Remembering John Paul II | National Catholic Reporter

Remembering John Paul II | National Catholic Reporter by MSW.  MGB: I went to school the day John Paul II was elected, but was home by the time the smoke went up. I've had the good fortune to be watching the smoke go up for both popes after him, although I doubt I will wake up to watch the canonization Mass - unless I stay up after getting home from work. On the question of whether the Catholic Left noticed the condmenation of Capitalism, of course I did - although I was not much of a leftist back then.



What dissappointed me more than anything - and more so with age - is the stubbornness John Paul displayed on sexual issues - both personal and public. It also seemed he was turning back the clock on a few things and as much as Benedict was is Inquistor, Rigali was his American Episcopal enforcer. The left was noting that progress was afoot on gay issues, since sex was a gift from God and gays were children of God. It took the invention from whole cloth of "intrinsic disorder" to stop the Church from going down a road to acceptance. This was a pity.



On end of life issues, the use of a brief remark to a Pro-Life priest's conference had the effect of changing doctrine without really doing it officially. This played out in how some dealt with Terry Schaivo. A lot of this happened because the Pope was so sick - although his public decline caused Benedict to not inflict the same thing on the Church and resign as he aged.



The most irritating thing was how heavy handed the English translation of the Mass was changed. Those who have an old Missal will recognize much of the language - save all the references to St. Michael, et al in many prayers. While this happened under Benedict, I suspect it started under John Paul. It can be traced back to how Karol Wojtyla led those who were against progress at Vatican II. By the time he was elected, there was a very different College of Cardinals than the one that elected Paul VI.



Still, his personal sanctity cannot be doubted - both for the way he sufferred and the way he relied on God to deal with his sufferings. It is not so much the pain as turning his pain to prayer that makes him a saint (since it was good luck that had Communism fall on his watch - although concentrating Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary might have also had something to do with it). Maybe living in interesting times is important after all.