Karol Wojtyla, the first
Polish pope; a rare
honest,
compassionate voice on the world stage (he has nothing to hide - we know he only answers to
one person). A former jock and aspiring
actor, he gave that up to study for the
priesthood. Became pontiff after the brief tenure of John Paul I (JP2's name is a tribute to his three predecessors). A fervent anti-
communist and an equally fervent
critic of the
amoral excesses of contemporary
capitalism.
I see him on TV sometimes; he's old and frail, and his speech is slurred to the point that I need subtitles, even when he's speaking a language I can understand. I ask God, "Can't you bring back the old JP - that vigorous, dynamic, bulletproof man?" For even that mischievous twinkle in JP's eyes are gone, replaced by a gravity befitting a man for whom even commonplace physical actions are a strain.
God tells me to look past the old, frail exterior: the vigor and the twinkle are still there.
OK.
Editors Note:
On Sunday, 27 April 2014, John XXIII and Pope John Paul II were declared saints on Divine Mercy Sunday.