Papal legacy
Papal legacy
The comments of two Catholic women -- one from the world's
newest state, East Timor, the other from New York -- about Pope
John Paul II, the former leader of about 1.1 billion Catholic
faithful, accurately reflected the feelings of so many people
around the globe.
"The pope is a figure who has a high level of charisma and can
unite all, from various races, ethnic groups and relations," said
East Timorese Isabel Ferreira on Friday (before the pope's death
on Saturday), as quoted by the Agence-France Presse.
The pope provided pivotal moral strength to people in the
predominantly Catholic territory during their struggle for
independence from Indonesia.
The new state was established 10 years after the Catholic
leader visited the territory in October 1989, and the pope was
personally involved in helping people there achieve independence
while continuing to maintain good relations with Indonesia.
Aedmar Kelly, attending a Friday evening mass at St. Patrick's
Cathedral in New York, described the pope as "a very special man,
not only for the Church but for the world".
Pope John Paul II's recent illness and his passing on Saturday
attracted attention around the globe. For many people, it became
a family matter, like the experience of losing a beloved father.
It is no exaggeration to say that the influence and moral
power of the pope, who visited more than 100 countries during his
papacy, which began in October 1978, reached far beyond the
Catholic religion.
He condemned the killing of Muslims in Bosnia and consistently
supported the struggle for Palestinian statehood. He was among
the outspoken critics of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, but still
earned the respect of U.S. President George W. Bush. The pope was
among key figures -- in the words of former Soviet Union leader
Michael Gorbachev -- behind the collapse of communist regimes in
Eastern Europe.
The suffering of Acehnese Muslims also attracted his
attention. For years, Pope John Paul II referred to the Muslim-
Christian clashes in Maluku and Poso, Central Sulawesi, in his
prayers.
To Indonesian Catholics, a minority in the country, his
message was always consistent. He said they "must be fully
Catholic and fully Indonesian at the same time".
"I therefore call on all Indonesian Catholics to become
children of the nation and good Indonesian citizens," he said
when he visited Indonesia in 1989.
Many Catholics, especially in industrialized countries,
disagreed with the pope's conservative stance on issues like
contraceptives, abortion and same sex marriage. And during the
papacy of John Paul II, the Catholic Church was tarnished by
numerous sex scandals, with the pope being seen as doing more to
protect the Church and the priests involved than the victims.
In Indonesia, many Catholics ignored the papal stance on the
use of contraceptives, choosing instead to practice family
planning. But as the leader of the Catholic Church, it was his
duty to provide strong religious guidance to his followers,
leading them down what he believed to be the correct spiritual
path.
The death of Pope John Paul II is not only a great loss for
the Catholic Church and Catholics around the world, but also for
others regardless of their religion. With globalization and the
increasing divide between the rich and the poor, and the world's
few powerful nations deciding the fate of the rest of the globe,
someone like Pope John Paul II is needed to speak out for those
without a voice.
We have lost not just a great leader but a father; a father
who loved his family and provided strong moral guidance, not just
for his family but also for neighbors and everyone else who knew
him.