Pope John Paul II died on this day in 2005. What is your opinion of him? A quick summary of his life and work, for those interested...
He was born Karol Wojtyla on May 18, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. He was ordained a priest in 1946, after having trained in secret due to the Nazi invasion and occupation of Poland. In October 1978, he was elected pope at the comparatively young age (by papal standards) of 58 and had one of the longest reigns in history.
In his youth, he was known to be very pious and athletic, and loved theater. His mother died in 1929, then his older brother some time later. His father died of a heart attack in 1941. He participated in secret theater productions in order to keep Polish culture alive during World War II.
As a priest, he had a great love for theology and philosophy. After the fall of the Nazis, the Communists invaded Poland, for whom he was also problematic.
As pope, he upheld Church dogma on things like abortion, marriage, and sexual morality. He also helped bring about the downfall of the Soviet Union. On the other hand though, he traveled too much, approved some very bad appointments for bishops, and made the papacy into something of a celebrity. End summary
Catholic or not, what is your opinion of him?Karol Wojtyla as a boyAs a young priestThe night he was elected
Religion is the biggest scam mankind ever created to be used against it's self and in my opinion anyone that believes in god are nothing more than a idiots asking to be used and abused
If god is real what happened to all the hundreds of other gods people use to warship before this one was created?
The idea of god is nothing more than a tool that is used to control the weak minded and profit off of their insecurities
The pope may have done good things throughout his life and may be a good person in general does not mean he is any better of a person than anyone else
all Religion is evil and were created to grow wealth while doing nothing to stop the sources of human suffering
Humans would be better off if god was never invented
Could you give an example of said "monstrous views" and where monstrosity is? Because as far as I know, I don't recall him ever saying anything excessively harsh to or about same-sex couples or attraction.
Yes, to deny the human right of marriage to two loving people, is to view them as the "other", as someone of less value, whose love is not allowed to be expressed in ways that more normal people can. This is cruel and monstrous.
In my observation, disagreement with same-sex marriage - whether religious or philosophical - is often automatically assumed to be hatred and homophobia. And unjustly so.
Now, in light of this, I have read the statement that you're talking about. I'm not sure where exactly the devastating, horrifying, and monstrous statements are. If anything, it more plainly and clearly stated the Church's position on homosexual behavior than the much more academic 1986 declaration on pastoral care for people who are same-sex attracted.
thanks for reading the article I mentioned, you did ask for my opinion and I gave it. Anyone who does not support equal treatment for all peoples is a source of division and hate that is really not needed in this world right now.
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he was a true blessing, a protector and savior, and made sure nothing wrong happened to those (pederasts) of faith around this world... no surprise then, that they wanted to make a Saint of him so quickly after his death
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Saint Pope John Paul II is one of my favorites. I ask him for his intercession every night during my prayers. It's unfortunate the corrupt people in the church didn't listen to him when has asked them to stop the Second Vatican Council. His traditional views and letter to women is absolutely amazing. I wish he was still around... I know he would be appalled at the current state of the church. May the love for tradition in the church grow.
Vatican II was long over when he became pope. And to my knowledge, he didn't issue any calls to suspend the council's implementation. John XXIII is rumored to have said "stop the council" on his deathbed, but I have as of yet not been able to confirm such.
And while I do generally like him, I've also come to realize over recent years that he in fact set the stage for a lot of the problems we're having now. For example, he brought one Jorge Mario Bergoglio - otherwise known as Pope Francis - out of exile and added him to the College of Cardinals. He made a lot of other really bad appointments to the same. He was the first one to inflict the likes of Blase Cupich, Pope Francis' favorite tradition-smasher in the US, onto the American episcopate. He also did not do much to stop the likes of Ted McCarrick and Joseph Bernardin from their perverted predations on young boys and young men.
Yes, his work on marriage, abortion, sexuality, and such were great. I haven't read much of his writings on the Eucharist or the Rosary, but by all accounts, they are phenomenal. But in all honesty, I think many modern Catholics regarding him as one of the greatest popes we've had is a foregone conclusion.
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