https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGPJ2H_WUAU
Hard to believe that it has been eleven years since the death of Saint John Paul II. On the date of his death Amy Welborn at her blog Open Book had a post dedicated to memories of the Pope. Here was my contribution:
When the Pope was in Nicaragua and a Sandinista organized group was attempting to shout the Pope down while he was giving a sermon during a vast outdoor mass. The Pope lost his temper finally and yelled out “Silencio!”, followed by applause from the vast majority of the worshipers.
The Pope was a man’s man of unusual physical courage. Nothing fazed him: Nazis, Communists of all stripes, an almost successful assassination attempt, parkinson’s, etc. This is certainly not the most important feature of the Pope, but I personally found it one of the most inspiring aspects of this great man.
Go here to read the other comments. Go here to read a tribute to Pope John Paul II I wrote in white heat anger, at anti-Catholic bigot Jimmy Carter, in 2012. After the elapse of four years he looks greater to me with each passing day. Each Pope holds a great office, but only a select few have also been a great man. Saint John Paul II looms large in that select company of giants.
“By their fruits you shall know them”
St. John Paul II’s death 11 years ago yesterday struck me in several different ways. He was elected when I was 15 and died when I was 42. His God given gift of being a polyglot and his brief time spent acting as a young man gave him a unique ability to connect with and relate to people all over the world.
One thing we will not know the extent of is how much the Holy See, working with the CIA and other organizations, funneled money and supplies to Solidarity in Poland during and after the imposition of martial law. The Holy See and the Catholic Church in Poland worked hand in hand with the Polish people to put an end to the evil that is Communism in Central Europe.
Certainly his time in the papal office had its ups and downs. Many hold St. John Paul II personally responsible for the priest abuse scandals. I hold the bishops of the dioceses responsible. Priests are the responsibility of the bishops and the bishops know it. Those priests received admission to the seminaries, were passed through, ordained and assigned by the bishops. I can find fault with some of his appointments. Roger + Mahony is as big a mistake as a person can make.
+ Bergoglio ranks up there.
JPII got in the face of the liberation theology bunch in Latin America. Problem was he wasn’t strict enough with them.
JPII made his first trip back to Poland in 1979. Brezhnev told the Polish government not to let him in. In front of countless thousands in Warsaw, the people chanted “We Want God!”
I doubt there will be a funeral with more in attendance than that of St. John Paul II.
I want to add that St. John Paul II exemplified on a grand stage the unbeatable spirit of the Polish people. Poland and its diaspora have produced renowned scientists, musicians, warriors and saints.
Unlike the so called enlightened nations of Western Europe, which have revolted against the Catholic Church for nebulous secular ideologies, Poland has resisted this garbage. God, honor, country.
TWO “almost successful” assassination attempts. Don’t forget the scratch he got from a bayonet wielded by a crazy ex-priest at Fatima.
Still I say any Catholic who kisses a book that blasphemes the Lord Jesus and the Blessed Apostles is NOT a Catholic Saint, by any stretch of the imagination.
Any Catholic who allows pagan incantations to be recited inside the holy houses of Assisi in 1986 is NOT a Catholic Saint.
The Sacred Scriptures warns us that the sin against the 1st commandment is a grave sin.
.
JP 2 may have helped the Polish people get political freedom but that does not make him a Catholic saint.
Che Guevera also helped many to get political freedom in the Americas but that does not make him a Catholic saint.
“Che Guevera also helped many to get political freedom in the Americas”
What a bizarre thing to say. Castro’s hangman helped no one gain freedom; he was always a gunman for the Communists and they are ever foes of freedom.
Tell that to the tens of millions of people around the globe that wear proudly T-shirts with Che’s face emblazoned.
Still neither Che nor JP 2 are Catholic saints. They are both worldly-popular but neither is a Catholic Saint.
Certainly the unfortunate victims of Maciel Marcel (the close friend and protege of JP 2) DO NOT regard JP 2 as a Catholic saint. Quite on the contrary.
“Tell that to the tens of millions of people around the globe that wear proudly T-shirts with Che’s face emblazoned.”
They’re idiots:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQcUkd1w_TY
“JP II may have helped the Polish people get political freedom but that does not make him a Catholic Saint.”-cpola.
No s-it!
Then the next idiotic thing you spout is a comparison of Saint JPII the Great to the likes of this murdering scum Che.
You have sunk to a new low cpola.
How dare you?
” I don’t believe there are many bad people out there, just people with bad ideas.” – A. Scalia.
The late Supreme Court Justice said it best when he came across tripe like yours cpola.
Your not bad. Your ideas are.
Shame on you to tell us why Saint JPII the Great isn’t a Saint. The miracles that attest to his sainthood are what then? Lies?
cpola. Go back to the hole you live in and say more prayers. Pray to be forgiven.
Great clip.
The documentary, John Paul II: A Saint for Our Times by director John Biffar is a beautiful testimony of courage, sacrifice and love that blessed the world in the form of a polish man, a man who truly was baptised by fire.
ABC correspondent, Bill Blakemore does a magnificent job in this piece, and talks of his personal transformation as a young man when he started his relationship interviewing JPII and how he respected the Pope as time went on.
Great film.
It’s in our library at home.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/pope/interviews/blakemore.html
Bill Blakemore gives an interview to PBS on his years covering St. Pope JPII.
Bill is a Protestant, however he is touched by the deep humility and courageousness of our former Holy Father. The Cuban meeting with Castro is interesting. Months after JPII’s visit, Christmas is allowed to be celebrated once again.
Kissing the Koran was one mistake hard core radtrads will never forgive JPII for. Another is Archbishop Lefebvre’s excommunication.
Of course, those that accuse JPII are perfect. Just ask them.
Penguins Fan.
🙂 agreed.
https://zenit.org/articles/interview-inside-stories-about-john-paul-ii-also-told-by-his-successor/
One more from another angle.
People who knew him.