Scholars ponder John Paul's impact

It is difficult for Dr. Jeffrey Marlett to list all the areas in which he feels Pope John Paul II made a lasting impact on the Catholic Church and the world.

"He was a complex pope. He's going to be known for doing so many things so well," said the assistant professor of religious studies at The College of Saint Rose in Albany. "He was an intellectual pope, a political pope, a spiritual leader; most other popes are just one of those.

"He wrote poetry; he was instrumental in the downfall of communism; he changed the way Catholics look at devotion to Mary; he canonized [many] saints. He was able to use the media" to further his views on scores of issues.

Communism's fall

Pope John Paul's role in causing the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and particularly in Poland, his homeland, most impressed Dr. John Dwyer of St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry in Albany.

"Many people think of that as purely a political achievement, but John Paul himself thought of it as a consequence of his campaign for human rights and dignity," said Dr. Dwyer, an adjunct professor.

Within the Church, Dr. Dwyer believes, Pope John Paul's major impact was his imposition of "a conservative interpretation of Vatican II, which has left the Church somewhat divided."

Intellect

Among Pope John Paul's many qualities, Dr. Marlett found his "great mind" striking.

"Growing up in Poland under the Nazis and the Soviets, his sense of his own calling to the priesthood was different, more 'convinced,'" he stated.

Without that background, said Dr. Marlett, the pontiff might not have developed such a strong appreciation for the suffering of Catholics from other countries, nor embraced the duties of the papacy with such vigor.

'Profound faith'

Dr. Dwyer said that the pope "had a profound faith, and an equally deep love of all human beings, whether they agreed with him on certain issues or not. He was a man of profound personal conviction, of deep faith, and everything he did was a consequence of that deep faith. He was the deepest thinker to sit on the chair of St. Peter, perhaps, since the beginning" of the office of pope.

Moreover, said Dr. Dwyer, Pope John Paul's philosophy for living was "the source of his conviction of the absolute and inviolable dignity of the human person."

Saint and great

Catholics and non-Catholics around the world have already begun to call the late pontiff "John Paul the Great."

In fact, said Dr. Marlett, "I've heard people refer to him as, 'St. John Paul II the Great.' His widespread activities, his ability to travel everywhere, to meet with young people -- his ability to reach out to people -- is why people are revering him and leaping to canonize him."

Dr. Dwyer believes the "power and force" that gave lasting impact to Pope John Paul's words lay in his own personal faith.

"His call [up]on his election was, 'Be not afraid,' and nothing -- not an assassin's bullet or the agony he went through in his closing years -- could dampen or threaten that absolute reliance on God."

(4/14/05)