Ioannes Paulus PP. II
Karol Wojtyla
16.X.1978 - 2.IV.2005

As Rome prepares for the funeral of Pope John Paul II tomorrow, a funeral that will be like no other in the history of the world, the impact of his death continues to sink in around the world. John Paul II persevered for so long, overcoming previous health problems and outliving cardinals once named as potential successors, that it was difficult to believe last Saturday that the moment had finally arrived. The Pope is dead. There are few more depressing words in the Catholic world, and the news has been all the more devastating in this case because this Pope was uniquely beloved.

It has been pointed out that in all probability far more people saw John Paul II in person than anyone else in history. So many people have emotional stories of their experiences in seeing him, or in some cases even meeting him. However, perhaps even more indicative of John Paul II's importance to the world are the reactions even from the many people who have no such stories. Like many others, earlier this week I shed tears for a man I never even saw in person.

In a way it is difficult to explain the sorrow we feel at the loss of John Paul II. Everyone has understood for some time that this papacy was nearing the end, and for the last two days of his life death was known to be imminent. Why so many tears from so many people, for a man who was old and infirm? Surely, one would say, people did not wish him to suffer more and longer than necessary, however courageously he faced his suffering. Why, then, was his inevitable death a cause for such sadness? One reason people mourn his death is the same reason we mourn any death: death itself, while it may be the passage to eternal life for us, is still a consequence of sin and in a certain sense an affront to humanity as made in the image and likeness of God. Death is always a tragedy. In cases when death comes to some degree as a relief from suffering and long illness, we mourn death not because we did not realize it was inevitable, but rather we instinctively mourn the very fact that death is inevitable. There is all the more cause to mourn this consequence of our fallen human nature when we see it coming for such an exemplar of the best in humanity as John Paul II.

In another sense, of course, we are not mourning for John Paul II at all, but for our own loss. We may feel this loss very personally, because this man most of us never met was nevertheless like a father to so many people. We also feel the loss that this is for the Catholic Church, and indeed the whole world, since we were all given so much by the Pope. John Paul II may be in eternal glory, but the rest of us on earth are left to continue our journey without him, and so many are saddened by the reality of a world without John Paul II, perhaps even reluctant to face such a world. It is this kind of mourning that was evident in many people who remained gathered outside the Apostolic Palace long after the death of the Pope was announced. There is a natural unwillingness for it to be over. With a man like John Paul II, we will always wish for just one more inspiring appearance, one more uplifting sermon, one more courageous moral stand given to us by this giant of our world. Even now, almost a week later, it brings tears to my eyes to reflect that there will be no more. Vere Papa mortuus est. The Pope has truly died.

A number of people have remarked that, while they are happy to pray for John Paul II, they find it difficult to believe that he is not already in heaven, given the way he lived and died. This is a natural reaction, and I strongly suspect that John Paul II is already in heaven. However, it is still appropriate and important for us to pray for the repose of his soul. No prayer is ever wasted in the eyes of God, and also if there is even the slightest chance that John Paul II did not go directly to heaven, we all would want to assure that he spends as little time in purgatory as possible. Moreover, even apart from that possibility, he gave the last twenty-six years of his life on earth for all of us, and few of us could ever do anything in return except pray for him. Now that his life on earth is over, the least we can do is continue to pray for him. If John Paul II is already in heaven, surely he knows of our prayers offered for him, and appreciates the meaning of the offering even if he does not need it. At this time, our prayers for John Paul II are the best way we can honor him and acknowledge our enormous debt to him.

Pope John Paul II was elected about a year after I was born, so he is the only pope I have ever known. John Paul II has been practically synonymous with the papacy in my lifetime. Presumably most people under the age of thirty do not remember another pope. For millions of young Catholics he has been a powerful sign of the Catholic faith, perhaps for many a great reason for being Catholic, or for practicing their faith more fully. Even for those who remember other popes, the majority have spent the better part of their adult lives under the papacy of John Paul II.

The world has changed enormously during the papacy of John Paul II. Most teenagers today cannot even remember the Soviet Union and the Communist empire, which collapsed roughly in the middle of his papacy, due in no small part to John Paul II's own efforts. During his last health crisis, I searched for the latest information on his health on the Internet, which did not even exist when he was elected. Yet through all the changes, the Pope certainly aged, but he never became irrelevant. Indeed, for many Catholics, through the unceasing changes in the modern world and challenges in our personal lives, this Pope was a constant, a reassuring point of certainty. In an age when many in the Church and the world were plagued by doubt and uncertainty, the Pope preached the message of Christ clearly and with tireless confidence. John Paul II served as an unwavering moral compass for our time, never faltering in his commitment to the truth of Jesus Christ and His Church.

Above all, in an age that dismissed the value of some human lives, the Pope was a powerful voice insisting that every human being matters. In his later years, this witness on behalf of life became intensely personal, as he fought to overcame his own physical infirmities to continue to preach to the world the intrinsic value of every human person. He was a living sign of the truth that it is not only the strong and the healthy whom society must value and protect. There is a great pressure in our utilitarian and materialist world to dismiss everything and everyone that is not of some practical use. I believe that one of the greatest reasons for John Paul II's popularity among ordinary people was his absolute refusal to let the modern world surrender to such cruel utilitarian views without a fight. John Paul II dismissed no one, and was a constant moral witness against any such devaluing of the human person.

No one can replace John Paul II as a person, and it would be a mistake for anyone to try to do so. Figures such as him are unique beacons in history, outstanding gifts from God who are irreplaceable when they are gone. At the same time, while no one can replace John Paul II as a person, someone can and will succeed him as Pope. Even as we mourn the Pope who has passed, once again a mere man will be called to represent Christ on earth as John Paul II did. After relying so much on Pope John Paul II, it is natural for Catholics to feel some doubt and uncertainty as the Church faces a new era and the prospect of a different Pope. However, the Church remains in the hands of God, as she has always been. We can be sure that if John Paul II could give us a message for this new era, it would be the same that he gave the world at the beginning of his own papacy: "Be not afraid!"

For over 26 years John Paul II served as the vicar of Jesus Christ on earth. We now trust and pray that he enjoys eternal life with the Lord whom he served so faithfully. The Pope is dead. Long live the Pope.