Pope John Paul II --

Pope John Paul II -- a Man of Courage, Dignity and Faith

Habemus Papa" -- we have a Pope. In 1978, the Council of Cardinals looked upon a world that was half slave, half free -- half communist (or dominated by another form of tyranny) and half democratic -- and proclaimed in the ancient Latin phrase that 'we have a Pope.' The Vatican Council had elected the Catholic Church's new leader, the then little-known Karol Wojtyla, soon to become Pope John Paul II. Little did the world know that this new pope, the first Polish pope and the first non-Italian leader of the Catholic Church in hundreds of years, would change history in the unique and constant fashion he embodied the three Catholic virtues of courage, dignity and faith.

With great courage, in 1979, a year after being elected, this new Polish Pope returned to visit his homeland. Millions of his countrymen flocked to see him wherever he went. He was to become the most traveled Pope, traveling to war zones and places of illness and death. He undertook grueling journeys despite his poor health from Parkinson's disease in his later years. (Walker, 2005) Pope John Paul II's courage inspired his fellow Poles during his first journey there as pope, and in the many subsequent journeys he was to take, back to his native land. Despite the great risk to their own safety, despite the fact that "crowds were only supposed to turn out at state-sponsored rallies, in support of the system and never spontaneously," Poles flocked to hear hum.

Thus, Pope John Paul II not only acted with courage, he inspired courage in others. When Lech Walesa signed the document recognizing Solidarity the Communist bloc's first free trade union with an outsize souvenir Pope pen. "The Communists were as frightened" of those courageous Christian values embodied by the Pope "as the devil is of holy water, so in that sense the Pope is the author of the victory over Communism," said Walesa later. (Roxburgh, 2005)

As he had suffered under the Nazi persecution of Poland as a young boy, the Polish Pope's heart went out not only to his countrymen -- but also to all suffering peoples. The well-traveled Pope John Paul, even after an assassination attempt on his life, mingled with the people, because he knew that he had a mission to help inspire others, regardless of the personal risk to his own safety. Even as a young man, the then unknown Wojtyla, at the daily risk of his life, participated in a host of cultural resistance groups including the underground resistance movement at his university and clandestine literary, theatrical, and religious activities. As a young priest, he nurtured "an informed, intelligent Catholic laity" fostering examples of what a later generation would call a truly "civil society," or a "culture-first" policy of first mending the Christian heat, to indirectly mend the minds of those in political power. His acts laid the groundwork for an active resistance movement that was later to flourish when be became Pope in Poland, as well as set the tone for his ministry as Pope. (Weigel, 2000)

The Pope placed changing the individual above changing those in power. This, he felt was the most effective and Christian strategy to resist evil. Also, the Pope's equal desire to embody the Christian virtue of dignity meant that he was not blind to capitalism's abuses, pointing out that severe imbalances in wealth exacerbate tensions amongst peoples in an often non-Christian fashion -- not always a popular principle to take in the West. Pope John Paul II devoted enormous spiritual and physical energy to his visits to the developing world. But he refused to support all popular causes, such as liberation theology or charitable organizations that made use of birth control and abortion. He called the idea of a priest-politician anathema to the Christian vision. During one visit to Latin America he condemned the so-called "popular church" created by left-wing priests as "a deviation." (Walker, 20050 He did not support female priests, nor divorce or contraception, even though this might have increased the number of the church's followers in North America.

Pope John Paul II also condemned the war on Iraq and the Cuban trade embargo as well as communist atheism -- anything that hurt people or hurt the Christian values of the church was wrong in the eyes Pope John Paul II. Christianity was about human dignity of the individual soul, not a popularity contest based on numbers. Pope John Paul II believed in the rights of the unborn as well as those now living on earth, in keeping with what he thought was correct Catholic doctrine. Even those who disagreed with him on doctrinal matters admired his willingness to keep true to his beliefs. (Walker, 2005)