Pope John Paul II Leadership for a Modern World, and Advocate for Social JusticeJoin now to read essay Pope John Paul II Leadership for a Modern World, and Advocate for Social JusticeWe speak of a culture war. John Paul II fought a cultural war against the communist and won. Indeed, countless images of this momentous victory filled the screens of televisions around the globe last month. The crumbling of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union were sure signs: The cold war was over. Now, people in their twenties have little more than vague memories of a nuclear threat. Who discusses the possible cataclysmic battles threatening the future of humanity nowadays? What totalitarian regime does Benedict XVI face?
The Vatican and the Vatican Council have been accused of a “meltdown” of the current situation by a group of Roman Catholicism leaders. One was Pope Benedict XIV while the other was Pope Francis. Pope Francis, who was not present during the Mass in which John Paul’s famous “he said, she said” quote was sung by the Vatican. In his speech on Aug. 21, Benedict had called homosexuality a grave sin, a crime which should be expunged from the books of the Church and punished with a life sentence.
A statement in the Italian newspaper Magdi released by the Vatican read “Fr. Antonio G. Marcelli’s decision to accept the position of the Pope with which the Italian Catholic Church, while still in power, holds its hands and rejects the possibility of a compromise that is acceptable to the Church’s highest mission.” It was written by Bishop Francesco Gato, a member of the Vatican Council who is also the president of the European Commission.
“The pope has no special place at the Vatican and, according to the Roman Catholic Church, the pope cannot, by his judgment or by his conscience, endorse or reject a compromise that is unacceptable to the Church’s higher mission,” the statement reads.
The statements were penned to a list of prominent Cardinal Pietro Parolin. He was head of the Vatican Congregation for Cardinals and a fellow of Cardinal Jansen’s on the Vatican Council. His resignation is now publicly announced by Pope Francis. A new pope is always welcome, but there is no guarantee anyone will step up to lead the Roman Catholic Church as Benedict XVI has already appointed it as a “major international body,” according to the Italian press.
In other words, the church’s leaders will face the possibility of being left behind, even if it is not in Pope Francis’ best interest. As Pope Francis said, “We are all heirs to the same common history of mankind. Our own history is a history of many wars, but these are wars that we all share in common and that are not confined to human beings. In our history there is no peace at all and that is why we are bound by our own history for good, for all times and in all things. I call attention to the fact that in the first place, men have known their fate before and have long since borne hope for the future. In the second place, I am always ready to defend our common common heritage from those who would deny it. I am ready to reject the false ideologies that have spread through the centuries spreading from Germany to Rome. Those who would refuse to give in to their leaders, and their leadership, because they are too soft, have no dignity and too many weaknesses, and then I call upon the people to take responsibility and not despair as others did, and to hold their leader’s hand again that the struggle never ends. I offer me a prayer: if
“A dictatorship of relativism,” as Cardinal Ratzinger identified it in his homily on April 18th, before entering the conclave. “The real culture clash in todays world”, he said in a speech given on April 1st, “is not between different religious cultures, but between those who seek a radical emancipation of man from God and the major religions.” A radically secular culture, one dubbed by John Paul II as the culture of death, is the totalitarian regime of our time.
But what do relativism and radical secularism have to do with each other? And how do they oppose the culture of life? The soon to be Pope explains. “Relativism, which is the starting point of this secularist mentality, becomes a kind of dogmatism that believes it has reached the definitive stage of awareness of what human reason really is.” Modern philosophers, politicians and scientists alike have commonly brushed religion aside when discussing matters of morality. Why? Religious beliefs are relative to each person, so we cannot risk slowing down scientific advances to pay heed to personal opinions. In one fell swoop all religions are swept into a silent corner as equally useless. Faith certainly aids people in their personal lives, but science serves the needs of the community as a whole. Such ideas have rocketed technologies forward at a dizzying pace. Ethical considerations crawl along with dwindling hope of catching up.
“Our capacity to make moral decisions has not kept pace with technical progress. Rather,” the cardinal argues, “it has diminished, because