A Pope For The Pacific

Francis Hezel

Karol Wotyla, who took the name John Paul II upon his election as pope in 1978, was a man the entire world claimed for itself. But the Pacific seems to have had a special affection for this much-traveled pontiff who visited Papua New Guinea twice, Samoa, Fiji and Guam during his 26-year papacy. Not far from the cathedral on Guam there is a bronze revolving statue of John Paul II in the middle of one of the thoroughfares. Pacific Islanders, Catholic or not, were bound to love a church leader who spoke so passionately about the importance of inculturation-a theme the pope addressed repeatedly.

A Polish pope whose homeland had been under the heel of one world power or another for hundreds of years could be expected to sympathize with Oceania, a region that has newly emerged from a century or more of colonialism. Societies powerless by global standards but rich in cultural tradition: Poland and Pacific Island nations share this description.

On a visit to Port Moresby in 1995, John Paul II beatified a Melanesian catechist from Rabaul, Peter ToRot, the first Pacific Islander to be raised to that status by the Catholic Church. This was in line with the pope's populist conviction that outstanding exemplars of holiness can be found anywhere and in any walk of life, not just in convents and monasteries. Why shouldn't married Melanesian villagers have their sanctity recognized, too? At which the Pacific applauded.

John Paul II was to have visited the region again in 2001 to celebrate the conclusion of the synod of Pacific bishops and to promulgate the document that issued from the synod. In a style that was trademark John Paul, the document begged forgiveness for the Church's sins against the Australian Aborigines. The pope's frail health and world events-9/11 occurred just weeks before the scheduled trip-forced a change of plans. Instead, the ceremony took place in the Vatican, where rich and colorful island dances were presented before rows of church prelates dressed in black and red. The papal document, Ecclesia in Oceania, became the first ever to be launched on the Internet. Another milestone in the Vatican annals.

Since the pope's death, news commentators and world leaders have eulogized him for the many accomplishments of his long pontificate. As he crisscrossed the globe, John Paul II gave the papacy a dynamic but human face with a special appeal to the young. In conducting his personal mission of reconciliation with those of other faiths, he did what none of his predecessors had done before: he prayed at the Wailing Wall, visited a mosque, and delivered a sermon in a Protestant Church. He uncompromisingly championed the cause of peace in the world, whether addressing the UN General Assembly or the present occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Pope John Paul II is greeted by Papua New Guinea Highlanders on his visit to Mt. Hagen, on May 8, 1984. The pope was met by hundreds of warriors and nearly 200,000 celebrated the mass. Photo: AP Wideworld Photos

If his life was a mission to be lived, it was also a series of battles to be fought. How could it be otherwise for a man who came of age under the shadow of Nazi Germany and carried on his clerical ministry under a communism that offered no room for his deepest beliefs? As a young bishop, Wotyla once forced a showdown with the Communist government by insisting that a church be built in a city that had none. He prevailed then, as he did later in his famous support for Solidarity.

When communism finally fell, this champion of the underdog and advocate of human rights found other battles to be fought. He clearly regarded secularism, the habitual traveling companion of modernization, as a threat every bit as real as communism in that it marginalizes religion and cultural traditions alike. Any force that threatens to pull down village shrines, parish churches and the old customs can't be entirely liberating, he seemed to be saying. In this, many Islanders who have felt the pangs of loss over some of their most deeply cherished traditions might well have concurred.

Perhaps this explains some of the enigmas that marked his leadership of the church. Strong belief in inculturation, yet steadfast opposition to raising married catechists to the status of the priesthood. Firm support for human rights, but unwillingness to consider expanding women's roles to include leadership in the church. A gospel of genuine compassion, but insistence that the traditional discipline of the church not be compromised in the slightest.

A populist John Paul II may have been, but certainly not one to be led by popular sentiment. Like many of the Catholics he led, he had a deep-seated mistrust of the thinking of the modern day. This, too, may have drawn him closer to many of those in the Pacific who are fighting similar battles.