position.

For instance, he only left his Krakow apartment for the more luxurious bishop’s residence after friends moved his belongings one day when he was out of town.

In 1964, shortly before the end of the Second Vatican Council, he was named archbishop of Krakow. Just three years later, at the age of 47, he became a cardinal.

But he continued his open approach in Krakow, seeing visitors without appointments and holding seminars at the cardinal’s residence for actors, workers, students, priests and nuns.

In 1976, after touring several U.S. cities and attending the International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia, Cardinal Wojtyla attended a conference of Polish-Americans at St. Mary’s College in Orchard Lake, Mich.

True to form, having sat through a string of indoor meetings, one afternoon he canceled a session to go canoeing.

Contributing to this story was Patricia Zapor in Washington.