Pope John Paul II - Not an Action Movie Hero

Pope John Paul II must be a fraud, a hypocrite, or something like that. According to some 'serious thinkers,' anyway.

Pope John Paul II didn't

• Declare homosexual activity 'okay'
• Stop the PEDOPHILE PRIESTS! PEDOPHILE PRIESTS!!

Never mind the cognitive dissonance between those two positions.

I'm nowhere near 'intelligent' and 'sophisticated' enough to hold either - or both - of those opinions. My considered opinion is that Pope John Paul II is a human being who died fairly recently, was beatified a few days ago, and whose powers and abilities were not "far beyond those of mortal men."¹

PEDOPHILE PRIESTS! PEDOPHILE PRIESTS!! - Yes, I Know

Some priests behaved very badly during the last half-century. So did some bishops. In my opinion:

• That was wrong
• It wasn't right
• It shouldn't have happened
• But it did
• And that was wrong

I've discussed the PEDOPHILE PRIESTS! PEDOPHILE PRIESTS!! before:

• "Pedophile Priests, Ephebophilia, and Facing Facts "

In case it isn't clear, by the way: I do not approve of rape. Judgmental as that sounds. I don't have much of a choice in the matter, since I'm a practicing Catholic. It's in the rules. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2356)

Moving on.

Wham! Bam! RATATATATATA!!! KABOOOM!!!

I like action movies, like Commando. But I don't think they're a particularly accurate reflection of reality. Which isn't the same as believing that war is never, ever, ever, justified - and that's another topic. (March 22, 2011)

If Pope John Paul II had been an action movie hero, he'd have learned - dramatically - about priests who were abusing their flock, and bishops who were shielding them.

Then, after about 90 minutes and several explosions, everything would be hunky-dory.

I think - and hope - that the folks writing earnest editorials about how miserably Pope John Paul II failed don't believe that life is like an action movie. When they think about it, at least.

Maybe complaints about John Paul II not being sufficiently liberal (or conservative), and not stopping the PEDOPHILE PRIESTS! PEDOPHILE PRIESTS!! scandal, are just more of the usual anti-Catholicism that's been endemic in America for centuries. (September 26, 2008)

Or maybe folks who are disappointed in John Paul II's failure to fix everything the way they want it fixed - feel, at some level, that the Pope and the Catholic Church are much more powerful than we really are. In secular terms, that is.

As I've mentioned before, I joined the Catholic Church in large part because I caught on to Who was running it. And that's yet another topic. (November 24, 2009)

Related posts:

• "Only 1/10 of One Percent Attend Pope John Paul II Beatification"
  (May 1, 2011)
• "Pope John Paul II Beatification, Opinions, and the Church"
  (April 30, 2011)
• " 'Blessed,' 'Saint,' and News that Makes Sense"
  (April 18, 2011)
• "Catholicism: Ashes, Penance, and Priests on Skis"
  (February 21, 2011)
• "Going My Way, and Why Anti-Catholicism is a Good Sign"
  (November 18, 2010)

News and views:

• "Tim Rutten: Is Pope John Paul II fit for sainthood?"
  Op-Ed, Los Angeles Times (May 4, 2011) (I know: But that's the op-ed's date stamp)
• "Banbury's Polish community proud of Pope John Paul II"
  BBC News Oxford (May 3, 2011)
• "Pope Benedict XVI Beatifies Pope John Paul II"
  Associated Press, via FoxNews.com (May 1, 2011)
• "Peru leader credits late pope for bin Laden death"
  CBS News (May 2, 2011)
  Note:
  • The Peruvian President is not a Vatican spokesman
  • See: "Vatican says Bin Laden 'gravely responsible,' hopes for peace"
    David Kerr, CNA (Catholic News Agency) (May 2, 2011)
• "Blessed John Paul II celebrations happening worldwide"
  David Kerr, CNA (Catholic News Agency) (May 1, 2011)
• "John Paul II Gets a Homepage from the Vatican"
  Dating God blog (April 30, 2011)

Background on Blessed John Paul II:

• "Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI"
  Papal Mass on the Occasion of the Beatification of the Servant of God John Paul II Saint Peter's Square (Divine Mercy Sunday, 1 May 2011)
• "Spiritual Testament of John Paul II"
  John Paul II (March 17, 2000)
• "Ioannes Paulus PP. II"
  Karol Wojtyla
  16.X.1978 - 2.IV.2005
  Vatican.va link page
• "John Paul II Biography"
  Vatican.va
• "A Tribute to John Paul II"
  A Life in Pictures
  Vatican.va

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¹ Superman television series, 1952–1958.