Posted on 05/19/2017 6:03:56 PM PDT by Coleus
A champion of life—that title expertly captures the work and legacy of Pope John Paul II. More than a decade after his death, the author of Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) remains one of the greatest heroes of the pro-life movement, respected by people of all faiths and all walks of life.
The story of Pope John Paul II’s life is filled with suspense, heroism, and intrigue. What is particularly striking is the number of times during the course of his long life, he escaped death. His life hung in the balance when he was hit by a vehicle in his youth. His life was certainly at risk when the Nazis invaded Poland. In 1981, after assuming the Papacy, he nearly died from an assassin’s bullet.
In the new book The Pope and the President, author Paul Kengor paints an intriguing portrait of the lives of pro-life stalwarts Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan. The two have been credited with playing key roles in the breaking down of the Berlin Wall, a long-standing symbol of Communism. The two also shared a passion for defending innocent human life and played hugely instrumental roles in combating what the Pope memorably described as a “culture of death.”
The Pope and the President notes that the future Pope’s life was at risk even before he was born. Kengor points to a report that the Pope’s mother “was in such precarious health that her doctor advised her not to continue her pregnancy.” According to Kengor’s account, the doctor told Emilia Wojtyla, “You have to have an abortion.” The physician’s rationale was that Emilia’s life was at stake and that she should abort her child to preserve it. The Vatican Insider said of the incident, “John Paul II was in danger of not being born.”
But Emilia proved the doctor wrong. She came through the pregnancy and childbirth and delivered a baby Kengor described as “healthy and strong as an ox.” Emilia predicted that Karol Józef Wojtyła, who would become John Paul, would be “a great man someday.”
A great man who could have easily lost his life to abortion. Ponder for a minute how different the world might be had this champion of life never entered into it. His absence would have created a vacuum that no one else could fill—because no one else was quite like him.
And therein lies one of the great tragedies of abortion. It creates a dark abyss where our heroes might have stood. With the birth of Karol Wojtyla, history changed—so very, very much for the better. May all of us, of all faith traditions, live out his legacy by defending mothers and their children from the scourge of abortion.
May 18, 2017, Happy Birthday in Heaven, St. John Paul II, please pray for us!!
I find it hard to believe that a doctor recommended to a Catholic mother in Poland that she abort her child in 1920.
Poland’s 1931 census indicated that 87% of the population was either Catholic or Eastern Orthodox.
Poetic license, perhaps?
Poetic license, perhaps? >>>
I was thinking the same thing. His mother died many years ago, so how would the author know. That being said, the book from what I’ve heard is excellent.
Total BS article. Who was doing abortions in 1920?
This is the farthest back I could trace this information. But I can’t make rhyme or reason of the characters in it and who is saying what:
I can’t figure out who this Kindziuk person is.
Hmmm….If the premise of this argument (that a good man survived) is used to support a pro-life position, will the pro-aborts use the flipside of it to argue a case for all the Hitlers that they have prevented from arising?
He spoke up in support of civil disobedience in South Africa—which led to the installation of the Communist, genocidal government they have now.
He never said a word in support of the Pro-Life Rescue Movement in the U.S.
He also made the seamless garment position of Cardinal Bernardin, the “Cardinal of Century City” in Windswept House, the new official catholic position with respect to the death penalty and waging war.
However, I am reading a very interesting book, “The Family Under Attack” by Don Pietro Leone, which sheds light on how the modernist personalism has crept into the Church, having profoundly disastrous consequences that just keep on giving. I cannot put it down.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.