Pope Benedict XVI has beatified Pope John Paul II. In a ceremony
before hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in Rome he explained his great
admiration and affection for his predecessor.
“John Paul II is blessed because of his faith, a strong, generous and apostolic faith.”
“John Paul II is blessed because of his faith, a strong, generous and apostolic faith.”
It’s estimated that two million pilgrims have descended on Rome for
the occasion. The Pope told them that Blessed John Paul II, as he can
now be called, had reinvigorated the Catholic Church following his
election as pontiff in October 1978.
“By his witness of faith, love and apostolic courage, accompanied by
great human charisma, this exemplary son of Poland helped believers
throughout the world not to be afraid to be called Christian, to belong
to the Church, to speak of the Gospel.”
“In a word: he helped us not to fear the truth, because truth is the
guarantee of liberty. To put it even more succinctly: he gave us the
strength to believe in Christ, because Christ is ‘Redemptor hominis,’
the Redeemer of man.”
The presidents of Italy, Poland and Mexico were among some 90 heads
of state and other dignitaries attending the beatification. Pope
Benedict recalled for them the key role Blessed John Paul II’s
pontificate played in the peaceful dismantling of communism.
“When Karol Wojtyla ascended to the throne of Peter, he brought with
him a deep understanding of the difference between Marxism and
Christianity, based on their respective visions of man. This was his
message: man is the way of the Church, and Christ is the way of man.”
It was Blessed John Paul’s first papal visit to communist-controlled
Poland in 1979 that many historians pinpoint as the beginning of the end
for communism. Today in St. Peter's Square, the Polish flag was being
waived everywhere by thrilled Poles.
“He rightly reclaimed for Christianity that impulse of hope which had
in some sense faltered before Marxism and the ideology of progress. He
restored to Christianity its true face as a religion of hope, to be
lived in history in an ‘Advent’ spirit, in a personal and communitarian
existence directed to Christ, the fullness of humanity and the
fulfillment of all our longings for justice and peace.”
On very personal note, Pope Benedict also recalled his 23 years in
charge of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith when
worked closely alongside Blessed John Paul.
“I was at his side and came to revere him all the more. My own
service was sustained by his spiritual depth and by the richness of his
insights. His example of prayer continually impressed and edified me.”
The coffin of Blessed John Paul II will now be on display in St.
Peter’s Basilica until tomorrow to allow pilgrims to venerate him.