NY Times Editorial

[harveyc]

I heard about this on EWTN this Monday afternoon. While I'm not surprised, I'm very disappointed.

EDITORIAL
Pope John Paul II, Keeper of the Flock for a Quarter of a Century


Published: April 3, 2005


he death of Pope John Paul II came at a time when Americans have been engaged in an unusual moment of national reflection about mortality. The long, bitter fight over the unknowing Terri Schiavo was a stark contrast to the passing of this pontiff, whose own mind was keenly aware of the gradual failure of his body. The pope would certainly never have wanted his own end to be a lesson in the transcendent importance of allowing humans to choose their own manner of death. But to some of us, that was the exact message of his dignified departure.

Pope John Paul II was a man who used the tools of modernity to struggle against the modern world. He traveled more than a half-million miles through 129 countries, waving to crowds from his popemobile. He wrote best sellers and took advantage of every means of communication to spread his message: a cry against what he saw as the contemporary world's decadence, moral degradation and abandonment of human values.

As a Polish cleric in a church that had not had a non-Italian pope since 1523, it's unlikely that John Paul, born Karol Wojtyla, spent much of his early career imagining himself as the eventual pontiff. But it was fitting that a man who had devoted much of his life to opposing the Communist government in his homeland would be leading the church at the moment when the cold war ended and Communism collapsed. It was his experiences in Poland - including time spent working in a quarry and a chemical factory during the Nazi occupation - that most influenced John Paul's papacy during its early and most active years, when he made human rights his central issue.

(continued)

[harveyc]

The pope's concern for human dignity led him to criticize capitalism as strongly as Communism, and he used his pulpit to condemn Western materialism as a "culture of death." He improved the church's relations with Jews and Muslims. At the dawn of the third millennium, he delivered a solemn apology for errors of the church, including religious intolerance and injustice toward women and the poor. Under his direction, the church denounced anti-Semitism, although it did not criticize Pope Pius XII for his equivocal response to the Holocaust.

For non-Catholics around the globe, those are the visions of John Paul that may endure longest - the globe-trotting man of God who traversed the world over and over, speaking about the dignity of life in so many languages. For Catholics, he was a more complicated figure, one who resisted all attempts to liberalize the church's teachings on birth control, abortion, homosexuality, priestly marriage, divorce and the ordination of women. This champion of freedom brooked no dissent, and his travels sought not only to minister to the faithful but also to make the church more disciplined, hierarchical and orthodox. Later, as his health deteriorated, he turned much of the responsibility for church affairs over to subordinates who lacked his authority and moral stature. That problem became painfully obvious during the crisis over sexual-predator priests toward the end of the pope's tenure.

For all his worldwide evangelism, John Paul left behind a church with a dwindling number of priests and nuns and a shrinking percentage of the world's population; Islam has overtaken Catholicism as the globe's most popular religion. The pope always believed that human values, not numbers, were what mattered. His embrace of each person's innate dignity was his touchstone, allowing him to shape our times even as he railed against them.

[Lisa4Catholics]

he death of Pope John Paul II came at a time when Americans have been engaged in an unusual moment of national reflection about mortality. The long, bitter fight over the unknowing Terri Schiavo was a stark contrast to the passing of this pontiff, whose own mind was keenly aware of the gradual failure of his body. That is the first thing that chaps my hide

[Lisa4Catholics]

"The pope would certainly never have wanted his own end to be a lesson in the transcendent importance of allowing humans to choose their own manner of death. But to some of us, that was the exact message of his dignified departure." Is that their legal suicide euthanasia throw in

[Lisa4Catholics]

"Later, as his health deteriorated, he turned much of the responsibility for church affairs over to subordinates who lacked his authority and moral stature. That problem became painfully obvious during the crisis over sexual-predator priests toward the end of the pope's tenure." The Bishops shouldn't need him to babysit them,THEY are responsible for their own diosese,and now they throw stones at the Pope Furthermore how do they know if he turned over anything to anyone? When the scandal hit they showed the Pope being told,I saw him put his head in his hand He landblasted the priest for hurting children personally as well as chiding the Bishops

[Lisa4Catholics]

"For all his worldwide evangelism, John Paul left behind a church with a dwindling number of priests and nuns and a shrinking percentage of the world's population; Islam has overtaken Catholicism as the globe's most popular religion. The pope always believed that human values, not numbers, were what mattered. His embrace of each person's innate dignity was his touchstone, allowing him to shape our times even as he railed against them." They are just resentful and being ugly,shame on them

[harveyc]

Lisa, what exactly was the part you didn't like? Oh, all of it?

It was even worse than I expected based on what I heard on EWTN.

[Lisa4Catholics]

Originally Posted by harveyc

Lisa, what exactly was the part you didn't like? Oh, all of it?

It was even worse than I expected based on what I heard on EWTN.

You could tell I was disgusted? I kind of make sure my feelings are known,huh

[antiaphrodite]

Originally Posted by Lisa4Catholics

You could tell I was disgusted? I kind of make sure my feelings are known,huh

and i say keep it up!

[Lisa4Catholics]

Originally Posted by antiaphrodite

and i say keep it up!

Thanks antiaphrodite We both like the smiles to emphasize

[MugenOne]

That is not true. Christian expecially Catholic is still the number one religion on earth and also the fastest growing religion too.

[antiaphrodite]

Originally Posted by Lisa4Catholics

Thanks antiaphrodite We both like the smiles to emphasize

oh yeah... there aren't enough, in my opinion!

[Maccabees]

They are very misleading when they say Islam is the world's largest religion they faill to point out the sectarian nature of Islam.
Catholcism is still the largest unified body of religion.
If they want to go to that card they should lump in Orthodoxy and Protestants to the Christian Religion and then Christiantiy would be the largest religion. I mean don't they notice the Islamc factions constantly fighting agianst each other Sunni, Druz, Shiite, Wahabi etc etc I mean who speaks for Islam nobody several people claim to speak for each sect its really splintered yet they present Islam as one unified body. But hey this is the NY times they wouldn't know anything about any of the world's religion if it hit them on the head.

[mpav]

Macabees has it right. This site shows Christianity as number one, and i think about half the Christian total is Catholic. The NYT seems to have a vested interest in Catholic bashing. Some things never change.

http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

[harveyc]

Is someone going to write the NYTimes to set the record straight? Honestly, I don't feel I'm up to the task.