M
Missa_Solemnis
Guest
I’m having a slight problem. I was just wondering if people could state their reasons for making such claims as “John Paul the Great is the Greatest Pope in the History of the Papacy” or any other claim where his papacy is put up on a pedestal to look as if it is the face of what the papacy is.
I have always loved the man, but not so much the Pope. My belief in what the Late Holy Father had done for the Church is similar to the idea of a certain news reporter covering the occasion of the late Pontiff’s massively crowded funeral:
“Pope John Paul II has filled St. Peter’s Square and emptied St. Peter’s pews.”
I must say that his influence is very good in some respects, he humanized the papacy, opened the doors of the Vatican and closed shut many of the misunderstandings people had towards the Papacy and the Catholic Church. Not to mention his efforts against Communism and the culture of death.
But this is something every Pope has done to a more or less degree. Why is he the Greatest Pope Ever?
If I were to pick the greatest popes it would seem like this:
If the list was influential people, famous people, wonderful people, or canditates for sainthood, JPII would be easily in the top 10’s.
But I feel like he’s been over exaggerated (not to mention some serious flaws in his papacy, but this is not a thread to try and “degrade” the late beloved Pontiff)
I just want to know amongst those who might hold the opinion,
why is John Paul II the Greatest Pope?
In fact why is he even deserving of the title “the Great”
Especially when you examine the two other Popes who have already earned the title.
I have always loved the man, but not so much the Pope. My belief in what the Late Holy Father had done for the Church is similar to the idea of a certain news reporter covering the occasion of the late Pontiff’s massively crowded funeral:
“Pope John Paul II has filled St. Peter’s Square and emptied St. Peter’s pews.”
I must say that his influence is very good in some respects, he humanized the papacy, opened the doors of the Vatican and closed shut many of the misunderstandings people had towards the Papacy and the Catholic Church. Not to mention his efforts against Communism and the culture of death.
But this is something every Pope has done to a more or less degree. Why is he the Greatest Pope Ever?
If I were to pick the greatest popes it would seem like this:
- St. Peter
- St. Pius X
- Pius XII
- St. Pius V
- St. Gregory the Great
- St. Leo the Great.
- Benedict XVI (yes thats not a typo…our current Pope has in my opinion done more for the Church than JPII, this is of course coming from a very ‘traditional’ opinion)
- Pius IX
- Leo XIII
If the list was influential people, famous people, wonderful people, or canditates for sainthood, JPII would be easily in the top 10’s.
But I feel like he’s been over exaggerated (not to mention some serious flaws in his papacy, but this is not a thread to try and “degrade” the late beloved Pontiff)
I just want to know amongst those who might hold the opinion,
why is John Paul II the Greatest Pope?
In fact why is he even deserving of the title “the Great”
Especially when you examine the two other Popes who have already earned the title.
:
)
