THE WORLD HIS STAGE

WORDS Daniel Street

Mystic, poet, actor, priest and revolutionary. Pope John Paul II’s papacy was characterised by a relentless desire to take his message to the world.

He was always God’s child. Born into a deeply religious family, Karol Wojtyla grew into a passionately devout young man. Secretly studying for the priesthood, Karol survived the Nazi occupation of his homeland and was ordained in 1946–just as the communists clamped their rule on Poland–an iron curtain that, much later, he would be instrumental in dismantling.

It was the Pope’s role in the end of communism and the Soviet empire that elevated him to the rank of 20th century statesman, first by throwing his power behind Poland’s Solidarity Trade Union, then later doing the same for reform-minded Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader. But it was John Paul II’s first return to his homeland as Pope in 1979 which became the trigger for the revolution of conscience, undermining the credibility of the official communist ideology, that eventually produced the non-violent collapse of the Soviet.

Karol Wojtyla had risen rapidly through the ranks of the church cardinals. By 1964 he was archbishop, and years later he became a cardinal.

Attending all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council from 1962 through 1965, he became a leader in crafting a new Catholic openness to the modern world, and a mainstay in the battle to define religious freedom as a basic human right.

‘My God, it’s a Pole’, gasped someone among the tens of thousands packed into St Peter’s Square in 1978. The College of Cardinals had elected Karol Wojtyla to succeed John Paul I, who died after 33 days, making him the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years and, at 58, the youngest since 1846.

He would reign for 26 years, the third longest papacy in two millennia and, undeniably, one of the most significant. From the start of his pontificate, John Paul showed his determination not to be a remote leader but to visit his people wherever they were. Distance was no barrier. His papal odyssey saw pastoral pilgrimages to every corner of the world. He covered more than 120 countries, earning himself the reputation of an international fighter for freedom.

A young Karol Wojtyla with his father. Photo courtesy of Channel Nine.

On his first official visit to Australia in 1986, he said: ‘I come as a friend to urge you to pursue all your lives those values worthy of the human person, to encourage you to be open-hearted, generous to the unfortunate and caring towards those who are pushed to the margins of life.’ And they were words that became the fabric of his reign–tireless work to maintain the dignity of humankind against what he saw as the dangers of modern life. He was a dogged defender of human rights, often disregarding his personal safety to directly confront abusive regimes or to visit war zones to appeal for peace.

Love, compassion and a desire to heal were the hallmarks of his pontificate. His efforts to advance inter-religious dialogue saw him host, in 1986, the first of several assemblies in Assisi that brought together leaders representing 65 faiths and denominations. ‘The challenge of peace transcends religious differences’, he said. John Paul also reached out to Jews and Muslims and urged both to work for peace in the Middle East. In February 2000 he went to the Holy Land and Egypt, speaking forthrightly of the need for tolerance among Jews, Christians and Muslims, and of the imperative need that they show justice towards each other. A few days before setting out for Israel, he gave an address asking for pardon before the world for the faults committed by members of the Catholic Church over its 2000-year history.

‘John Paul Two, We Love You’ became the popular cry from the world’s young Catholics, who John Paul loved too. He reached out to them at World Youth Day, which became another of the signature initiatives of his pontificate. Since 1987 he has drawn millions of young people on pilgrimage to Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia.

Perhaps his greatest single act of compassion came in 1981 after being shot by Turkish gunman, Mehmet Ali Agca in St Peter’s Square. As soon as he recovered, the Pope went to his cell, forgave him and prayed with him.

Within the life of the church, he could be authoritarian and conservative, ruling out married priesthood, uncompromising on birth control and euthanasia and also uncompromising on himself–refusing until almost the end to give in to the ravages of Parkinson’s Disease.

Through the power of his intellect, the force of his magnetic personality and sheer energy, John Paul II returned the Catholic Church to prominence in world affairs. He restored the integrity of moral leadership and left his stamp on a papacy that will never be forgotten.

‘I will’, he said, ‘serve in this job as long as God wants.’ And that, of course, is exactly what he did.

Read what the general public will remember about John Paul II on our Pope John Paul II Tributes page.

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