Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, as well as the third-longest-serving pope in history, after St. Peter and Pius IX.

In his youth, Wojtyła dabbled in stage acting. He graduated with excellent grades from an all-boys high school in Wadowice, Poland, in 1938, soon after which World War II broke out. During the war, to avoid being kidnapped and sent to a German forced labour camp, he signed up for work in harsh conditions in a quarry. Wojtyła eventually took up acting and developed a love for the profession and participated at a local theatre. The linguistically skilled Wojtyła wanted to study Polish in university. During his studies, he was encouraged by a conversation with Adam Stefan Sapieha to study theology and become a priest. Eventually, Wojtyła rose to the position of Archbishop of Kraków and then a cardinal, both positions held by his mentor. Wojtyła was elected pope on the third day of the October 1978 conclave, becoming one of the youngest popes in over a century. The conclave was called after the death of John Paul I, who served only 33 days as pope. Wojtyła adopted the name of his predecessor in tribute to him.

Pope John Paul II attempted to improve the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the spirit of ecumenism, holding atheism as the greatest threat. He maintained the Church's previous positions on such matters as abortion, artificial contraception, the ordination of women, and a celibate clergy, and although he supported the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, he was seen as generally conventional in their interpretation. He put emphasis on family and identity, while questioning consumerism, hedonism and the pursuit of wealth. He was one of the most-travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, Pope John Paul II beatified 1,344 people, and canonised 483 saints, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries. By the time of his death, he had named most of the College of Cardinals, consecrated or co-consecrated many of the world's bishops, and ordained many priests. Pope John Paul II died on 2 April 2005, and was succeeded by Pope Benedict XVI.

Pope John Paul II has been credited with fighting against dictatorships and with helping to end communist rule in his native Poland and the rest of Europe. Under John Paul II, the Catholic Church greatly expanded its influence in Africa and Latin America and retained its influence in Europe and the rest of the world. He was proclaimed venerable by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 December 2009, and on 1 May 2011 (Divine Mercy Sunday) he was beatified. On 27 April 2014, Pope John Paul II was canonised by Pope Francis, alongside Pope John XXIII. He has been criticised for allegedly, as archbishop under Communist Poland, having been insufficiently harsh in acting against the sexual abuse of children by priests. After his canonisation, he has been referred to by some Catholics as Pope Saint John Paul the Great, though that title is not official.

Under Pope John Paul II, two of the most important documents of the contemporary Catholic Church were drafted and promulgated: the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which revised and updated the 1917 Code of Canon Law, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the first universal catechism to be issued since the Roman Catechism.

Early life

thumb|upright|The wedding portrait of John Paul II's parents, Emilia and Karol Wojtyła Sr.|left

Karol Józef Wojtyła was born in the Polish town of Wadowice. As a boy, Wojtyła was athletic, often playing association football as goalkeeper. During his childhood, Wojtyła had contact with the large Jewish community of Wadowice. School football games were often organised between teams of Jews and Catholics, and Wojtyła often played on the Jewish side. nine of which he used extensively as pope.

In 1939, after invading Poland, Nazi Germany's occupation forces closed the university. In that same year he had two major accidents, suffering a fractured skull after being struck by a tram and sustaining injuries which left him with one shoulder higher than the other and a permanent stoop after being hit by a lorry in the quarry. His father, a former Austro-Hungarian non-commissioned officer and later officer in the Polish Army, died of a heart attack in 1941, leaving the young adult Wojtyła an orphan and the immediate family's only surviving member. On 29 February 1944, Wojtyła was hit by a German truck. German Wehrmacht officers tended to him and sent him to a hospital. He spent two weeks there recovering from a severe concussion and a shoulder injury. It seemed to him that this accident and his survival was a confirmation of his vocation. On 6 August 1944, a day known as "Black Sunday", the Gestapo rounded up young men in Kraków to curtail the uprising there, similar to the recent uprising in Warsaw. Wojtyła escaped by hiding in the basement of his uncle's house at 10 Tyniecka Street, while the German troops searched above. More than 8,000 men and boys were taken that day, while Wojtyła escaped to the Archbishop's residence, where he remained until after the Germans had left. He did everything he could to ensure that Berger leave Poland to be raised by his Jewish relatives in the United States. In April 2005, shortly after John Paul II's death, the Israeli government created a commission to honour the legacy of John Paul II. One of the honorifics proposed by a head of Italy's Jewish community, Emmanuele Pacifici was the medal of the Righteous Among the Nations. In Wojtyła's last book, Memory and Identity, he described the 12 years of the Nazi régime as "bestiality", quoting from the Polish theologian and philosopher Konstanty Michalski.

Priesthood

thumb|upright|Wojtyła (centre) in 1949

thumb|upright|Wojtyła in 1958

After finishing his studies at the seminary in Kraków, Wojtyła was ordained as a priest on All Saints' Day, 1 November 1946, Wojtyła earned a licence in July 1947, passed his doctoral exam on 14 June 1948, and successfully defended his doctoral thesis titled Doctrina de fide apud S. Ioannem a Cruce (The Doctrine of Faith in St. John of the Cross) in philosophy on 19 June 1948. The Angelicum preserves the original copy of Wojtyła's typewritten thesis. Among other courses at the Angelicum, Wojtyła studied Hebrew with the Dutch Dominican Peter G. Duncker, author of the Compendium grammaticae linguae hebraicae biblicae.

thumb|left|upright|The [[Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum)|Pontifical International Athenaeum Angelicum in Rome, Italy]]

According to Wojtyła's fellow student, the future Austrian cardinal Alfons Stickler, in 1947 during his sojourn at the Angelicum, Wojtyła visited Padre Pio, who heard his confession and told him that one day he would ascend to "the highest post in the Church". Stickler added that Wojtyła believed that the prophecy was fulfilled when he became a cardinal.

Wojtyła returned to Poland in the summer of 1948 for his first pastoral assignment in the village of Niegowić, from Kraków, at the Church of the Assumption. He arrived at Niegowić at harvest time, where his first action was to kneel and kiss the ground. He repeated this gesture, which he adopted from John Vianney, throughout his papacy.

In March 1949, Wojtyła was transferred to the parish of Saint Florian in Kraków. He taught ethics at Jagiellonian University and subsequently at the Catholic University of Lublin. While teaching, he gathered a group of about 20 young people, who began to call themselves Rodzinka, the "little family". They met for prayer, philosophical discussion, and to help the blind and the sick. The group eventually grew to approximately 200 participants, and their activities expanded to include annual skiing and kayaking trips. (). Scheler was a German philosopher who founded a broad philosophical movement that emphasised the study of conscious experience. The Polish Communist authorities abolished the Faculty of Theology at the Jagiellonian University, thereby preventing him from receiving the degree until 1957. In 1961, he coined "Thomistic Personalism" to describe Aquinas's philosophy.

thumb|upright|Wojtyła pictured during a [[kayaking trip to the countryside with a group of students, c. 1960]]

During this period, Wojtyła wrote a series of articles in Kraków's Catholic newspaper, Tygodnik Powszechny (Universal Weekly), dealing with contemporary church issues.

Episcopate and cardinalate

Call to the episcopate

thumb|left|19 [[Kanonicza Street, Kraków|Kanonicza Street in Kraków, Poland, where John Paul II lived as a priest and bishop (now an Archdiocese Museum)]]

On 4 July 1958, Baziak died in June 1962 and on 16 July, Wojtyła was selected as Vicar Capitular (temporary administrator) of the Archdiocese until an archbishop could be appointed. According to John F. Crosby, as pope, John Paul II used the words of Gaudium et spes later to introduce his own views on the nature of the human person in relation to God: man is "the only creature on earth that God has wanted for its own sake", but man "can fully discover his true self only in a sincere giving of himself".

Wojtyła also participated in the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops.

In 1973, Wojtyła met philosopher Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, the wife of Hendrik S. Houthakker, professor of economics at Stanford University and Harvard University, and member of President Richard Nixon's Council of Economic Advisers

Papacy

Election

thumb|left|First appearance of Pope John Paul II following his election on 16 October 1978

In August 1978, following the death of Pope Paul VI, Wojtyła voted in the papal conclave, which elected John Paul I. John Paul I died after only 33 days as pope, triggering another conclave. Cardinal Franz König, Archbishop of Vienna, suggested Wojtyła as another compromise candidate to his fellow electors.</blockquote>

Wojtyła became the 264th pope according to the chronological list of popes, and the first non-Italian in 455 years. as well as holding several large-scale open air Masses, including one at Wembley Stadium, which was attended by some 80,000 people.

thumb|left|John Paul II with [[Sandro Pertini, President of Italy, in 1984]]

He travelled to Haiti in 1983, where he spoke in Creole to thousands of impoverished Catholics gathered to greet him at the airport. His message, "things must change in Haiti", referring to the disparity between the wealthy and the poor, was met with thunderous applause.

In June 1979, John Paul II travelled to Poland, where ecstatic crowds constantly surrounded him.

In 1998, John Paul II issued the motu proprio Ad tuendam fidem, which amended two canons (750 and 1371) of the 1983 Code of Canon Law and two canons (598 and 1436) of the 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

1983 Code of Canon Law

On 25 January 1983, with the apostolic constitution Sacrae disciplinae leges John Paul II promulgated the current code of canon law for all members of the Catholic Church who belonged to the Latin Church. It entered into force the first Sunday of the following Advent, which was 27 November 1983. John Paul II described the new code as "the last document of Vatican II". (Johannes Paulus is Latin for "John Paul"), parallelling the "Pio-Benedictine" 1917 code that it replaced.

Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches

John Paul II promulgated the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO) on 18 October 1990, by the document Sacri Canones. The CCEO came into force of law on 1 October 1991. It is the codification of the common portions of the canon law for the 23 of the 24 sui iuris churches in the Catholic Church that are the Eastern Catholic Churches. It is divided into 30 titles and has a total of 1540 canons.

Pastor bonus

John Paul II promulgated the apostolic constitution Pastor bonus on 28 June 1988. It instituted a number of reforms in the process of running the Roman Curia. Pastor bonus laid out in considerable detail the organisation of the Roman Curia, specifying precisely the names and composition of each dicastery, and enumerating the competencies of each dicastery. It replaced the previous special law, Regimini Ecclesiæ universæ, which was promulgated by Paul VI in 1967.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

On 11 October 1992, in his apostolic constitution Fidei depositum (The Deposit of Faith), John Paul ordered the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

He declared the publication to be "a sure norm for teaching the faith … a sure and authentic reference text for teaching Catholic doctrine and particularly for preparing local catechisms". It was "meant to encourage and assist in the writing of new local catechisms [both applicable and faithful]" rather than replacing them.

Political views and activity

Anti-communism

Role as spiritual inspiration and catalyst

By the late 1970s, the dissolution of the Soviet Union had been predicted by some observers. John Paul II has been credited with being instrumental in bringing down Communism in Central and Eastern Europe, Relations between Reagan and John Paul II were close, especially because of their shared anti-communism and keen interest in forcing the Soviets out of Poland. John Paul II and Reagan had earlier confided in the Vatican (in 1982) "their conviction that God had spared their lives" from assassination "for the divine purpose of defeating the communist empire." Reagan's correspondence with the Pope reveals "a continuous scurrying to shore up Vatican support for U.S. policies. Perhaps most surprisingly, the papers show that, as late as 1984, the Pope did not believe the Communist Polish government could be changed."</blockquote>

In December 1989, John Paul II met with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the Vatican and each expressed his respect and admiration for the other. Gorbachev once said: "The collapse of the Iron Curtain would have been impossible without John Paul II." After receiving the award, John Paul II said, "May the desire for freedom, peace, a more humane world symbolised by this medal inspire men and women of goodwill in every time and place." Captain Grzegorz Piotrowski, one of the murderers of beatified Jerzy Popiełuszko, was the leader of section D. They drugged Irena Kinaszewska, the secretary of the Kraków-based weekly Catholic magazine Tygodnik Powszechny where Wojtyła had worked, and unsuccessfully attempted to make her admit to having had sexual relations with him.

The SB then attempted to compromise Kraków priest Andrzej Bardecki, an editor of Tygodnik Powszechny and one of the closest friends of Cardinal Wojtyła before he became pope, by planting false memoirs in his dwelling; Piotrowski was exposed and the forgeries were found and destroyed before the SB could say to have discovered them. and criticized for actions which were perceived as both inspiring resistance but also potentially abetting dictatorships in Chile, Haiti, and Paraguay.

Relations with other Christian denominations and religions

Christian denominations

John Paul II was publicly committed to improving relationships between Christian communities and engaged in numerous dialogues with leaders of other Christian churches, including the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of the East the Lutheran World Federation, and the Anglican Communion.

Religions

Judaism

Relations between Catholicism and Judaism improved dramatically during the pontificate of John Paul II.</blockquote>

In 1985, the Pope visited the African country of Togo, where 60 per cent of the population espouses animist beliefs. To honour the Pope, animist religious leaders met him at a Catholic Marian shrine in the forest, much to the pontiff's delight. John Paul II proceeded to call for the need for religious tolerance, praised nature, and emphasised common elements between animism and Christianity, saying:

<blockquote>"Nature, exuberant and splendid in this area of forests and lakes, impregnates spirits and hearts with its mystery and orients them spontaneously toward the mystery of He who is the author of life. It is this religious sentiment that animates you and one can say that animates all of your compatriots."</blockquote>

During the investiture of President Thomas Boni Yayi of Benin as a titled Yoruba chieftain on 20 December 2008, the reigning Ooni of Ile-Ife, Nigeria, Olubuse II, referred to John Paul II as a previous recipient of the same royal honour.

Buddhism

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, visited John Paul II eight times. The two men held many similar views and understood similar plights, both coming from nations affected by Communism and both serving as heads of major religious bodies. In 1987, he welcomed participants of the East-West Spiritual Exchanges, an initiative by the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (DIMMID) and the Institute for Zen Studies in which Buddhist and Christian monks or nuns take turns residing for one month in each other's monasteries. During his 1995 visit to Sri Lanka, a country where a majority of the population adheres to Theravada Buddhism, John Paul II expressed his admiration for Buddhism. He said:

<blockquote>"In particular I express my highest regard for the followers of Buddhism, the majority religion in Sri Lanka, with its ... four great values of … loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity; with its ten transcendental virtues and the joys of the Sangha expressed so beautifully in the Theragathas. I ardently hope that my visit will serve to strengthen the goodwill between us, and that it will reassure everyone of the Catholic Church's desire for interreligious dialogue and cooperation in building a more just and fraternal world. To everyone I extend the hand of friendship, recalling the splendid words of the Dhammapada: 'Better than a thousand useless words is one single word that gives peace' ... ."</blockquote>

Islam

thumb|John Paul II was the first Pope to enter and pray in a mosque, visiting the tomb of John the Baptist at [[Umayyad Mosque, Damascus.]]

John Paul II made considerable efforts to improve relations between Catholicism and Islam.

On 6 May 2001, he became the first Catholic pope to enter and pray in a mosque, namely the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria. Respectfully removing his shoes, he entered the former Byzantine-era Christian church dedicated to John the Baptist, who is also revered as a prophet of Islam. He gave a speech including the statement: "For all the times that Muslims and Christians have offended one another, we need to seek forgiveness from the Almighty and to offer each other forgiveness."

<span class="anchor" id="Assassination"></span> Assassination attempts and plots

As he entered St. Peter's Square to address an audience on 13 May 1981, John Paul II was shot and critically wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca, The Pope later stated that the Blessed Virgin Mary helped keep him alive throughout his ordeal. He said:

<blockquote>"Could I forget that the event in St. Peter's Square took place on the day and at the hour when the first appearance of the Mother of Christ to the poor little peasants has been remembered for over sixty years at Fátima, Portugal? For in everything that happened to me on that very day, I felt that extraordinary motherly protection and care, which turned out to be stronger than the deadly bullet."</blockquote>

Ağca was caught and restrained by a nun and other bystanders until police arrived. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Two days after Christmas in 1983, John Paul II visited Ağca in prison. John Paul II and Ağca spoke privately for about twenty minutes. John Paul II said, "What we talked about will have to remain a secret between him and me. I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned and who has my complete trust."

Numerous theories were advanced to explain the assassination attempt, some of them controversial. One such theory, advanced by Michael Ledeen and heavily pushed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency at the time of the assassination but never substantiated by evidence, was that the Soviet Union was behind the attempt on John Paul II's life in retaliation for the Pope's support of Solidarity, the Catholic, pro-democratic Polish workers' movement.

Apologies

John Paul II apologised to many groups that had suffered at the hands of the Catholic Church through the years.

The legal process on the Italian scientist and philosopher Galileo Galilei, himself a devout Catholic, around 1633 (31 October 1992).

However, after over 26 years as pope, two assassination attempts, one of which injured him severely, and a number of cancer scares, John Paul's physical health declined. In 2001 he was diagnosed as suffering from Parkinson's disease. He left the hospital on 10 February, but was subsequently hospitalised again with breathing problems two weeks later and underwent a tracheotomy.

Final illness and death

thumb|left|The body of Pope John Paul II [[lying in state|243x243px]]

On 31 March 2005, following a urinary tract infection, he developed septic shock, a form of infection with a high fever and low blood pressure, but was not hospitalised. Instead, he was monitored by a team of consultants at his private residence. This was taken as an indication by the Pope, and those close to him, that he was nearing death; it would have been in accordance with his wishes to die in the Vatican. Later that day, Vatican sources announced that John Paul II had been given the Anointing of the Sick by his friend and secretary Stanisław Dziwisz. The day before his death, one of his closest personal friends, Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, visited him at his bedside.

He had no close family by the time of his death; his feelings are reflected in his words written in 2000 at the end of his Last Will and Testament. Dziwisz later said he had not burned the pontiff's personal notes despite the request being part of the will.

Aftermath

thumb|left|upright=1.15|(l-r) [[George W. Bush, Laura Bush, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, and Andrew Card, US dignitaries paying respects to John Paul II on 6 April 2005 at St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City]]

The death of the pontiff set in motion rituals and traditions dating back to medieval times. The Rite of Visitation took place from 4 April 2005 to 7 April 2005 at St. Peter's Basilica. John Paul II's testament, published on 7 April 2005, and Buddhism, offered their own memorials and prayers as a way of sympathising with the grief of Catholics.

The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, conducted the ceremony. John Paul II was interred in the grottoes under the basilica, the Tomb of the Popes. He was lowered into a tomb created in the same alcove previously occupied by the remains of John XXIII. The alcove had been empty since John XXIII's remains had been moved into the main body of the basilica after his beatification. The remains of John Paul II were moved to the Chapel of St. Sebastian within the main basilica upon his own beatification in 2011.

Legacy

Posthumous recognition

Title "the Great"

thumb|Old tomb of John Paul II in the [[Vatican Grottoes before his beatification]]

Upon the death of John Paul II, a number of clergy at the Vatican and laymen and in May 2006 during a visit to Poland where he repeatedly made references to "the great John Paul" and "my great predecessor".

Scoil Eoin Phóil, Leixlip, Ireland
John Paul II Gymnasium, Kaunas, Lithuania
Pope John Paul II High School in Olympia, Washington, US
Universidad Privada Juan Pablo II, Lima, Peru
Karol Wojtyła building at Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia
St. John Paul II Chapel and Museum at Pakuwon Mall in Surabaya, Indonesia
St. John Paul II Minor Seminary, Minor Seminary in Antipolo City, Philippines
St. John Paul II Parish Community, Lake View, New York, US
St. John Paul II High School (Massachusetts), US
Saint John Paul II Academy Boca Raton, Florida, US
St. John Paul II Catholic High School (Alabama), US
St. John Paul II Catholic High School (Arizona), US
St John Paul II College, Canberra, Australia
St. John Paul II Seminary, Washington, DC, US
Pope Saint John Paul II Major Seminary Awka, Nigeria
St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Pope John Paul II High School, Royersford Pennsylvania, US

Beatification

thumb|upright|Some 1.5 million [[St. Peter's Square attendees witness the beatification of John Paul II on 1 May 2011 in Vatican City.]]

"Santo subito! Santo subito!" ("sainthood now!"), during his funeral and the conclave.

Pope Benedict XVI began the beatification process for his predecessor, bypassing the normal process of waiting five years after a person's death before beginning the beatification process. John Paul II's remains, which were not exposed, were placed in front of the Basilica's main altar, where believers could pay their respect before and after the beatification Mass in St. Peter's Square on 1 May 2011. On 3 May 2011 his remains were interred in the marble altar in Pier Paolo Cristofari Chapel of St. Sebastian, where Pope Innocent XI was buried. This more prominent location, next to the Chapel of the Pietà, the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, and statues of Popes Pius XI and Pius XII was intended to allow more pilgrims to view his memorial. John Paul II's body is located near the bodies of Pope Pius X and Pope John XXIII, whose bodies were reinterred in the Basilica after their own beatifications and together are three of the five popes beatified in the last century. The two popes who were not exhumed and reinterred after becoming a blessed in the last century were Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul I, who both remain entombed in the papal grottos.

In July 2012, a Colombian man, Marco Fidel Rojas, the former mayor of Huila, Colombia, testified that he was "miraculously cured" of Parkinson's disease after a trip to Rome where he met John Paul II and prayed with him. Antonio Schlesinger Piedrahita, a renowned neurologist in Colombia, certified Fidel's healing. The documentation was then sent to the Vatican office for sainthood causes.

In September 2020, Poland unveiled a sculpture of him, designed by and installed outside the National Museum, Warsaw, holding up a meteorite above a pool of red water representing blood. In the same month, a relic containing his blood was stolen from the Spoleto Cathedral in Italy.

Canonisation

thumb|left|upright=1.15|The canonisation of John Paul II and John XXIII

To be eligible for canonisation (being declared a saint) by the Catholic Church, two miracles must be attributed to a candidate.

The first miracle attributed to John Paul was the above mentioned healing of a nun's Parkinson's disease, which was recognised during the beatification process. According to an article on the Catholic News Service (CNS) dated 23 April 2013, a Vatican commission of doctors concluded that a healing had no natural (medical) explanation, which is the first requirement for a claimed miracle to be officially documented.

The second miracle was deemed to have taken place shortly after the late pope's beatification on 1 May 2011; it was reported to be the healing of Costa Rican woman Floribeth Mora of an otherwise terminal brain aneurysm. A Vatican panel of expert theologians examined the evidence, determined that it was directly attributable to the intercession of John Paul II, and recognised it as miraculous.

On 4 July 2013, Pope Francis confirmed his approval of John Paul II's canonisation, formally recognising the second miracle attributed to his intercession. He was canonised together with John XXIII. The date of the canonisation was on 27 April 2014, Divine Mercy Sunday.

The canonisation Mass for Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII, was celebrated by Pope Francis (with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI), on 27 April 2014 in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican (John Paul II had died on vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday in 2005). About 150 cardinals and 700 bishops concelebrated the Mass, and at least 500,000 people attended the Mass, with an estimated 300,000 others watching from video screens placed around Rome.

John Paul II's remains, considered to be holy relics, were exhumed from their place in the basilica's grotto, and a new tomb was established at the altar of St. Sebastian. His feast is celebrated annually on 22 October, the day of his papal inauguration, as the anniversary of his death usually falls during Lent and often during Holy Week.

Beatification of the Pope's parents

On 10 October 2019, the Archdiocese of Kraków and the Polish Episcopal Conference approved nihil obstat the opening of the beatification cause of the parents of its patron saint John Paul II, Karol Wojtyła Sr. and Emilia Kaczorowska. It gained approval from the Holy See to open the diocesan phase of the cause on 7 May 2020.

Criticism

John Paul II faced some criticism for a variety of his views. He was a target of criticism from progressives for his opposition to the ordination of women, opposition to the use of contraception, Traditionalist Catholics frequently criticized him for his support for the Second Vatican Council and its reform of the liturgy. John Paul II's response to child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has also come under heavy censure.

Opus Dei controversies

John Paul II was criticised for his support of the Opus Dei prelature and the 2002 canonisation of its founder, Josemaría Escrivá, whom he called "the saint of ordinary life".

In 1984 John Paul II appointed Joaquín Navarro-Valls, a member of Opus Dei, as Director of the Vatican Press Office. An Opus Dei spokesman said that "the influence of Opus Dei in the Vatican has been exaggerated". Of the nearly 200 cardinals in the Catholic Church, only two are known to be members of Opus Dei.

Pope John Paul II was said to engage in Self-flagellation, a practice of whipping oneself which is often used within Opus Dei.

Banco Ambrosiano

John Paul II was alleged to have links with Banco Ambrosiano, an Italian bank that collapsed in 1982. After decades of inaction, the scandal came to a head when Sinéad O'Connor infamously tore up a photo of John Paul II on a 3 October 1992 episode of Saturday Night Live while performing an a cappella rendition of Bob Marley's "War".

In response to mounting criticism over the next decade, John Paul II stated in 2002 that "there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young". In 2008, the church asserted that the scandal was a very serious problem and estimated that it was "probably caused by 'no more than 1 per cent'", or 5,000, of the over 500,000 Catholic priests worldwide.</blockquote>

The Pope read a statement intended for the American cardinals, calling the sex abuse "an appalling sin" and said the priesthood had no room for such men. John Paul II accepted his resignation, and placed sanctions on him, prohibiting Paetz from exercising his ministry as bishop. It was reported that these restrictions were lifted, though Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi strenuously denied this, saying "his rehabilitation was without foundation".

In 2003, John Paul II reiterated that "there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young". Law resigned from his Vatican position in November 2011. In an interview with L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis said: "I am grateful to Pope Benedict, who dared to say this publicly (when more facts began to come to light after Degollado's death in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 launched another investigation and on 1 May 2010 announced a declaration about the crimes of the founder of the Legionaries), and to Pope John Paul II, who dared to give the green light to the Legionaries' case".

On 10 November 2020, the Vatican published a report which found that John Paul II learned of allegations of sexual impropriety against former cardinal Theodore McCarrick—at the time the Archbishop of Newark—in 1999. The pope was informed via a letter from Cardinal John O'Connor of New York, warning him that appointing McCarrick as Archbishop of Washington would be a mistake. John Paul II ordered an investigation, which stalled when three of the four bishops tasked with investigating claims allegedly brought back "inaccurate or incomplete information". John Paul II planned on not giving McCarrick the appointment anyway, but relented after McCarrick wrote a letter of denial. He created McCarrick a cardinal in 2001. McCarrick would eventually be laicized after it was shown that he abused minors. George Weigel, a biographer of John Paul II, defended the Pope's actions, saying "McCarrick fooled a lot of people ... and he deceived John Paul II in a way that is laid out in almost biblical fashion in [the Vatican's] report".

In a 2019 interview with Mexican television, Pope Francis defended John Paul II's legacy on protecting minors against clerical sexual abuse. He said that John Paul II was "often misled", as in the case of Hans Hermann Groër. Francis said that with respect to the case of Marcial Maciel:

<blockquote>"Ratzinger was courageous, and so was John Paul II. ... With respect to John Paul II, we have to understand certain attitudes because he came from a closed world, from behind the Iron Curtain, where communism was still in force. There was a defensive mentality. We have to understand this well, and no one can doubt the saintliness of this great man and his good will. He was great, he was great."</blockquote>On 6 March 2023, an investigative report by the Polish television station TVN24 concluded that "there [is now] no doubt" that John Paul II "knew about sexual abuse of children by priests under his authority and sought to conceal it when he was an archbishop in his native Poland". The Dutch journalist Ekke Overbeek released a book on John Paul II with similar claims the following week.

In response to the claims, Pope Francis stated: "You have to put things in the context of the era[...] At that time everything was covered up. [...] It was only when the Boston scandal broke that the church began to look at the problem." The Polish Episcopal Conference stated that "'further archival research' would be needed to arrive at a just evaluation of the decisions and actions" of John Paul II. Furthermore, other journalists have criticised the report, including the sources and their interpretation. One of the sources used in the report was the controversial American archbishop Rembert Weakland, an opponent of the pontiff who himself committed sexual misconduct and covered up clerical abuse. Another point of contention is the use of materials from the communist secret police in the report.

Archives of the Archdiocese of Kraków were opened on 10 February 2026. Journalists from Rzeczpospolita conducted an analysis of the archival material pertaining to John Paul II's time as Archbishop of Kraków and concluded that there was no evidence that he covered up cases of abuse, and that some of his actions in the matter were above the standards of the time.

Problems with traditionalists

John Paul II was criticised by some traditionalist Catholics, in addition to those demanding modernisation. Points of contention with traditionalists included demanding a return to the Tridentine Mass, In 1988, the controversial traditionalist Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the Society of Saint Pius X (1970), was excommunicated under John Paul II because of the unapproved ordination of four bishops, which Cardinal Ratzinger called a "schismatic act".

The World Day of Prayer for Peace,

Religion and AIDS

John Paul II continued the tradition of advocating for the culture of life. In solidarity with Pope Paul VI's Humanae vitae, he rejected artificial birth control, even in the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS.

Ian Paisley

In 1988, when John Paul II was delivering a speech to the European Parliament, Ian Paisley, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, shouted "I denounce you as the Antichrist!" He held up a red banner reading "Pope John Paul II ANTICHRIST". Otto von Habsburg (the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary), a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Germany, snatched Paisley's banner, tore it up, and along with other MEPs helped eject him from the chamber. In 1998, when a certain German gathered various statements that were supposedly made by the Pope and Cardinal Ratzinger, and then forwarded them to the Vatican in the form of a memorandum, Ratzinger responded in writing on 22 July 1998: "The only thing I can say regarding statements on Međugorje ascribed to the Holy Father and myself is that they are [frei erfunden] complete invention". Similar claims were also rebuked by the Vatican's Secretariate of State.

Beatification controversy

Some Catholic theologians disagreed with the call for the beatification of John Paul II. Eleven dissident theologians, including Jesuit professor José María Castillo and Italian theologian Giovanni Franzoni, said that his stance against contraception and the ordination of women as well as the church scandals during his pontificate presented "facts which according to their consciences and convictions should be an obstacle to beatification". Some traditionalist Catholics opposed his beatification and canonisation for his views on liturgy and participation in prayer with enemies of the church, heretics and non-Christians.

After the 2020 report about the handling of the sexual misconduct complaints against Theodore McCarrick, some called for John Paul II's sainthood to be revoked.

Personal life

thumb|right|upright=0.65|[[Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka maintained a thirty-year friendship with Pope John Paul II.]]

Wojtyła was a Cracovia football team supporter, and the club retired number 1 in his honour. Having played the game himself as a goalkeeper, Wojtyla was a fan of English football team Liverpool F.C., where his compatriot Jerzy Dudek played in the same position.

In 1973, while still the archbishop of Kraków, Wojtyła befriended a Polish-born, later American philosopher, Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka. The thirty-two-year friendship (and occasional academic collaboration) lasted until his death. In February 2016, the BBC documentary program Panorama reported that John Paul II had apparently had a close relationship with the Polish-born philosopher. The pair exchanged personal letters over 30 years, and Stourton believes that Tymieniecka had confessed her love for Wojtyła. The Vatican described the documentary as "more smoke than fire", and Tymieniecka denied being involved with John Paul II.

Writers Carl Bernstein, the veteran investigative journalist of the Watergate scandal, and Vatican expert Marco Politi, were the first journalists to talk to Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka in the 1990s about her importance in John Paul's life. They interviewed her and dedicated 20 pages to her in their 1996 book His Holiness. Bernstein and Politi even asked her if she had ever developed any romantic relationship with John Paul II, "however one-sided it might have been". She responded, "No, I never fell in love with the cardinal. How could I fall in love with a middle-aged clergyman? Besides, I'm a married woman."

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Sources

External links

John Paul the Great Catholic University
The Holy See website – John Paul II
Papal Transition 2005 Web Archive from the US Library of Congress
Karol Wojtyła on Culture.pl
Third pilgrimage of John Paul II to Poland, Institute of National Remembrance
Tomb of John Paul II in St Peter's
Text of the apostolic constitution Fidei Depositum
Text of Laetamur magnopere, on the promulgation of the editio typica of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Liturgical texts for the optional Memorial of St. John Paul II, Pope: Celebration of the Eucharist (English, Latin); Liturgy of the Hours (English, Latin) from The Holy See website.
Archive recordings in German with and about Pope John Paul II in the Online Archive of the Österreichische Mediathek