Santo Subito! - Catholics Remember John Paul II's 2nd Anniversary

Today is the second anniversary since the death of Pope John Paul II and Poland is in a nostalgic frenzy for their deceased spiritual father. The absolutist and completely uncritical worship of the masses and the media towards JPII is testimony to the impact he has had on the Polish psyche. To criticise him is to face social pariahism.

A flurry of TV and radio programmes aswell as public events are an expresiion by Polish society of their adoration for the man they wish to speed up the process to sainthood. And it seems that may be quite quick indeed, as a French nun healed of Parkinson's disease (which the pope also suffered from)a number of years ago is being hailed as the miracle which will elevate the former leader of the world's over 1 billion Catholics to beatification, and with one more miracle to the communion of saints. There are more than 10,000 Roman Catholic saints and beatified people.

"Santo Subito, Santo Subito" (Make him a Saint immediately) is the cry echoing amongst the faithful throughput the world today. It reminds me of Catholic Worker Dorothy Day's statement,

don't call me a saint, I don't want to be dismissed that easily

. Day was of course outlining that every human can do the great acts of mercy she performed throughout her life. I t wasn't just for the holy.

The legacy of Pope John Paul II however will never be truthfully addressed in Poland until people can accept the fact that his reign had its fair share of controversy. From the paedophile and sex scandal coverups in the U.S., Ireland et al.; to the condemnation and almost total eradication of liberation theology in central and south America; the support of dictators like Pinochet; the forbidding of contraception in the fight against HIV/AIDS, even in the context of women being able to use them to counter the transmission of a deadly disease within marriage (which the Vatican are now shifting on); and the destruction of moves towards collegiality within the college of cardinals, synods of bishops that sprung from the 2nd Vatican Council.

In Poland Pope John Paul II is the symbol of their fight against tyranny, both Nazism and Communism. He is a symbol of Poland on the world stage. A symbol of faithfulness to the 1,000 year old faith that makes Poland the most ardent adherents of the Catholic faith in the Europe (after Cyprus). And therefore he is not, I repeat not to be criticised. By doing so you will find yourself being held in lower esteem amongst the vast majority of Poles.

Nevertheless, if would be unfair to finish this short piece on the second anniversary of arguably the greatest Pole to have ever lived (if you subscribe to the great men/women of history theory) without recognising the fact that the cult of worship around him in Poland is quite astounding. The fact that the majority of Poles feel a certain personal connectedness to him is testimony to his extraordinary charisma and steadfastness in opposing Communism, and also the fact that his humanness shines through in the minds of the masses - the pope who laboured in a quarry, who acted in plays, who played sport, went hiking and skiing, who joked to his fellow Poles even in his seriously deteriorated state of health when he visited his homeland forthe last time over 3 years ago.

That is as much a part of the truth as is the criticisms of his long reign on the throne of Peter.