Pope John Paul II - A Man for Others - Essay Example

March 3, 2008 Pope John Paul II, "A man for others" Introduction: Pope John Paul II reigned as the 264th Pope of the Roman CatholicChurch and Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City from 16th October 1978, until his death, almost 27 years later, making his the second longest pontificate in modern times. He is the only Polish pope, and was the first non-Italian pope since the Dutch Adrian VI in the 1520s. He is one of only four people to have been named to the Time 100 for both the 20th century and for a year in the 21st. His early reign was marked by his opposition to communism, and he is often credited as one of the forces which contributed to its collapse in Central and Eastern Europe. In the later part of his pontificate, he spoke against war, communism, dictatorship, materialism, abortion, contraception, relativism and unrestrained capitalism. John Paul II was Pope during a period in which the Catholic Church's influence declined in developed countries but expanded in the Third World countries. During his reign, the pope traveled extensively, visiting over 100 countries, more than any of his predecessors. He remains one of the most-traveled world leaders in history. He was fluent in numerous languages. He canonized a great number of people. In 1992, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. On April 2, 2005 at 9:37 p.m. local time, Pope John Paul II died in the Papal Apartments. Millions of people came to Rome to pay their respects for his funeral. This paper researches how he was a man for others and how he developed himself through his childhood and adulthood days. Childhood days: St.John Paul II was born as Karol Jozef Wojtyla in Wadowice, a town of 8,000 Catholics and 2,000 Jews 35 miles southwest of Krakow in 1920, the second son of Karol Wojtyla Sr., a retired army officer and tailor, and Emilia Kaczorowska Wojtyla, a schoolteacher of Lithuanian descent. The Wojtylas were strict Catholics, but did not share the anti-Semitic views of many Poles..His playmate Kluger had once remarked about the pope as "The people in the Vatican do not know Jews, and previous popes did not know Jews but this pope is a friend of the Jewish people because he knows Jewish people." In fact, Wojtyla became the first pope to visit a synagogue and the first to visit the memorial at Auschwitz to victims of the Holocaust. In ending the Catholic-Jewish estrangement, he called Jews "our elder brothers." John Paul II was very athletic in his youth days: he played soccer as a goal keeper, took daring swims in the flooded Skawa River and enjoyed skiing, hiking, mountain climbing and kayaking. He was also an excellent student. Adversities: His infant sister died before he was born. In 1929 his mother died of heart and kidney problems. When he was 12, his 26 year old brother died of scarlet fever. He himself had two near-misses with mortality in his youth. He was hit once by a streetcar and again by a truck in 1944 while he was a college student. He had been beset by physical difficulties including a dislocated shoulder, a broken thigh that led to femur-replacement surgery, the removal of a precancerous tumor from his colon Passions and occupations: Wojtyla's passions in those early years were poetry, religion and the theater. After graduating from secondary school in 1938, he and his father moved to Krakow where he enrolled at Jagiellonian University to study literature and philosophy. He also joined an experimental theater group and participated in poetry readings and literary discussion groups. He was an intense and gifted actor, and a fine singer. After the Germans invaded Poland, he escaped deportation and imprisonment in late 1940 by taking a job as a stone cutter in a quarry. His father was very much interested in making him a priest before he died but died with his interest unfulfilled. After his father's death he began studying at an underground seminary in Krakow and registered for theology courses at the university. He continued his studies, acted and worked in a chemical plant until August of 1944. But when the Germans began rounding up Polish men, Wojtyla took refuge in the archbishop of Krakow's residence, and remained there until the end of the war. He was ordained in 1946 in Krakow, and spent much of the next few years studying -- he earned two masters degrees and a doctorate -- before taking up priestly duties as an assistant pastor in Krakow in 1949. Priesthood days: In the early years of his priesthood, Wojtyla served as a chaplain to university students at St. Florian's Church in Krakow.He founded and ran a service that dealt with marital problems, from family planning and illegitimacy to alcoholism and physical abuse. Time magazine called it "perhaps the most successful marriage institute in Christianity." In 1956, Wojtyla was appointed to the Chair of Ethics at Catholic University and in 1958 he was named the auxiliary bishop of Krakow. During the deliberations of the Vatican Council in 1962, Wojtyla was one of its intellectual leaders and took special interest in religious freedom. The same year, he was named the acting archbishop of Krakow when the incumbent died. Character: Wojtyla was a genial and charming companion and a good listener. He was also very brilliant and intelligent. He was appointed as cardinal in 1967 by Pope Paul VI. Wojtyla was considered "tough but flexible" and a moderate reformer. He was a resilient enemy of Communism and champion of human rights, a powerful preacher and sophisticated intellectual able to defeat Marxists in their own line of dialogue. He demanded permits to build churches, defended youth groups and ordained priests to work underground in Czechoslovakia. Wojtyla was once asked if he feared retribution from government officials for which he replied that it was them who were afraid of him Papal days: During his papal days huge, adoring crowds met him wherever he went. In the winter of 1999, the pope flew to Mexico and the United States and celebrated Mass for millions of people. His visits to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Des Moines, Chicago and Washington took on the trappings of major holidays. Pope John Paul II made more than 170 visits to over 115 countries. Time named him Man of the Year in1994. His moves, his presence, his smile, his friendliness, his gestures pleased everyone. He was great with crowds shaking hands, smiling, talking and kissing babies. The Pope's criticisms of dictators such as Alfred Stroessner in Paraguay, Augusto Pinochet in Chile and Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines encouraged opposition movements that eventually brought down those governments. His support for the Solidarity movement in Poland was a key to the downfall of communism in Poland. Pope John Paul II had the church in a stronger position than it had been in since the Protestant division in the 16th century.He was the first Catholic Pope to visit and pray in an Islamic mosque in Damascus in 2001.On 15 January 1995, during the X World Youth Day, he offered Mass to an estimated crowd of between four and eight million in Luneta Park, Philippines which is considered as the largest single event in Christian history. In September 2001 amid post-September concerns, he traveled to Kazhakstan, with an audience of largely Muslims, and to Armenia to participate in the celebration of the 1700 years of Christianity in that nation. He had more meetings than any of his predecessors with the People of God and the leaders of nations. More than 17,600,000 pilgrims participated in the General Audiences held on Wednesdays. He encountered numerous government personalities during his visits. Thus he was a people's man. The assumption of the highest Church office by John Paul II represented an ideological and political turning point. The new Church head was soon regarded as a pope of restoration, who turned the Church more openly into a force of opposition to the modernising spirit of the times Pope and the Youth: Pope John Paul II had a special relationship also with Catholic youth and is known by some as The Pope for Youth. .He was particularly concerned with the education of young future Priests, and made many early visits to Roman seminaries, including to the Venerable English College in 1979. Some of his most faithful youths gathered themselves in two organizations: "papaboys" and "papagirls." Conclusion: The Pope often explained himself with dense, closely reasoned and deeply philosophical encyclicals which, along with his letters and other writings filled more than 150 volumes. He did not neglect his own spiritual life. He was sometimes found kneeling on the ground in the middle of winter before a statue or deep in prayer with his head resting on an altar. Even when not interacting with others, he was seen moving his lips, apparently in prayer. He made more visits than any other pope and thus he was a man for others. He was very much interested in youth people and World Youth Day was commemorated out of this interest. He earned more fame than any other pope in world history. Once Pope John Paul II was shot and critically wounded by Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish gunman, as he entered St.Peter's Square to address an audience. The Pope forgave the gunman and met him in prison as a brother which further proves that he was a "man for others" The Pope was very humble in his character. He made several apologies during his reign as pope. He also made visits to mosques and respected other religions. Through these he attracted the hearts of millions of people. As pope, one of John Paul II's most important roles was to teach people about Christianity. He wrote 14 papal encyclicals that many observers believe will have long-lasting influence on the church.When the Pope died on April 2, 2005 at the Vatican rest of the world reflected on his legacy and speculated about his successor. Thus pope's childhood days, priesthood days and papal days have been discussed in this paper along with examples justifying him as a "man for others" Reference: Astrology Software. 2008. AstroDatabank. 3 Mar. 2008. www.astrodatabank.com Breaking News. 2008. CNN. 3 Mar. 2008. www.cnn.com Global Catholic News. 2008. Catholic.net. 3 Mar. 2008. www.catholic.net Pope John Paul II. 3 Mar. 2008. Wikipedia the free encyclopaedia. 3 Mar. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II Vatican city. 2008. Vatican. 3 Mar. 2008. www.vatican.ca Read More