Pope John Paul II 

How Lives Intertwine

So many memories have come flooding back through my mind this past weekend: Twenty-six years worth of memories. It is funny how life is, how lives intertwine:

In 1979 the new Pope of the Catholic Church came to Boston. At the time, I was a young Theology student at Berkshire Christian College. This was also when the movie, “Life of Brian” opened in the Boston area theaters, and a time of much controversy.

Although 1979 was but 26 years ago, society was much more conservative. The movie, “Life of Brian” although very tame, was a parody of Jesus, and also featured “full frontal nudity.” What happened was that just prior to the Pope arriving, all advertisement in the papers, on radio, and on television seemed to disappear. The government (state and city) had decided that it would be in poor taste to allow that movie to be advertised while the Pope was visiting. This was the cause of great debate at school.

Dave, a schoolmate, and I made our way to Boston to see the cause of all of this, the little man from Poland dressed in gold and white, Pope John Paul II. Then we went and watched the movie. We enjoyed both experiences (although the movie was a bit over-rated).

The next year, while still at school, President Reagan was shot. This upset us severely. He was our president, our leader! I was very young when Kennedy was shot, but that day, I knew what they had felt. A few weeks later, we hear that Pope John Paul II had been shot. What was going on with this crazy world? Both men recovered, and our world prospered. And I became a little more focused.

Over the next 20 years or so, the Pope kept showing up every time something in my life occurred. I graduated with a BA in Theology, and JPII was Time Man of the Year (June 1983). 1984, my daughter is born, and he is a hit movie on TV. In 1987 my son was born, and I earn my Doctorate in Theology at Liberty Bible College in Waco Texas. Guess who decides to visit San Antonio, Texas? Yes, my old friend, JPII. It seems like every time something was going on with me, he was around.

I respected the man; he was a very spiritual man. I agreed with some of his theology, and much of it I did not. And I could not help but love the man. He steadfastly held on to the archaic roles of men and women in his church, but made the proclamation that it was not the Jews who killed Christ. He was a secret political architect who helped change the political face of the world, but would not allow his priests to practice politics. There is much one could say about the contradictory man, he was one of a kind.

The announcement that John Paul II passed away was made this past Saturday. It appears that my friend has gone and left me to make my own path in this world. So today I purchased my airfare. I’m off to Rome to say good-bye to an old friend.

It sure is funny how life is, how lives intertwine…

Life & Death in America

The news this week has been filled with stories of pain, suffering, and loss. Earthquakes, fires, and loss of life dominated the headlines, but the power of the human spirit that has dominated our lives.
Terri Schiavo survived for 13 days without food or water while her family fought through the American legal system for any way possible to preserve her life, while her husband Michael fought just as vigorously to allow her life to end. While observing this, I have been angered, confused, frustrated, and amazed. This was a family disagreement that was brought before the world, and it was not fair to the people involved to have them turned into spectacles for the media. Terri’s family fought the good fight to preserve her life, while her husband was vilified and wanted her dead so that he could move on with his life. Every good story has good and bad guys. Next we had our heroes, politicians, lawyers, priests, reporters, and crowds of ordinary people supporting this family and their cause. And to assist our evildoer were doctors, police, judges, and the law. We tuned in daily to see what was going to happen, could this family, mother, father, and brother to Terri triumph and save her life? The world looked on as the courts, politicians, and the media all seemed to be in concert as they presented this story as a soap opera. As I observed this over the past few weeks, I watched as the story focus changed from Terri, to family rights, to roles of government, and then to living wills. All the while, we were witnessing the battle between representatives of both sides doing battle. We followed this battle, will the law be overturned, will the Florida Governor ignore the courts and take Terri, what will happen next? Forgotten was the true story, Terri. We, as a society become so engrossed in fights and causes, that we lose track of what the issue is.
Then the inevitable, Terri passed away. But still the story carried on, people jumping into the story making public statements on the case. What upset me was the statements of the priest, the one who was supposed to be helping Terri’s family find peace and comfort, and come to a sense of closure, when he vilified Terri’s husband on national TV, I was angered. No, I do not agree with the husband, I believe that all life is sacred and should be preserved, but for a priest to makes the statements that he did, especially at the time at which he made them is unconscionable. As clergy, we are councilors and peacemakers, not prosecutors and blame layers.
Is Her story now over? No, it is not. There are fights over her funeral, a planned autopsy, and the promise to share the results of the autopsy. My prediction: The autopsy result on the brain examination will show damage, but experts opinions will vary with the majority saying she was in a vegetative state, and a small minority stating that she was in a “minimally conscious state”. But the cause of death will be indisputable: She died of malnutrition and dehydration.

Next will be a short article on Pope John Paul II