By DONALD DeMARCO
Canada has passed legislation making April 2 Pope John Paul II Day. Bill C-266 passed on December 16 and has received royal assent. The law’s preamble praises the long-serving Pope and canonized saint for his “vital role in promoting international understanding and peace,” his inspiration of youth, his visits to Canada (especially for World Youth Day in 2002), and his leadership in the struggle “to end communism in Europe.”
Wladyslaw Lizon, a Toronto-based Conservative MP, who introduced the bill, commented that “Pope John Paul II presented a valuable message of courage, a defense of freedom and profound statements of hope and commitment to all people.” Two hundred seventeen members of Parliament supported the bill, while 42 — all New Democrats — voted against it.
Lizon pointed out that “Pope John Paul II proved that nothing is impossible. He stood up for populations that were oppressed by totalitarian regimes. He will be remembered for his role in the collapse of several stifling dictatorships, and for the way he inspired peaceful opposition to Communism in Poland, leading to its eventual collapse in Central and Eastern Europe.”
St. John Paul II was truly a man for all people, despite what his critics, who did not fully understand the Pontiff’s message, claimed. In rural Kenya, for example, thousands of children — plus many cats, roosters, and even hotels — are named John Paul. When Time magazine named him “Man of the Year,” for 1994, the editors had this to say: “In a year when so many people lamented the decline in moral values or made excuses for bad behavior, Pope John Paul II forcefully set forth his vision of the good life and urged the world to follow it. For such rectitude — or recklessness, as his detractors would have it — he is Time’s Man of the Year.”
“Recklessness,” is the accusation made by those who wanted him to be less Catholic than he was and approve abortion, contraception, women’s ordination, and same-sex marriage. The word better describes the accusers since John Paul would have been just another layman had he abandoned Catholic teaching for the sake of political popularity. John Paul’s greatness lies in his fidelity, consistency, integrity, courage, and love, an array of qualities rarely, if ever, found together in a politician.
The Dalai Lama had expressed his admiration for John Paul’s character and commitment with a touch of sympathy: “He really has a will and a determination to help humanity through spirituality.
That is marvelous. That is good. I know how difficult it is for leaders on these issues.” Another non-Catholic, Billy Graham, said that John Paul will go down in history as the greatest of our modern Popes. “He’s been the strong conscience of the whole Christian world.”
John Paul’s religiosity did not compromise his humanity, but strengthened it. He was a humanitarian in the truest sense of the term. “Humanity should question itself,” he remarked, “about the absurd and always unfair phenomenon of war, on whose stage of death and pain only remains standing the negotiating table that could and should have prevented it.” Nor did his religiosity interfere with his appreciation of science. “Science can purify religion from error and superstition,” he wrote. “Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes.”
All great men are misunderstood by some who are less than great. Pope John Paul II Day is a fitting tribute to a true humanitarian, an apostle of peace, a witness to hope, and a man of God. Canadians should welcome this legislation with open minds and with open hearts. Honoring his day in the future ensures that Canadians will continue to draw from his rich legacy, especially his love for humanity.
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(Donald DeMarco is a senior fellow of Human Life International. He is professor emeritus at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario, and an adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn., and a regular columnist for St. Austin Review. Some of his recent writings may be found at Human Life International’s Truth & Charity Forum.)
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