BLOG POST | Hey Deacon!

 
On October 22nd we celebrate the feast day of Pope St. John Paul II.  He was a man of great humility, whose nearly 27-year pontificate (third-longest ever) left a lasting impression on the Catholic Church and the world. He died on April 2, 2005, and was canonized just nine years later, the shortest canonization cause in modern Church history.  During his pontificate, he visited over 130 countries, published more than 50 major documents, and canonized hundreds of saints.

Some of his notable legacies include:

Theology of the Body: a series of lectures given between 1979 and 1984 providing a comprehensive vision of the human person as a unity of body, soul, and spirit. It has been described as one of the most important theological works of the 20th century.

World Youth Day: an international Catholic event that he initiated in 1985. It is celebrated every three years in a different country, and it attracts millions of young people from across the globe to pray together.

Interfaith Relations: Pope St. John Paul II is known for his efforts to improve relations between Catholics and other religions, particularly Judaism. He was the first pope to visit a synagogue and also established diplomatic relations with Israel.

And possibly his greatest legacy was his global works for social justice and human rights. He spoke out against war, poverty, and oppression, and he called for greater solidarity among nations.  He changed the course of history and helped bring an end to the Cold War through his support of the Polish labor union and the Polish freedom movement.  

In June 1979, less than nine months after becoming pope, he visited Poland speaking to crowds totaling 13 million and called for “political self-determination for (Poland’s) citizens and formation of its own culture and civilization.” The following year, nationwide strikes forced the Polish government to pay just wages and permit formation of an independent union.  Then in 1989, Pope St. John Paul II political skills aided the demise of the Berlin Wall, and the fall of communist regimes in Czechoslovakia and Romania. By 1991, the Soviet bloc would be no more.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union, wrote in 1992, “Everything that happened in Eastern Europe in these last years, would have been impossible without the presence of this pope and without the important role — including the political role — that he played on the world stage.”

Pope St. John Paul II was the right man in the right place at the right time to shape world history. He left a legacy proving nonviolent revolutions without the shedding of blood is possible. Unfortunately, war and suppression of human rights still exist.  There is Russia’s attack on Ukraine, China threatening Taiwan, North Korea testing nuclear weapons, and now Hamas’ attack on Israel.

Pope Francis, a reformer in his own right, has condemned Hamas saying,” Terrorism and extremism do not help to reach a solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, but fuels hatred, violence, and revenge, causing suffering to both sides.” 

May Pope Francis and our world leaders be as bold as St. John Paul II and bring forth a swift end to the bloodshed.  For nothing is lost with peace, but everything can be lost with war.




Author Bio:
Deacon Dan Vaughn