Was JPII the worst pope ever?

[True_Knight]

This is an argument from a radical traditionalist Catholic (probably SSPX) that was sent to me. How would you respond?

He is making the argument that JPII was a lousy pope and that he didn’t do enough to keep the bishops in line … plus the silly charges that you see a lot of SSPX followers levy. Here are his remarks:

John Paul II didn’t just fail to do something about these errant bishops, he APPOINTED them in the first place. He appointed the Weaklands and Mahonys of the world. For all his personal charisma, in spite of his kind face and the warm manner that made people fall in love with him, he was one of the worst popes in the history of the Church. He had thirty years to restore discipline, appoint good bishops, promote tradition, crack down on the Fr. McBriens of the world, oversee seminary formation, at least ensure that his own liturgist offered the traditional Mass as opposed to ones with dancing girls and half-naked “incense bearers,” etc.

But he did none of this. He travelled, spoke ambiguously, kissed Qur’ans, prayed in synagogues, kissed the rings of Anglican “bishops,” allowed altar girls, smeared Holy Mother Church with his needless apologies, toyed with even the holy rosary, appointed the worst men possible as bishops, and made sure (or at least did nothing as) traditional priests were treated like heretics and booted out. Bad pope.

Just curious of how you would respond to him.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

I would begin by pointing out that your friend is engaging in what Jimmy Akin has termed buckshot apologetics: He has loaded his shotgun with a buckshot of charges, pointed it to the heavens, and hoped to hit something, somewhere, anywhere. For more information on how to defuse such techniques, see the article linked below:

Recommended reading:

Debating 101 by Jimmy Akin

Next, you might ask this person if he really believes that John Paul II deserves to be placed in the same league as Pope Alexander VI, usually considered by historians to be the most notorious pope in Church history. My charitable guess is that your friend was making a rhetorical flourish by saying that John Paul was “one of the worst popes in the history of the Church,” and did not think through the ramifications of his remark. After all, your friend did concede that John Paul was kind, charismatic, warm, and connected with people in a positive manner.

Now, this person might say that Alexander VI didn’t fiddle with doctrine and tradition, as he apparently believes that John Paul did, but your response should be that Alexander VI’s papacy may well have been one of the triggers for the Protestant Reformation because of the scandal it gave to Europe. What, then, is worse? A holy pope who edified people of good will, Catholic and non-Catholic, around the world, thus raising the credibility of the Church in the eyes of untold millions; or a notorious pope whose scandal-ridden life may have been partly responsible for the shattering of Western Christendom?

Moving on, we can certainly admit that John Paul made prudential mistakes during his pontificate. Indeed, John Paul was the first to admit (in his book, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way) that he may not have been as firm a disciplinarian as was needed. That does not mean that he was a “bad pope,” much less “one of the worst popes in the history of the Church.” Popes make mistakes and can be justly reprimanded, as Paul did to Peter (cf. Gal. 2:11); and they are sinful human beings like the rest of us, as Peter himself admitted (cf. Luke 5:8). One of the tests of a good pope is that a good pope admits his mistakes and failures, as did John Paul. The Pope of Apologies readily admitted his own need for forgiveness.

I recommend that your friend do some reading on the life of John Paul II and on how the Church works in the midst of a sinful world. The resources mentioned below can give him a start.

Recommended reading:

A Man of Vatican II by James Hitchcock
Pope of Hope by Karl Keating
A Crisis of Saints by Fr. Roger Landry
Problems In the Church by Jimmy Akin
Witness to Hope by George Weigel
All the Pope’s Men by John L. Allen Jr.