The Style and Substance of John Paul II

The Style and Substance of John Paul II March 20, 2008

This Holy Week, I am reminded of the man I admire second only to my late father: John Paul II. His words, actions, and love through the course of his life are a profoundly beautiful example of Christian charity and service. And as death approached, he taught us how to age and pass away with dignity. His words and deeds produced profound and lasting effects among hugely varied audiences. When John Paul spoke on economic and social policy, he addressed an array of positions in moderation and in unquestionable concern for all people. He acknowledged the benefits of free enterprise, for example, but warned against its excesses and exaggerated competition. And he never shied away from the Church’s rightful promotion of the interests of the poor and marginalized. Above all, John Paul sought to protect Church norms rooted in the authenticity of Christ and Apostolic succession from the horrific onslaughts of the Twentieth Century, which reached their terrible heights in the two collectivist, radical, secular totalitarianisms that brought so much suffering to his continent. He used intimate, personal language and a populist, open style to remind – in person and in any available medium – many hundreds of millions of the importance of the sacred. His first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis, points us toward a vision of the whole of the human experience, a vision that can only be understood through the “original link with the divine source,” Our Lord. This week, let us not forget that the Redeemer of man, Jesus Christ, is the centre of the universe and of history. John Paul, pray for us!


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