A first read indicates that this is worth a second read, in depth.
One thing springs right out, however and that is the contrast between the sadly sloppy, simplistic and limited theology of +JPII and the truly sublime Patristic theology of +BXVI which demonstrates a synthesis of both Western and Eastern Patristic thought at their modern best. The man is simply incredible!
The question of the nature of the purgatorial fire was raised at the Council of Florence, the Greeks insisting upon a symbolic understanding. The council wisely avoided settling this question.
But you arrived on time, as expected :-)
Ahhhhh ... there it is! And this makes the most sense. My FIL was not a religious man. If anything, he was angry with God for leaving him crippled as a result of polio. In my more youthful years, when life spread out like a carpet before me, I dissolved into a nominal Catholic, yet never abandoning my faith. Somehow one of the seeds planted in childhood blossomed. It bothered me terribly that he was so bitter towards God. Determined to set him straight, I brought my FIL a copy of Augustine's Confessions, in Italian! (Found it on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx). The next time I visited, he chortled at the sight of me and said he truly enjoyed the book. He asked if I had read it and I confessed that I had not. (I still haven't :-(
My FIL never went to Mass and I have no idea if he ever said prayers. He had a huge boulder on his shoulder and a wounded heart to match. Shortly after he died, I went to visit my MIL. On Christmas morning, the neighbor across the street came running over. (Understand that these were true country people in a remote area of Italy. The neighbor was a butcher who .. well, he butchered the animal you brought him.) He shouted out the name of my MIL - 'Concetta'! "Concetta", he continued, " I saw Tonino in my dreams last night. He was sitting on a bench, surrounded by flowers, and with a big smile on his face. And, Concetta, he pointed to his right to show me that he no longer has a cane".
That was more than 25 years ago and I have never forgotten the moment. It was and still is cause for much reflection. This Eastern concept of purgatoy makes the most sense, given what I have described of my FIL.
May I ask you, as a personal favor, not address your diatribes regarding Pope John Paul to me? It just makes me sad, and I don’t need that right now.
Thank you in advance.