George Weigel on What the Pope Is Teaching Us Now

Zenit News Agency ^ | November 4, 2004 | George Weigel

[NYer]

How has the pontificate of John Paul II changed in these past years as his health has faltered?

ZENIT asked papal biographer George Weigel if he sees any changes in the aging Holy Father, whose pontificate marked its 26th anniversary on October 16.

Q: How have John Paul II’s physical limitations changed his pontificate?

Weigel: I think the Pope’s suffering has underscored the evangelical character of his pontificate. Perhaps the wisest single line ever written about John Paul II was penned on the day of his inauguration by the French journalist, Andre Frossard, who told his Paris newspaper, “This isn’t a pope from Poland; this is a pope from Galilee.”

The world is now witnessing this “pope from Galilee” leading the Church, not from a throne, but from the way of the cross, from Calvary. By inviting the Church and the world to walk the “via crucis” with him, Karol Wojtyla continues to preach Jesus Christ to the very end.

Q: In a world that often has difficulty dealing with sickness or suffering, what lessons can we learn from the way in which the Pope is living with his physical limitations?

Weigel: The Pope is teaching the world that there are no disposable human beings: everyone counts, infinitely, from conception until natural death.

Are the late Christopher Reeve or Michael J. Fox the only people to whom we should look for counsel on embryo-destructive stem-cell research? Why not look at John Paul II, who has not arranged his convictions to accommodate his personal circumstances? Isn’t his witness to the truth as compelling and forceful as the others’?

Q: What is the effect on the Church and the world of the sight of a Pope who moves about in a wheelchair? How does that affect people’s view of the papacy? And of themselves?

Weigel: One of the oldest titles of popes is “servus servorum Dei,” the servant of the servants of God. The Church and the world are seeing a Pope spend out his life to the very end, in service to the truths on which he’s staked his life. I hope that witness inspires the entire Church to similar acts of self-gift.

Q: The R-word has been discussed in recent years. What would you say to those who say retirement is a viable option for John Paul II?

Weigel: I’d suggest that they listen to the Pope, who has said on numerous occasions that he will lay down this burden of service when God takes it from him.

Q: With all the initiatives — the Year of the Rosary, the Year of the Eucharist — how has the focus of this pontificate changed?

Weigel: I don’t think it’s changed — the primary focus is still the New Evangelization as the Church’s answer to the crisis of world civilization in our time — but perhaps we can say that the focus has deepened spiritually.

If the New Evangelization isn’t rooted in prayer, it can’t succeed. The Church takes the Gospel to the world through the life-giving experience of the Eucharist and through the regular rhythms of her prayer.

Q: A corollary: Are we seeing more of the mystic now in John Paul II, versus the geopolitical world-shaker of the early years?

Weigel: The two dimensions have always been there. The man we see today, leading the Church from Calvary, is the same man who played a pivotal role in the collapse of European communism. The Pope’s leadership has always been deeply shaped by his rich and complex interior life.

[NYer]

The Church and the world are seeing a Pope spend out his life to the very end, in service to the truths on which he’s staked his life.

Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II touches the head of a child during an audience with pilgrims of the Gdansk diocese from Poland, at the Paul VI hall, at the Vatican (news - web sites), Thursday, Nov. 4, 2004. Thursday is the Pope's name-day, Saint Karl.

[infool7]

Thanks for the great post! This popes life is powerful evidence that God makes the weak strong.

[NYer]

Forgot to ping you ... sorry.

[AnAmericanMother]

What a great Pope, great man (dare I say great saint?)

When do you suppose the cause for him will be taken up? Soon, I think.

[pieces of time]

This Pope gives witness to the sanctity of life...all life, all afflictions in life!

[NYer]

When do you suppose the cause for him will be taken up?

First .... he must die. Let's not rush the process ;-D

[AnAmericanMother]

God forbid I should suggest such a thing! May he live 100 years and may his apparent sufferings not trouble him greatly (through God's grace).

(Weren't there very great Saints in olden times who were popularly canonized even before their deaths?)

[.45MAN]

As always, thank you for the post. I do get Zenit but I don't always open my e-mail everyday..

[No_Outcome_But_Victory]

The Pope ignored credible reports from victims of sexual abuse and instead chose to protect pedophile priests. The blame lies at the top. The Pope should apologize, then resign.

You signed up to post this drivel?

[Kolokotronis]

"The Pope is teaching the world that there are no disposable human beings: everyone counts, infinitely, from conception until natural death.

Are the late Christopher Reeve or Michael J. Fox the only people to whom we should look for counsel on embryo-destructive stem-cell research? Why not look at John Paul II, who has not arranged his convictions to accommodate his personal circumstances? Isn’t his witness to the truth as compelling and forceful as the others’?"

Marvelous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Grey Ghost II]

What a great Pope, great man (dare I say great saint?) When do you suppose the cause for him will be taken up? Soon, I think.

Statements like this completely amaze me. Have you ever heard of purgatory? When John Paul II dies, I will pray for his soul and I hope others do as well. There is nothing more important to those poor souls in Purgatory than for the faithful to be praying for their release.

Rallying around the canonization cause prior to a person even being dead is not Catholic.

[AnAmericanMother]

Relax, if I thought the Congregation for the Causes of Saints read FR, I would never say a word (not that they would pay a particle of attention to me in any event.)

I was simply expressing my admiration for this good man in a somewhat teasing way. It's in God's hands whether he spends time in Purgatory or not . . . I will continue to pray for him and for the Poor Souls.

[A.A. Cunningham]

idiota

[ventana]

I can understand your bitterness. But it doesn't really work that way. The pope is not Musollini. Can the President fire a Senator? Can a Senator fire a state Senator? A Congresswoman? The Local School Board member he disagrees with? It is not as simple as you seem to believe. And, particularly post Vatican II, we have collegiality. But Popes never were the single actor you seem to think they can be. I am sorry for your bitterness, there is good reason to be bitter about the awful homosexual predators. Their Bishops, however, should have been firing the priests. And, of course, there was a new awareness after the sixties that there wasn't any real such thing as sin, only treatable conditions. The fact is AMCHURCH protected these people right in the seminaries, but you knew that, didn't you? V"s wife.

[Askel5]

Weigel is CFR.