John Paul Who?

By Fr. Jeffrey Kirby This past May, my niece graduated from high school. She was born in 2005, the year Pope Saint John Paul II died. It's odd to think that she was born three months after the great saint entered eternity. Has it really been that long? Can a generation of young people - a demographic that was so beloved by John Paul II - really have grown up without his papal presence? These questions raise larger ones. I asked my niece about the witness of "John Paul Two." She innocently replied, "John Paul Who?" This young woman didn't know in her lifetime this towering figure as pope, but she hasn't been told or taught about him (other than a few passing things by her priest-uncle) as a teacher and saint. What has happened to the legacy of Pope Saint John Paul II? Have we really allowed such a robust and lively witness to our faith to fade away from living memory? Secularism is consuming the Church's credibility and chiseling away her influence to convince humanity to accept the Gospel. And are we really throwing out the life of a holy one that could counter secularist efforts and display the beauty and freedom of a life lived abundantly in Jesus Christ? This trend is cannibalistic and counterintuitive to the call to teach all nations. In light of the Great Commission, it seems foolhardy to dismiss any resource that could gain the Church a hearing and allow her to announce the Gospel and point humanity to salvation in Jesus Christ. From the trenches of evangelization, therefore, we have to ask the honest question: Is the disappearance of John Paul II's legacy an act of omission or commission? Is it possible that we could allow the witness of a great saint - which is so needed today - to be purposely dimmed because of ecclesial infighting and disagreements on pastoral approaches? Is it tenable that jealousy or a spirit of intimidation in the shadows of the larger-than-life legacy of John Paul is also a factor in the willful negligence toward promoting and highlighting the life and patrimony of this great saint? At a time when freedom has forgotten truth, and love has been redefined to circumvent goodness, we need the skillful teachings of a believer who lived and knew how to navigate under regimes and ideologies that manipulated language, degraded humanity's spiritual identity, and sought to convince us that life is only about utility, pleasure, or power. We need to know of the rapport between faith and reason, the splendor of truth, the theology of the body, and the catechesis of charity that were so clearly believed and taught by John Paul II. In an era when barbarism has regained its foothold, and assaults against human dignity are growing, and the vulnerable are becoming easy prey, we profoundly need the pastoral guidance offered by a believer who defied all odds and boldly announced and defended the dignity of every human being. We need John Paul II to teach us about our social doctrine and specifically about the Gospel of Life. We need his witness and body of teachings to show us how to live and advance a culture of life. In an age when humanity is told that there are no moral absolutes, no summons to virtue, and no capacity for goodness, and that humanity is defined solely by its own sins and brokenness, we need - we absolutely need - mercy, healing, and conversion. We need the strength to acknowledge our sins, confess them before God, and know of the mercy of the Lord Jesus and the rebirth he offers us by his Precious Blood. We need John Paul's teachings on penance, mercy, and his unequivocal guidance on how to live as the children of God. At a moment in time when the human family has lost its hope, we need the great witness to hope, John Paul II, and his utter confidence that each of us can authentically live an uncompromised Gospel and that humanity can build a true civilization of love. As Vatican II disappears from the ecclesial scene, we need the voice of the Council Father and the Interpreter of Vatican II, ...