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This is the end of a historic twenty-six year papacy, the third longest in history. Of late, Pope John Paul II became a picture of suffering. This remarkable man has had a defining influence on history. He shall long be remembered as the catalyst that pushed all the right buttons to bury communism.
He will forever be remembered as the person who gave pregnant meaning to the term solidarity preached by him as the strongest Christian value.
He ran the Church during an ever-growing period of secularisation yet remained anchored to his deeply entrenched moral conservatism.
A reformer on the political front yet a conservative on moral issues he managed to win the respect of many irrespective of creed. Though he was derided by others who criticised for reneging on accepting change in the Church. Nevertheless he was a giant twentieth century icon.
He was a master of communication in a world where twenty-four hour media is the order of the day. His sheer charisma managed to sway millions of persons within and outside the Catholic Church. He was a Pole breaking the long-held tradition of Italians occupying the papacy. His was a true break with the norm. He was energetic and ever ready to travel to spread the word in the furthest parts of the globe. His traditional kissing of the ground on his arrival at a foreign place symbolised his commitment to spread the word whatever the price on his time and health. His was possibly the first truly global papacy.
The pope leaves a truly long lasting legacy. The geo-political map has changed drastically since the first bursts of liberty spread in his native land Poland, burdened for years by German and later Russian occupation. History will show that thanks to the excellent working relationship between Presidents Bush senior and Gorbachev, together with the unflagging support of the pope for the solidarity trade union movement in the eighties, the fast changing face of Eastern Europe could take place by sheer explosion of people power.
While the former Polish government tried to crush the trade union movement, his support was a potent force in keeping the movement alive in spite of all the brutality of that government. Solidarity became the first of Eastern Europe’s non-communist governments. The domino liberation effect followed. History will forever look at this as the pope’s greatest legacy.
On many an issue including contraception and gay rights the pope remained a staunch traditionalist, unable and unwilling to come to terms with fast-spreading life style trends. He did little to put these issues on the Vatican agenda, resolute that these go against the teachings of the church as values which transcend the passage of time.
How ironic that the death of Terry Schiavo and the frail state of the pope should coincide. He affirmed with great belief that it is morally necessary to give patients food and water no matter their condition. The Vatican condemned the judicial decisions stopping the feeding of Terry. There are parallels in these two cases since in both cases feeding was required yet the pope unlike Terry remained conscious. The case of Schiavo had polarised public opinion worldwide yet there can be no doubt where the pope stood. He stood four square with the weak, the suffering and the persons without a voice. Fortified by his difficult and tough upbringing he knew only too well the difficulties suffered by numerous people and he stood foursquare behind them. Most of all he was against war and made countless public calls condemning the war on Iraq. Through his enthusiasm for sport and love of nature he managed to build the image of a people’s pope and not of a pope locked up in the Vatican away from the concerns and sufferings of people who, although without a voice, never lost their sense of dignity in his eyes.
Placing the human being at the centre of all was his mantra.
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