http://family.org/cforum/feature/a0036082.cfmApril 4, 2005
Pope Recalled as 'Voice of Conscience' by Pete Winn, associate editor
Catholics and evangelicals alike remember the late pontiff as a commanding pro-family figure on the international stage.Pope John Paul II, who died Saturday at age 84, was widely considered one of the most extraordinary leaders in the modern world. And you don't have to be Roman Catholic to be amazed at the legacy the pope built for 27 years — the second longest pontificate in history.
U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., a pro-family leader of the U.S. Senate, met the pontiff when he co-led the congressional delegation to Rome that presented John Paul II with the Congressional Gold Medal.
He lauded John Paul for his willingness to confront evil and to stand for the inherent dignity of the individual.
"He was raised up at a particular, unique point in time in history — confronted Nazism, confronted communism and then confronted the culture of death," Brownback said. "And in each case, (he) saw that when evil is confronted, it may take some time, but the evil will be defeated.
"What a lineup that came together at a unique point in time of history — of Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher — to confront Communism. I'm old enough to remember that people just thought Communism was going to be there for a long time, even though it sucked life out of people. But that triumvirate confronted Communism, and it fell. An evil confronted will be an evil defeated, even though it may take time.
"He had a moral clarity and boldness that was a great gift to the rest of us."
Focus on the Family Chairman Dr. James C. Dobson agreed.
"While we grieve the profound loss of this remarkable man, we celebrate his life, his ministry and his undeniable impact on the world," Dobson said. "During his time as leader of the Catholic Church, he embodied the belief that freedom is a gift from God that should not be infringed by any government; that all life is precious and should be protected; and that dying is part of living and should not be feared nor hastened artificially."
Those are just some of the reasons John Paul II will be remembered as the greatest pope of the last century, according to The Rev. Thomas Euteneur, president of Human Life International.
"His message and the power of his witness will never die," Euteneur said. "The pope has been a voice of conscience like no one else could be — or has been in all of the past century. He knew very clearly the difference between right and wrong. He was able to carry out a profound critique of the atheistic and anti-life ideologies of the 20th century and to bring that to us in a form which has been unsurpassed."
Euteneur added that the pontiff wrote 14 encyclicals — or authoritative papal declarations; made 104 trips around the world; gave more than 20,000 messages; spoke to dictators; and "did just about everything that a human being could possible do to appeal to the consciences of the world."
Embodiment of pro-life principlesDr. Timothy O'Donnell, president of Christendom College in Virginia, said the pope stood for the dignity of life — a core Catholic teaching. But has also served as a visible embodiment of that principle, not only for Catholics, but for the world.
"Even in his illness, he showed us the fundamental dignity of the human person," O'Donnell said. "It's not what you have or what you do, but it's what you are that's the most important thing in life."
There has been no stronger voice for the family, according to O'Donnell, who is one of the few lay leaders appointed by the pope to the Pontifical Council on the Family.
"He made the defense of the family one of the principle keys throughout his pontificate," O'Donnell said. "One of his earliest documents that he issued, he called for a gathering of the synod of bishops to discuss the family, because he saw very clearly that the way to our future passes through the family — and that's part of God's providential design; that marriage should be a union between a man and a woman, and emphasizing very clearly openness to life and that children really are a blessing — a way of sanctifying and making that marriage holy. This is something he saw as a point that really needs to be defended."
Above everything else, though, O'Donnell said the pope "wanted to proclaim Christ."
"From the first encyclical that he sent out, 'Redemptor Hominis,' The Redeemer of Men, he focused on Jesus Christ," O'Donnell said. "And he did that when he visited his native Poland, in front of Communist leaders, wherever he went — he preached the same message in season or out of season. And I think the greatest legacy for those who are not Catholics, but who would share a common Christian faith, would be (that the pope is) a great example of serving the truth in love."
The Rev. Mitchell Pacwa, S.J., a Catholic theologian and teacher who hosts programs on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), agreed that Jesus was the core of John Paul II's theology.
"We have to come into union with God through Jesus Christ, and there is no other way to God except Jesus," Pacwa said. "He really highlighted that in everything he has written to us. And man cannot know who he is, apart from knowing Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who has shown us what it means to be made in the image and the likeness of God."
The Rev. Robert Sirico, who heads the Acton Institute, said it is a misnomer to apply a political term like "conservative" to the pope. He was, instead, a traditionalist.
"I think what's unique about him was he articulated the vision in such an accessible way that everyone understood," Sirico said. "It was very hard for anyone to say that this was a mean man. What he spoke, he spoke with love; he spoke with profound respect, even for people who disagreed with him.
"He was a man of prayer, a man deeply committed to Jesus Christ. A man who respected them, regardless of our differences, a man for me as a priest is really the model of the priesthood, other than of course Jesus Christ Himself. But this man embodied the Gospel in a unique way."
Rita Marker, executive director of the International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force, said she saw evidence of the pope's unique appeal at a conference on families at the Vatican, with her own family present.
"There's something about a person that children tend to sense, that sometimes adults don't," she said. "And as soon as the pope came into the room, (my son) Paul, who is the second to the youngest, the shy one, went running up to him, and put his arms around the pope, and the pope put his arms around Paul — it was just utterly incredible.
"It was so out of character for Paul, and yet it really wasn't because he could tell that this was someone really special who loved children."
