Remembering
Pope John Paul II
by Thomas Howard
� Copyright, 2005 by Thomas Howard.
He was a good man.
It seems almost inadequate to say that Pope John Paul II was a good man. There is a simple, unsophisticated feeling to it. Just a good man? But I think I will leave it at that: he was a good man. A just man.
I am twenty-seven years old. For Catholics my age, John Paul II has always been, simply, the Pope. He was the Pope for nearly all of my 27 years. My generation has known no other pontiff. He has always been the Pope to us and perhaps for some time to come will remain, simply, the Pope. I think it is because of the bonds he felt were so important to forge with young people.
My generation is one largely distrustful of authority and those who wield it. From politicians to CEOs to generals to dictators, to royalty and, yes, even many of the clergy, we have seen abuses of power, hypocrisy, moral and ethical inconsistencies and self-serving policies.
Few of our traditional role models in the sports, entertainment or media world have been without scandal, arrogance or greed. It has shaped us. We are skeptical.
We have witnessed domestic discord, environmental degradation, crime, drug addiction, poverty, sexual and physical abuse, and now, as a new century dawns, seemingly endless war and terror. We have experienced it first hand. It should be no surprise that, to many of us, the world can be a confusing, sadistic and frightening place.
But we have seen something else, as well.
John Paul II reached out to youth in a way that no other Pope before him seemed able or willing to do. Even for those of us who remain skeptical, who find ourselves saying, �Well, I was raised Catholic,� John Paul II did not attempt to lecture so much as to persuade by example. He was internally consistent. He acted on what he believed.
And he reached out to other faiths�the Eastern churches, Judaism, Protestantism, Islam and Buddhism�without dogma or intolerance, but with mutual understanding proceeding from the deepest respect.
Whether confronting authoritarian regimes or out of control leaders, problems of society as a whole or of individual conscience, John Paul II consistently advocated respect for life, peace, justice, dignity and harmony. And in all this, he understood himself to be only a man, a servant of a higher power and a greater truth.
This is the most important lesson he taught us, to be humble yet firm and consistent in our beliefs and principles and in how we apply them to our daily lives. He shared the goal of the late Peter Maurin, who with Dorothy Day founded the Catholic Worker, and that is �to work to build a world in which it is easier for people to be good.�
He also showed us that is no easy task. Yet it is the simplest goal in the world to serve, if only we find the courage to manifest it in our actions.
While it may seem inadequate to say that he was a good man, it is also the highest compliment, and an invitation we can all try harder to follow.
