Pope John Paul II
John Paul II, Karol J—zef Wojty?a (born May 18, 1920) is the first Slavic
pope in history and the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in 1522. He
is also the most widely travelled pope, having made over 100 papal visits
abroad, more than all his predecessors put together. John Paul II was
elected pope of the Roman Catholic Church on October 16, 1978, following the
short pontificate of his namesake, Pope John Paul I.
Personal background
Karol J—zef Wojty?a (pronounced Voy-tee-wah) was born in Wadowice, Poland in
1920. An athlete, actor and playwright in his youth, Karol Wojty?a was
ordained a priest on November 1, 1946. He taught ethics at Krak—w and Lublin
universities. In 1958 he was named auxiliary bishop of Krak—w and four years
later he assumed leadership of the diocese with the title of vicar capitular.
On December 30, 1963, he was named Archbishop of Krak—w by Pope Paul VI.
Both as bishop and archbishop, Wojty?a participated in the Second Vatican
Council, making contributions to the documents that would become the Decree
on Religious Freedom (Dignitatis Humanae) and the Pastoral Constitution on
the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), two of the most historic
and influential products of the council.
In 1967 Pope Paul VI elevated him to cardinal. In August 1978 following Pope
Paul's death he participated in the Papal Conclave that elected Albino
Luciani, the Cardinal Patriarch of Venice, as Pope John Paul I. At 65,
Luciani was a young man by papal standards. While Wojty?a at 58 could have
expected to participate in another papal conclave before reaching the age of
eighty (at which he would be excluded), he could hardly have expected that
his second conclave would come so soon, for on 28 September 1978, after only
33 days in the papacy, Pope John Paul I died, in circumstances that still
remain mysterious. In October 1978 Wojty?a returned to the Vatican to
participate in the second conclave in less than two months.
The Second Conclave of 1978
The conclave itself was divided between two particularly strong candidates,
Giuseppe Siri, the reactionary Archbishop of Genoa, and Giovanni Benelli,
the liberal Archbishop of Florence and close associate of Pope John Paul I.
In early ballots Benelli came within nine votes of victory. Wojty?a however
secured election as the compromise candidate, in part through the support of
liberal cardinals like Franz Kšnig and conservatives who had previously
supported Siri. On election, the first non-Italian pope for nearly half a
millennium was referred to by many simply as the man for a far country. In
terms of his age, his nationality, and his rugged health, the former athlete
and playwright broke all the papal rules. He was to become the dominant
twentieth-century pope of the Catholic Church, eclipsing Pope Paul VI in
travels, Pope Pius XII in intellectual vigour, and Pope John XXIII in
charisma.
The First Polish playwright-Pope
When on October 16, 1978, at age 58, he succeeded Pope John Paul I, he
fulfilled a prophesy made to him decades earlier by Padre Pio that he would
one day be pope. There was also another part to the prediction. The monk
with the stigmata also predicted that Wotjty?a's reign would be short and
end in blood, a prophesy that almost became true when on May 13, 1981 he was
shot and nearly killed by Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish gunman, as he entered
St. Peter's Square to address a general audience.
There have been unproven speculations that the assassination was ordered by
the Soviet Union. Two days after Christmas in 1983, Pope John Paul went to
the prison and met with his would-be assassin.
Travels
During his reign, Pope John Paul II made more foreign trips than all
previous popes put together. While some of his trips (to the United States
and the Holy Land) were to places previously visited by "The Pilgrim Pope",
Pope Paul VI, many others were to places that no pope had ever visited
before. He became the first reigning pope to travel to the United Kingdom,
where he met Queen Elizabeth II, the Supreme Governor of the Church of
England. In a dramatic symbolic gesture, he knelt in prayer in Canterbury
Cathedral, founded by Augustine of Canterbury and the See of the Church of
England, alongside the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie.
Throughout his trips, he stressed his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
through visits to various Marian shrines, notably Knock in the Republic of
Ireland, Fatima in Portugal and Lourdes in France. His public visits were
centered around large Papal Masses; one million people, one quarter of the
population of the island of Ireland, attended his Mass in Phoenix Park in 1979.
His 1998 encyclical, Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason), condemned both
atheism and faith unsupported by reason and affirmed the place of reason and
philosophy in religion.
Relations with the Jewish people
John Paul II has written and delivered a number of speeches on the subject
of the Church's relationship with Jews, and has often paid homage to the
victims of the Holocaust in many nations. His visit to the Synagogue of Rome
was the first by a pope since the founding of the Catholic Church.
The Anti-Defamation League recently stated, "The Anti-Defamation League
congratulates Pope John Paul II on the 25th anniversary of his papacy. His
deep commitment to reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Jewish
people has been fundamental to his papacy. Jews throughout the world are
deeply grateful to the Pope. He has defended the Jewish people at all times,
as a priest in his native Poland and during his pontificate....We pray that
he remains healthy for many years to come, that he achieves much success in
his holy work and that Catholic-Jewish relations continue to flourish."
Criticising a 'culture of death'
He is considered a conservative on doctrine and issues relating to the
ordination of women, and has been critical of Liberation Theology and those
who regard themselves Catholics while questioning the church's teachings on
faith and morals. In the 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of
Life) he reasserted the church's condemnation of abortion, euthanasia, and
capital punishment, calling them all a part of the "culture of death" that
is pervasive in the modern world. His stands on capital punishment, world
debt forgiveness, and poverty issues are considered politically liberal,
showing that 'conservative' and 'liberal' labels are not easily assigned to
religious leaders.
Serious Health Problems
As the youngest pope since Pope Pius IX was elected in 1846, John Paul
entered the papacy as an exceptionally healthy, relatively young man who,
unlike previous popes, swam and skied. However, after twenty-five years on
the papal throne, a serious assassination attempt, and a number of cancer
scares, John Paul's physical health is poor. In May 2003, the Vatican
confirmed that, as international observers had suspected, Pope John Paul is
suffering from Parkinson's disease. He has difficulty speaking and hearing.
He also has severe arthritis in his right knee, which he developed following
a hip replacement. Nevertheless, he has continued to tour the world. Despite
speculation that he may resign, he appears determined to remain in office
until his death or until he becomes irrevocably mentally impaired. Those who
have met him say that, though physically in poor shape, he remains mentally
in full health.
In 2000, he publicly endorsed the Jubilee 2000 campaign on African debt
relief fronted by Irish rock stars Sir Bob Geldof and Bono. Indeed the
nature of the relationship between the 79-year-old pope and Bono was
revealed when someone working at U2's recording studio revealed that a
recording session for Bono's band, U2 was interrupted on at least one
occasion by a phone call to the recording studio in Dublin by the pope, who
wanted to talk to Bono about the campaign.
Encyclicals of Pope John Paul II
* Ecclesia De Eucharistia - On the Eucharist in its Relationship to the
Church April 17, 2003
* Centesimus Annus - On the 100th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's Rerum
Novarum - On Capitol and Labor; On Catholic social teaching May 1, 1991
* Dives in Misericordia - The Father of mercies and God of all comfort
November 30, 1980
* Dominum et Vivificantem - The Lord and Giver of Life May 18, 1986
* Evangelium Vitae - The Gospel of Life March 25, 1995
* Fides et Ratio - Faith and Reason September 14, 1998
* Laborem Exercens - On Human Work September 14, 1981
* Redemptor Hominis - The Redeemer of Man March 4, 1979
* Redemptoris Mater - Mother of the Redeemer March 25, 1987
* Redemptoris Missio - On the Permanent Validity of the Church's
Missionary Mandate December 7, 1990
* Slavorum Apostoli - In commemoration of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius
June 2, 1985
* Sollicitudo Rei Socialis - On Social Concerns December 30, 1987
* Ut Unum Sint - That they may be one - On Commitment to Ecumenism May
25, 1995
* Veritatis Splendor - The Splendor of Truth - Regarding Certain
Fundamental Question of the Church's Moral Teaching August 6, 1993
Pastoral visits outside Italy
1. January 25 - February 1, 1979 - Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Bahamas
2. June 2 - June 10, 1979 - Poland
3. September 29 - October 8, 1979 - Republic of Ireland and the United
States
4. November 28 - November 30, 1979 - Turkey
5. May 2 - May 12, 1980 - Zaire, Congo, Kenya, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ivory
Coast
6. May 30 - June 2, 1980 - France
7. June 30 - July 12, 1980 - Brazil
8. November 15 - November 19, 1980 - Germany
9. February 16 - February 27, 1981 - Pakistan, the Philippines, Guam
(USA), Japan, Anchorage (USA)
10. February 12 - February 19, 1982 - Nigeria, Benin, Gabon, Equatorial
Guinea
11. May 12 - May 15, 1982 - Portugal
12. May 28 - June 2, 1982 - United Kingdom
13. June 10 - June 13, 1982 - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Argentina
14. June 15, 1982 - Geneva (Switzerland)
15. August 29, 1982 - San Marino
16. October 31 - November 9, 1982 - Spain
17. March 2 - March 10, 1983 - Lisbon (Portugal), Costa Rica, Nicaragua,
Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Haiti
18. June 16 - June 23, 1983 - Poland
19. August 14 - August 15, 1983 - Lourdes (France)
20. September 10 - September 13, 1983 - Austria
21. May 2 - May 12, 1984 - Fairbanks (USA), Republic of Korea, Papua New
Guinea, Solomon Islands, Thailand
22. June 12 - June 17, 1984 - Switzerland
23. September 9 - September 21, 1984 - Canada
24. October 10 - October 13, 1984 - Zaragoza (Spain), Santo Domingo
(Dominican Republic), San Juan (Puerto Rico)
25. January 26 - February 6, 1985 - Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Trinidad and
Tobago
26. May 11 - May 21, 1985 - the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium
27. August 8 - August 19, 1985 - Togo, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Central
African Republic, Zaire, Kenya, Morocco
28. September 8, 1985 - Kloten (Switzerland), Liechtenstein
29. January 31 - February 11, 1986 - India
30. July 1 - July 8, 1986 - St. Lucia, Colombia
31. October 4 - October 7, 1986 - France
32. November 18 - December 1, 1986 - Bangladesh, Singapore, Fiji, New
Zealand, Australia, the Seychelles
33. March 31 - April 13, 1987 - Chile, Uruguay, Argentina
34. April 30 - May 4, 1987 - Germany
35. June 8 - June 14, 1987 - Poland
36. September 10 - September 21, 1987 - United States (including New
Orleans), Fort Simpson (Canada)
37. May 7 - May 18, 1988 - Uruguay, Bolivia, Lima (Peru), Paraguay, Curacao
38. June 23 - June 27, 1988 - Austria
39. September 10 - September 19, 1988 - Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho,
Swaziland, Mozambique
40. October 8 - October 11, 1988 - France
41. April 28 - May 6, 1989 - Madagascar, La Reunion, Zambia, Malawi
42. June 1 - June 10, 1989 - Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden
43. August 19 - August 21, 1989 - Santiago de Compostela and Asturias (both
Spain)
44. October 6 - October 16, 1989 - Seoul (Republic of Korea), Indonesia
(East Timor), Mauritius
45. January 25 - February 1, 1990 - Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mali,
Burkina Faso, Chad
46. April 21 - April 22, 1990 - Czechoslovakia
47. May 6 - May 14, 1990 - Mexico, Curacao
48. May 25 - May 27, 1990 - Malta
49. September 1 - September 10, 1990 - Luqa (Malta), Tanzania, Burundi,
Rwanda, Yamoussoukro (Ivory Coast)
50. May 5 - May 13, 1991 - Portugal
51. June 1 - June 9, 1991 - Poland
52. August 13 - August 20, 1991 - Czestochowa (Poland), Hungary
53. October 12 - October 21, 1991 - Brazil
54. February 19 - February 26, 1992 - Senegal, Gambia, Guinea
55. June 4 - June 10, 1992 - Angola, Sao Tome and Principe
56. October 9 - October 14, 1992 - Dominican Republic
57. February 3 - February 10, 1993 - Benin, Uganda, Khartoum (Sudan)
58. April 25, 1993 - Albania
59. June 12 - June 17, 1993 - Spain
60. August 9 - August 16, 1993 - Jamaica, Merida (Mexico), Denver (USA)
61. September 4 - September 10, 1993 - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
62. September 10 - September 11, 1994 - Zagreb (Croatia)
63. January 11 - January 21, 1995 - Manila (Philippines), Port Moresby
(Papua New Guinea), Sydney (Australia), Colombo (Sri Lanka)
64. May 20 - May 22, 1995 - Czech Republic, Poland
65. June 3 - June 4, 1995 - Belgium
66. June 30 - July 3, 1995 - Slovakia
67. September 14 - September 20, 1995 - Yaounde (Cameroon), Johannesburg
(Republic of South Africa), Nairobi (Kenya)
68. October 4 - October 9, 1995 - Newark, New York, United Nations,
Yonkers, Baltimore (all USA)
69. February 5 - February 12, 1996 - Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador,
Venezuela
70. April 14, 1996 - Tunisia
71. May 17 - May 19, 1996 - Slovenia
72. June 21 - June 23, 1996 - Germany
73. September 6 - September 7, 1996 - Hungary
74. September 19 - September 22, 1996 - France
75. April 12 - April 13, 1997 - Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
76. April 25 - April 27, 1997 - Czech Republic
77. May 10 - May 11, 1997 - Beirut (Lebanon)
78. May 31 - June 10, 1997 - Poland
79. August 21 - August 24, 1997 - Paris (France)
80. October 2 - October 6, 1997 - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
81. January 21 - January 26, 1998 - Cuba
82. March 21 - March 23, 1998 - Nigeria
83. June 19 - June 21, 1998 - Austria
84. October 2 - October 4, 1998 - Croatia
85. January 22 - January 28, 1999 - St. Louis (USA), Mexico
86. May 7 - May 9, 1999 - Romania
87. June 5 - June 17, 1999 - Poland
88. September 19, 1999 - Slovenia
89. October 5 - October 9, 1999 - New Delhi (India), Georgia
90. February 24 - February 26, 2000 - Mount Sinai (Egypt)
91. March 20 - March 26, 2000 - Jordan, the West Bank, Israel
92. May 12 - May 13, 2000 - Fatima (Portugal)
93. May 5 - May 9, 2001 - Malta, Greece, Syria
94. June 23 - June 27, 2001 - Ukraine, including Babi Yar, where many Jews
were massacred in the Holocaust
95. September 22 - September 27, 2001 - Kazakhstan, Armenia
96. May 22 - May 26, 2002 - Azerbaijan, Bulgaria
97. July 23 - August 2, 2002 - Canada, Guatemala (including Antigua
Guatemala), Mexico
98. August 18 - August 19, 2002 - Poland
99. May 3 - May 4, 2003 - Spain
100. June 5 - June 9, 2003 - Croatia
101. June 22, 2003 - Bosnia and Herzegovina
102. September 11 - September 14, 2003 - Slovakia
