UNDERSTANDING POPE JOHN PAUL II

Pope JP II was famous globally not only because he had visited many countries to preach the gospel of Christ, but also because of the various speeches and writings that were found to be inspirational. In essence, Karol J. Wojtyla was elected on 16th October 1978 to become the representative of the Catholic Church as a Pope thus becomes Peter’s 264th successor. He adopted the name Pope JP II, who came to be known globally as one of the most influential religious leaders of his time. This is mainly because as a Pope, he worked hard to represent the Catholic Church appropriately and exercised his powers to ensure as many people as possible could be reached with the good news and message about Christ. By the time of the end of his papacy, Pope JP II had written over 15 apostolic exhortations, 14 encyclicals, 45 apostolic letters and 11 apostolic constitutions besides giving innumerable speeches and messages on the issues he considered important to the Church in general and Christianity and the world at large. Among the many innovations that Pope JP II made, he showed profound love for young people and founded WYD which was arguably a true renewal for the Church since the young people were regarded by Pope JP II as the future face of the Church. Consequently, Pope JP II promoted his concern for the development of spirituality and contemplation among the youth and the future Church and this prepared the Church with a great deal for the new challenges that the new millennium presented. Besides, the pontificate of Pope JP II was considered in the Catholic Church history as one the most successful and longest. Pope JP II was acknowledged as successful in various studies because of many reasons, apart from leading a life of inspiration to the faithful. He also recognized the role of the lay people and canonized a number of them while beautification others. In addition, Pope JP II is a renowned, influential thinker due to the contributions that he made to theology and philosophy and particularly to understanding contemplation and spirituality from his Apostolic Exhortations. Moreover, Pope JP II enhanced the understanding of human dignity and applied a number of 2nd Vatican Council teachings and created dialogue on various contemporary issues. This was mainly to make the people of this world to understand the position of the Church regarding the humanity, the Church, God, and promoted the regeneration of the pastoral activity of the Church. It is through these mission activities that Pope JP II taught and wrote on many issues around spirituality as well as contemplation. Indeed the life that Pope JP II led was a true example of what Contemplation constitutes. In addition, the concept of forgiveness and dialogue was evident in the times of Pope JP II given that he fostered dialogue which involved different religions and various governments. He promoted dialogue in order to promote peace and reconciliation. Consequently, Pope JP II was able to take part in ecumenism as well as reinforcing the discipline and communion of the Church. Pope JP II contributed to the new contemporary history through his teachings, convictions and tenacity in fighting for peace and a better world. Consequently, the practices of Pope JP II became an encouragement to many people, both religious and the non-religious. By insisting that Jesus Christ was the centre of human life rather than the earthly possessions, his teaching inspired many people to adopt a spiritual life that is based on the grace of God’s Spirit. Another notable action which encouraged more people to lead Christian life was his over 120 pastoral trips to different continents where he would teach about Contemplation and promote the evangelization. The ability of Pope JP II to communicate effectively to the world also drew more attention to his writings and teachings hence his thoughts have been a true inspiration to many people. Read more