Why was Bl. Pope John Paul II so great?

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I have seen a lot of Catholics who really like him always say he was so great, in fact when he died people were chanting “sainthood now”, I was too young to really know much about him, he died when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, so why was he so great?
 
He was great because of his charisma and bringing people to the faith.

He helped end the Cold War especially in his home country Poland.

He saved some Jews during the Holocaust.

Helped create better dialogue and friendship with other religions in particular with Judaism and Islam. The Dalai Lama visited John Paul II more times than any other Pope.

Was the first world leader to use the term genocide during the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

He forgave his assassin during the 1981 assassination attempt on JP2.

Visited more countries than any other Pope.
 
Encyclicals of
Pope John Paul II

Centesimus Annus
Commemorating the Centenary of Rerum Novarum
May 1, 1991

Dives in Misericordia
The Mercy of God
November 30, 1980

Dominum et Vivificantem
on the Holy Spirit in the Life of the Church and the World
May 18, 1986

Evangelium Vitae
on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life
March 25, 1995

Fides Et Ratio
on the Relationship Between Faith and Reason
October 15, 1998

Laboren Exercens
on Human Work on the
Ninetieth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum
September 14, 1981
Redemptor Hominis
on the Redemption of Man
March 4, 1979

Redemptoris Mater
on the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church
March 25, 1987

Sollicitudo Rei Socialis
For the Twentieth Anniversary of Populorum Progressio
June 2, 1985

Slavorum Apostoli
Commemoration of the Eleventh Centenary of the Evangelizing Work of saints Cyril and Methodius
June 2, 1985

Ut Unum Sint
on Commitment to Ecumenism
May 25, 1995

Veritatis Splendor
Regarding Certain Fundamental Questions
of the Church’s Moral Teaching
August 6, 1993

Books

Presentation of the volume “Rise, Let Us Be Going!” written by His Holiness Pope John Paul II: Intervention by Card. Giovanni Battista Re (May 18, 2004)
[Italian, Spanish]

Presentation of the book written by John Paul II, “Roman Triptych - Meditations” (March 6, 2003)
[English, Italian]

Gift and Mystery
[Italian, Spanish]

Crossing the Threshold

vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/index.htm

For a start!

Peace
 
Quattour Abhinc Annos in 1984 - Indult effectively restoring the 62 Missal.
 
=johnnyt3000;11868512]I have seen a lot of Catholics who really like him always say he was so great, in fact when he died people were chanting “sainthood now”, I was too young to really know much about him, he died when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, so why was he so great?
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GREAT question:)

Because of who he was, what he did AND the very difficult times of his period of Governance.

He was a Prolific writter and teacher
He set the current tradition of frequent travel so he could TEACH in person
He was a very humble man and VERY pious and holy
He forgave [and later converted] the man who shot and tried to KILL him
His death was a punlic teaching on Suffering for the sake of God’s will
He goverened durring the Post Vatican II chages, some of which were not approved at the time.
He truly LOVED people, especially his flock!

There are many great books about him. He’s worth knowing more about:thumbsup:

Thanks for asking’
Patrick
 
Those are all great responses. On top of all that, he was the third longest reigning pope in the history of the papacy at over 26 years (half of my life!), right after Pope Pius IX at 31 years, and St. Peter, the first pope, at about 37 years.
 
All great responses. One thing no one has mentioned, though, was his instrumental role in the downfall of communism in Eastern Europe and, especially, in his native Poland.
 
johnnyt3000 said:
I have seen a lot of Catholics who really like him always say he was so great, in fact when he died people were chanting “sainthood now”, I was too young to really know much about him, he died when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, so why was he so great?
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Watch this movie when you’ve got some spare time. It’s online and free (although annoying ad breaks that are really badly timed):

snagfilms.com/films/title/nine_days_that_changed_the_world
 
johnnyt3000 said:
I have seen a lot of Catholics who really like him always say he was so great, in fact when he died people were chanting “sainthood now”, I was too young to really know much about him, he died when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, so why was he so great?
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George Weigel as written a good biography called “Witness to Hope.”

That may be a good place to start.
 
johnnyt3000 said:
I have seen a lot of Catholics who really like him always say he was so great, in fact when he died people were chanting “sainthood now”, I was too young to really know much about him, he died when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, so why was he so great?
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One of the greatest moments was during the 9 days JPII was in Poland (yes, a novena!) in 1979 was when about 1 million Polish citizens began chanting “We want God!” during JPII’s homily. That was the moment the Cold War ended and communism in Poland fell. It was widely known in both Soviet and US political circles that if Poland ceased being a communist country; communism would no longer exist. The root of communism is atheism. Not one bullet was fired - Poland was freed. JPII grew up knowing the oppression of communism and facism.

Secretary of State Donald Reagan had a picture that was presented to Pope (Saint) John Paul II that was taken via satellite of the Mass. I’ve seen the picture - - AWESOME!!! 😃

That’s just one thing.
 
I am definitely not a fan of JPII’s liturgical practices but he did a great deal to promote Catholic social teaching a time when such teaching came to be increasingly frowned upon by the world.

He was a stauch defender of the family, of the right of the unborn to life, and opposed the great evil of Communism with a zeal that was unprecedented among his predecessors.

Yes, he was great, and is now there in Heaven to intercede for us.

John Paul II, pray for us.
 
I just watched that film a link was given to.
One of the best documentaries I have ever seen. Thank you so much for recommending it.
Ya never know what you’ll find on CAF!
Any other suggestions?
 
4 words:

Theology of the Body

He truly helped us understand who we are supposed to be as those created in the image and likeness of God. There is still so much to unpack from his teachings 9 yrs after his death. I am confident that one day he will be proclaimed a Doctor of the Church.

I am personally elated that my wife and I will be present in St. Peter’s Square later this month when Pope Francis officially and infallibly declares Pope John Paul II a saint!
 
JPII almost singlehandedly changed the strategy for how Catholicism interacted with the larger world from an approach of accommodation to one of witness. Since the end of WWII, popes and Curias had tried to deal with Communism via accommodation and compromise. JPII essentially ended that and lead from a position that communism was totally bankrupt at root and as such there was no real possibility of dialogue between the church and communist regimes. He knew first hand what totalitarian government was all about and knew how to inspire people to reject and resist it - by giving them the hope of Christ to replace the false idol of government provision (the root of communism).

He brought that same approach to internal church issues, but with a slightly different style. He didn’t often outright denounce the heterodox “de-supernaturalizers” within the ranks of the clergy and catholic academia, but he outflanked them instead by going straight to the laity with exhortation and sound teaching of the faith. Even better, he LIVED that simple faith in full public view, even when it wasn’t popular. People loved him for it, even those who didn’t always agree.

Some traditionalists resent him for not frontally assaulting those forces within the church who were trying to change Catholicism into something other. Easy to criticize in hindsight, but I think he was really taking the long view that by inspiring the laity when the heterodox clergy so clearly weren’t, the church could be saved from schism once the sterile, old revolutionaries died off. Good call, I’d say - overall. Just a hard time for those of us who grew up in that era. Better for our kids though, which makes it worth it.
 
=manualman;11875082]JPII almost singlehandedly changed the strategy for how Catholicism interacted with the larger world from an approach of accommodation to one of witness. Since the end of WWII, popes and Curias had tried to deal with Communism via accommodation and compromise. JPII essentially ended that and lead from a position that communism was totally bankrupt at root and as such there was no real possibility of dialogue between the church and communist regimes. He knew first hand what totalitarian government was all about and knew how to inspire people to reject and resist it - by giving them the hope of Christ to replace the false idol of government provision (the root of communism).
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He brought that same approach to internal church issues, but with a slightly different style. He didn’t often outright denounce the heterodox “de-supernaturalizers” within the ranks of the clergy and catholic academia, but he outflanked them instead by going straight to the laity with exhortation and sound teaching of the faith. Even better, he LIVED that simple faith in full public view, even when it wasn’t popular. People loved him for it, even those who didn’t always agree.
Click to expand...
Some traditionalists resent him for not frontally assaulting those forces within the church who were trying to change Catholicism into something other. Easy to criticize in hindsight, but I think he was really taking the long view that by inspiring the laity when the heterodox clergy so clearly weren’t, the church could be saved from schism once the sterile, old revolutionaries died off. Good call, I’d say - overall. Just a hard time for those of us who grew up in that era. Better for our kids though, which makes it worth it.
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GREAT post:thumbsup:
 
Big_Feet said:
4 words:

Theology of the Body

He truly helped us understand who we are supposed to be as those created in the image and likeness of God. There is still so much to unpack from his teachings 9 yrs after his death. I am confident that one day he will be proclaimed a Doctor of the Church.

I am personally elated that my wife and I will be present in St. Peter’s Square later this month when Pope Francis officially and infallibly declares Pope John Paul II a saint!
Click to expand...
Theology of the Body is one of the masterworks of the Church. It ranks up there with anything else anyone has ever written.

Pray for me in the presence of the Holy Father, will you?

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
Pray for me in the presence of the Holy Father, will you?
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I will, and I do plan on bringing all here at the CAF to my intentional prayers as I am in the presence of the Holy Father, and at all the shrines we will visit in our pilgrimage to the Eternal City and Assisi. We will be in Italy for nearly a week and a half.
 
John Paul 2 had two PhDs - on in Theology and one in Philosophy. I would point out that he was the source of the Catholic Catechism, which in itself will be a valuable tool and resource to the Church for some time.

He was one of the experts Paul 6 used in preparing Humanae Vitae, possibly the most prophetic work of the 20th century; but a work that has had little impact on the faithful.

John Paul 2 gave a series of talks, which have been compiled in what is known as Theology of the Body. Although some of his work shows a bit in Humanae Vitae, it flowers in Theology of the Body. Rather than resort to scholastic philosophy - Thomism or neo-Thomism, he used phenomenology and humanism as the method of delivering a fantastic study on the relationship between men and women; and one that carries the issue of why we should avoid contraception at all costs. He explained in terms that people can understand, rather than in terms that require one to have studied a significant amount of philosophy. And that shows his true genius; he can deliver the Gospel without resorting to dried, didactic terminology.
 
Big_Feet said:
I will, and I do plan on bringing all here at the CAF to my intentional prayers as I am in the presence of the Holy Father, and at all the shrines we will visit in our pilgrimage to the Eternal City and Assisi. We will be in Italy for nearly a week and a half.
Click to expand...
I have a most important prayer request for you to bring on my behalf. Sent you a PM.
 
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