CultUre Peace mourns Peace Advocate

I believe the greatest legacy of Pope John Paul the second is that of tolerance and understanding, the seeds that bear fruit in time to be peace and justice. It is because of this legacy that I decided to pay homage to this great man on this blog.
While many did not agree with him on his more conservative stances, there was a light his presence brought and universal truth resonated in his words breaking all conventional boundaries of religion, class and geography.
What I have found most fascinating was his ability to touch the hearts of men, who not being Catholics were not necessarily inclined to listen to his message much less accept it. This was primarily because addressed issues that were inherently important to all mankind. He was an advocate for Peace, he denounced all forms of oppression, and he was an activist for the poor, the weak and the helpless.
One of his strongest convictions is the dignity of human life. From this steams a variety of principles some of which are very controversial. The Pope was very much against the death penalty. Despite the fact that he had witnessed firsthand the cruelty of man’s inhumanity, he believed no soul was beyond redemption and that God’s mercy was boundless. This Pope did not just preach forgiveness, he practiced it. He visited in jail the man who had attempted and very nearly succeeded to kill him. He forgave him and refused to disclose the details of that conversation. There-in lies one of the most compelling characteristics of this Pope, he did as he preached.
I cannot help but wonder if perhaps in his commitment to life, he should have taken a more liberal stance on contraception. AIDS is a very big killer in Africa and lots of lives are lost everyday, as not using condoms is justified on a moral/religious ground. It is hypocrisy to engage in sexual promiscuity and then claim moral high ground on the use of condoms but that is reality. It would be wonderful if everyone had the moral integrity of the Pope, but they do not, and as such we have the moral obligation to protect the life not of the potential egg or sperm but of the wives and children who die everyday of AIDS. Then again, what do I know?
I completely agree with his anti-abortion stance; however I unlike most with similar views do not seek to impose these views on others. I find it hilarious that anti-abortion activists come from a social class that are least likely to ever face the reality of an abortion. I believe the final choice is up to the individual because so are the consequences. My convictions have never been tested in this matter and so they are not even convictions they are “what I would like to do”. I think only those who have actually had to make this choice in face of great adversity can truly have a conviction. For everyone else our opinions are nothing more than what we have been programmed to believe is morally or socially correct.
Premarital sex: another big issue. I agree with the Pope that sex is taken too lightly but unless we all start getting married before the age of 20, premarital chastity is never going to be a reality except for a very few cases. This is of course something I would hardly expect a man with decades of celibacy under his belt to understand. I also believe one of the roots of most of modern society’s problems is the breakdown of the family unit and that marriage is taken too lightly. However if marriage becomes the young persons license to morally acceptable sex it would only compound the problem. Then again, what do I know?
Gay people will always have my unfaltering sympathy. I cannot even begin to imagine what it most be like to live such a persecuted life. Every openly gay person displays great courage, integrity and resolution to defy the odds, all traits that I admire in any individual. This is a long debate that many will disagree with me on but, in the spirit of tolerance one has to accept every person, for we were all created in God’s image (even the Gay person). I also sometimes wonder how being gay is any more “un-natural” than life long celibacy. Then again, what do I know?
As a woman the Pope’s adamant position on female clergy saddens me the most. Then I remember that 1000 years ago we were said to not have souls. 100 years ago American women could not vote. Things will eventually change, perhaps slowly but certainly. The biggest mistake we can make is adopting the false delusion that women are no longer second class citizens. The dream of gender equality is yet to be reality. We have to keep the wheels of change oiled and in motion. If head of a prestigious academic institution in the US can say “women are innately deficient…….. “(Never mind the context) and be defended by other Americans in the name of academic dialogue, I personally become very concerned for the fragile equality that women in some countries in the western world now enjoy.
I didn’t mean to touch on so many hot issues all at once. I will revisit all these issues at a later time with more in-depth analysis to try and understand the reality of the various issues. Here I have mostly given my own simple opinions and of course I am no authority nor do I claim to be.
To conclude, I join the millions of Christians, Muslims, Jews and atheists in regretting the passing of a philanthropist whose vision of the world so universal it brought hope to people of every faith. We all look to the future and hope that his legacy will live on not just in the Catholic Church but in the hearts of men