Pope Saint John Paul II served as Pope of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 1978 to 2005. He is called Saint John Paul the Great by some Catholics.
Background
Karol Jozef Wojtyla who later came to be known as Pope John Paul II, was the youngest of the three children born to Karol Wojtyla sr. and Emilia Kaczorowska, a school teacher in Wadowice, Poland. He was born on May 18, 1920 in Wadowice.
He witnessed great tragedies during his childhood. His mother passed away when he was just nine and three years later his brother also died.
Education
After moving to Krakow with his father in 1938, Karol was enrolled to the Jagiellonian University. There, he learned philosophy along with other languages and also volunteered as a librarian. While pursuing education, he worked with various theatrical groups as a playwright. He also developed a special liking for languages and learned 12 foreign languages which he used extensively while serving as a Pope. In 1939, Nazis invaded Poland and they closed the University.
By the time his father died, Karol had already resolved to become a priest and in this pursuit, he approached the Bishop’s Palace in Krakow in 1942 to seek permission to study for priesthood. Soon, he started attending Clandestine Underground Seminary run by the Archbishop of Krakow.
During World War II, on August 6, 1944, the day which came to be known as the ‘Black Sunday’, Gestapo, the secret police of Nazi Germany started imprisoning young men to prevent uprisings in Krakow, similar to the one that had broken out recently in Warsaw. To avoid capture, he hid himself in the basement of his uncle’s house and later escaped to the Archbishop’s Palace. After the Germans fled the city, the students reclaimed the dilapidated seminary where Wojtyla volunteered to clean the piles of excrement in the toilets.
After completing his studies, he was ordained as a priest on November 1, 1946. As a priest, he was sent to the Pontifical International Athenaeum Angelicum (now Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas) in Rome to study under French Dominican Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange. He became a licentiate in July 1947 and successfully completed his doctoral thesis titled, ‘The Doctrine of Faith in St. John of the Cross’ on June 14, 1948. In 1954, he completed his second Doctorate in Sacred Theology.
Career
Wojtyła was named auxiliary bishop of Kraków in 1958. In Poland Bishop Wojtyla, along with his patron Cardinal Wyszynski of Warsaw, was a rallying point for anti-Communist religious people. The bishop tended to show himself more flexible than the hard-line cardinal, and constantly his patriotism kept him from supporting any movements against the government that would do the people or the land more harm than good. The Communist government came to look upon him as a formidable foe, for he was an attractive public figure. He also participated in the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops. In 1964, Pope Paul VI appointed him Archbishop of Kraków. In 1967, Paul VI announced Archbishop Karol Wojtyła's promotion to the Sacred College of Cardinals. Wojtyła was named Cardinal-Priest of the titulus of San Cesareo in Palatio. First as bishop and then as archbishop and cardinal, Wojtyla fought for the Church's rights to full religious practice and expression of opinion.
During the Second Vatican Council he had contributed to the Catholic Church's broadened appreciation of religious liberty, and he impressed many of the Church's princes as a strong leader with first-hand experience of what Communist rule could mean. In fact, in 1976 Pope Paul VI invited the then Cardinal Wojtyla to preach the annual Lenten Retreat to the pope himself and members of the Curia that work in Rome as the pope's right arm.
When Pope Paul VI died in August 1978, and then scarcely a month later his successor, Pope John Paul I, died unexpectedly, the stage was set for a more dramatic occurrence. On October 16, 1978, on their eighth ballot, the cardinals assembled in Rome for the papal election chose Karol Wojtyla as the first non-Italian pope in 455 years and the first Slavic pope ever. The new pope, who chose the name John Paul II in honor of his immediate predecessors (John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul I), quickly showed himself to be a charismatic figure. From his student years in Rome he retained fluent Italian. Speculation was rife about what sort of pontiff he would prove to be, all the more so since his election had caught the "pope-watchers" off-guard. In their bones they had become so used to Italian popes that a non-Italian seemed a practical impossibility.
Pope John Paul II plunged into a whirlwind of activity from which he scarcely rested. In January 1979 he made his first trip abroad to Latin America. He also discouraged priests and nuns - the most visible representatives of the hierarchical church - from direct or full-time political activities. For example, he ordered the American Jesuit priest, Father Robert Drinan, who had been a congressman from Massachusetts for ten years, to resign his office.
The crowds who greeted the pope in Latin America exceeded all expectations, but the atmosphere of his return to his native Poland less than six months later was even more emotional. For nine days in June of 1979 he walked in the midst of Eastern Europeans, symbolizing their Christian roots and a culture that greatly predated the more recent invasions of either Communists or Nazis. The Polish government understandably was uneasy, if not embarrassed, but there was little they could do in the light of the pope's status as a national hero. At the end of September 1979 the pope flew first to Ireland and then to the United States, bringing his message of justice, peace, and the rightness of traditional Catholic morality.
After these early trips Pope John Paul II consolidated his reputation as the most travelled pope of all history. He met with the archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Anglican Church; with German Lutherans who stand in the tradition of the Protestant Reformation; and with Africans and Asians - all on their own soil, which he usually kissed when he deplaned. The personal danger in these trips was brought home to the world on May 13, 1981, when the pope was shot in Rome by a Muslim fanatic reputed to be in the employ of the Bulgarian Communist government. Not long after his return to nearly customary vigor he began planning for future trips, telling his aides that his life belonged to God and the people much more than to himself.
In his many travels John Paul II continued to press toward his goal of advancing international consciousness on two ethical fronts: socio-economic justice and personal sexual restraint. Visits to Chile, Argentina, Poland, and the United States in 1987 stressed these points.
The millennial celebration of the introduction of Christianity to Russia in 1988 furnished the occasion for renewed attention to Catholic-Orthodox relations. Most commentators ranked the pope's 1988 encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis on social justice as one of his most substantial documents. It threaded a middle ground between capitalist and socialist positions, arguing for both proper economic development and placing the needs of the poor over the wants of the wealthy.
Key events of 1989 included a protest by German Catholic theologians against Vatican control, a bitter controversy in Poland about a Carmelite monastery at Aushwitz, pressure for more religious freedom for Catholics in the Baltic nations, a visit of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to the pope in Rome, and discussions with the Archbishop of Canterbury about Catholic-Anglican relations, which the Anglican consideration of ordaining women to the priesthood had complicated. The major papal visits were to Africa, Scandinavia, South Korea, Indonesia, and East Timor, an area fraught with Catholic-Muslim tensions.
The pope ran a synod in Rome in 1992 to focus the church on the new situation in Europe, where the breakup of the Soviet Union was changing many relationships. Catholic-Orthodox and Catholic-Anglican relations dragged along, making any easy estimate of the pope's "ecumenical" ambitions impossible. The Vatican proceeded with its plan for a universal catechism that might unify basic instruction in faith throughout the church. In July the pope had a serious operation for the removal of a precancerous intestinal tumor and appeared to recover well.
During 1993 John Paul II had to confront the pedophilia crisis that had developed in the United States, where numerous priests were accused of having abused children and the church was accused of ignoring it or covering it up.Against that backdrop he brought to an international youth convention in Denver a stern message of traditional sexual morality, including not only opposition to abortion but also opposition to contraception. In October he published a large encyclical on moral issues, Veritatis Splendor (The Resplendence of Truth), the burden of which was that the Christian moral life demanded heroism; certain traditional teachings never change; some acts (genocide, abuse of the innocent) are intrinsically evil; and recent technical developments in moral theology casting doubt on such traditional positions are unacceptable.
This prolific pope departed from his customary encyclical, or papal letter, in 1994 to publish a book, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, which became an international bestseller. The book received wide critical acclaim for addressing today's major theological concerns, and further established John Paul as a great intellect and teacher of our time. As the year progressed, the pope's general health improved and he recovered from a fall that occurred earlier in the year.
Long known for being dedicated to social justice, John Paul issued a strong message in his 1995 encyclical entitled, Evangelism Vitae or Gospel of Life. He confronted the issues of abortion, assisted suicide, and capital punishment making a plea to Roman Catholics to "resist crimes which no human law can claim to legitimize." He spoke out invoking the full teaching authority of the church to declare abortion and euthanasia always evil, and denouncing the moral climate of affluent western nations. He referred to an "eclipse of conscience" in the name of individual freedom pursued by many. A second encyclical entitled Ut Unum Sint or That They May Be One was released in 1995. In this letter, for the first time in Church history, he acknowledged and apologized for past sins and errors committed in the name of the Church. Admitting painful things have been done that harmed Christian unity, he accepted responsibility and asked for forgiveness in the hope that Christians could have "patient dialogue." The pope also carried out a demanding travel schedule, beginning the year by going to Australia, followed by a trip to Bosnia, and in the fall visiting several cities in the United States. While in New York City, he addressed the United Nations General Assembly during its 50th anniversary ceremonies.
Church business claimed John Paul's attention in 1996. Several major changes were instituted at his urging; for instance, he ruled that the next pope will be elected by an absolute majority. Analysts said such a change could discourage compromise and consensus in the selection of future popes. Although John Paul himself was a compromise candidate, some believed this was an intentional move to ensure succession by another conservative pope.
Even in old age he continued to attract enormous crowds; four million were estimated to have joined him at a mass in Manila in 1995, and two million assembled at a Kraków mass in 2002. After 2003, he appeared in public only when seated. By Easter 2005, following a tracheotomy, he was unable to speak to the people he blessed from his apartment window. He died at his Vatican residence in accordance with his wishes. His funeral in April 2005 drew to Rome millions of pilgrims as well as a number of the world’s former and current political leaders.
Religion
John Paul II travelled extensively and met with believers from many divergent faiths. His wish was "to place his Church at the heart of a new religious alliance that would bring together Jews, Muslims and Christians in a great religious armada". He believed in the mercy of God and the need for human beings to treat one another mercifully, going beyond strict justice to the love and compassion that human suffering ought to create.
Politics
Pope John Paul II has been credited with inspiring political change that not only led to the collapse of Communism in his native Poland and eventually all of Eastern Europe, but also in many countries ruled by dictators. He has also been credited with being instrumental in bringing down Communism in Central and Eastern Europe, by being the spiritual inspiration behind its downfall and catalyst for "a peaceful revolution" in Poland. Lech Wałęsa, the founder of Solidarity and the first post-Communist President of Poland, credited John Paul II with giving Poles the courage to demand change. According to Wałęsa, "Before his pontificate, the world was divided into blocs. Nobody knew how to get rid of Communism. In Warsaw, in 1979, he simply said: 'Do not be afraid', and later prayed: 'Let your Spirit descend and change the image of the land, this land'." It has also been widely alleged that the Vatican Bank covertly funded Solidarity. Gorbachev once said "The collapse of the Iron Curtain would have been impossible without John Paul II."
Views
John Paul II continued to be absolutely opposed to abortion, to allow only "natural" methods of birth control (which in fact have become considerably more sophisticated), to condemn homosexual activity (which he distinguished from being a homosexual), and to forbid even serious discussions of women's ordination to the priest-hood.
On matters outside the Church, especially those of world-wide peace and economic justice, he had almost radical ideas for change and manifested great compassion for the world's starving and suffering peoples. On matters inside the Church, especially the explosive matter of the rights and roles of women, he apparently had no willingness to put the axe to the root and break up old structures or patterns of thought that many find unjust. He continued to impose his own traditional beliefs on a church that seemed to want more diversity in many areas.
Quotations:
"The future starts today, not tomorrow."
"Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."
"A person’s rightful due is to be treated as an object of love, not as an object for use."
"The worst prison would be a closed heart."
"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live."
"Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace, to live peace…Peace will be the last word of history."
"Love between man and woman cannot be built without sacrifices and self-denial."
"It is the duty of every man to uphold the dignity of every woman."
"There is no dignity when the human dimension is eliminated from the person. In short, the problem with pornography is not that it shows too much of the person, but that it shows far too little."
"Friendship, as has been said, consists in a full commitment of the will to another person with a view to that person’s good."
"Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create."
"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought."
"An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie, for an excuse is a lie guarded."
"From now on it is only through a conscious choice and through a deliberate policy that humanity can survive."
"Life is entrusted to man as a treasure which must not be squandered, as a talent which must be used well."
"None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked upon the work of his hands."
Personality
When he became pope in 1978 at the age of 58, John Paul II was an avid sportsman. He was extremely healthy and active, jogging in the Vatican gardens, weight training, swimming, and hiking in the mountains. He was fond of football. The media contrasted the new pope's athleticism and trim figure to the poor health of John Paul I and Paul VI, the portliness of John XXIII and the constant claims of ailments of Pius XII. The only modern pope with a fitness regimen had been Pope Pius XI (1922–1939), who was an avid mountaineer. An Irish Independent article in the 1980s labelled John Paul II the keep-fit pope. Having played the game himself as a goalkeeper, John Paul II was a fan of English association football team Liverpool, where his compatriot Jerzy Dudek played in the same position.
Physical Characteristics:
In 2001, John Paul II was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the news was officially acknowledged by Vatican in 2003. He also faced difficulties in speaking and hearing and was also suffering from osteoarthritis.
Quotes from others about the person
"Remembrance of the Pope Karol Wojtyła will remain strong in the collective Jewish memory because of his appeals to fraternity and the spirit of tolerance, which excludes all violence. In the stormy history of relations between Roman popes and Jews in the ghetto in which they were closed for over three centuries in humiliating circumstances, John Paul II is a bright figure in his uniqueness. In relations between our two great religions in the new century that was stained with bloody wars and the plague of racism, the heritage of John Paul II remains one of the few spiritual islands guaranteeing survival and human progress. " - Elio Toaff, the former Chief Rabbi of Rome