Pope John Paul II

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/polish-archbishop-responds-to-unprecedented-attacks-on-st-john-paul-ii-in-wake-of-mccarrick-report-15131

Polish archbishop responds to ‘unprecedented attacks’ on St. John Paul II after McCarrick Report

CNA Staff, Dec 8, 2020 / 09:20 am MT (CNA).- St. John Paul II’s “highest priority” was combating clerical abuse and protecting young people, a Catholic archbishop said Monday in response to what he called “unprecedented attacks” on the Polish pope.

In a Dec. 7 statement, Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, president of the Polish bishops’ conference, defended John Paul II’s legacy in the wake of the McCarrick Report, which unleashed criticism of the pope who appointed McCarrick as archbishop of Washington in 2000 and made him a cardinal a year later.

“On the 100th anniversary of the birth of St. John Paul II, we are witnessing unprecedented attacks on his person. The pretext is the alleged failure of the Pope to disclose and punish the clergy -- perpetrators of sexual abuse against minors,” Gądecki said.

“People who thoroughly research the history of the pontificate of the Holy Father know very well that the issues of protecting children and youth and counteracting any abuses by the clergy were the Holy Father’s highest priority.”
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/st-john-paul-ii-1700-professors-respond-to-wave-of-accusations-against-polish-pope-82269

St. John Paul II: 1,700 professors respond to ‘wave of accusations’ against Polish pope

CNA Staff, Dec 12, 2020 / 01:15 am MT (CNA).- Hundreds of professors have signed an appeal defending St. John Paul II following criticism of the Polish pope in the wake of the McCarrick Report.

The “unprecedented” appeal was signed by 1,700 professors based at Polish universities and research institutes. The signatories include Hanna Suchocka, Poland’s first female prime minister, former foreign minister Adam Daniel Rotfeld, physicists Andrzej Staruszkiewicz and Krzysztof Meissner, and film director Krzysztof Zanussi.

“An impressive long list of John Paul II’s merits and accomplishments is being challenged and erased today,” the professors said in the appeal.

“For young people, who were born after his death, the deformed, false and belittled image of the pope could become the only one they will know.”

“We appeal to all people of goodwill to come to their senses. John Paul II, like every other person, deserves to be talked about honestly. By defaming and rejecting John Paul II, we do great harm to ourselves, not to him.”

The professors said they were responding to accusations leveled against John Paul II, pope from 1978 to 2005, following the publication last month of a Vatican report on disgraced ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The Polish pope appointed McCarrick as archbishop of Washington in 2000 and made him a cardinal a year later.

The professors said: “In the last few days, we have been witnessing a wave of accusations leveled against John Paul II. He is accused of covering up pedophile acts among Catholic priests and there are calls for the removal of his public memorials. These acts are intended to transform the image of a person worthy of the highest esteem into one who was complicit in abhorrent crimes.”

“A pretext for making radical demands was the publication of the ‘Report on the Holy See’s Institutional Knowledge and Decision-Making Related to Former Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick’ by the Holy See. However, a careful analysis of the report does not point to any facts that could constitute a basis for leveling the above-mentioned accusations against John Paul II.”

The professors continued: “There is a huge gap between promoting one of the most serious offenses and making wrong staffing decisions due to inadequate knowledge or outright false information.”
 
https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/12/those-who-question-the-sanctity-of-john-paul-ii-dont-know-what-theyre-talking-about
“THOSE WHO QUESTION THE SANCTITY OF JOHN PAUL II DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT”
by George Weigel
12 . 9 . 20

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https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/clearing-the-air-regarding-st-john-paul-ii-and-theodore-mccarrick

Clearing the Air Regarding St. John Paul II and Theodore McCarrick

COMMMENTARY: If carefully read, the McCarrick Report helps to explain what John Paul did know about the allegations against McCarrick, what he did with that knowledge, and why he may have done it.
Father Raymond J. de Souza  Commentaries  December 15, 2020

A month after the release of the McCarrick Report, some of the dust has settled, and it is possible to better digest the mass of information published. It is possible, then, to turn more soberly to the question of the impact of the McCarrick Report on the sainted memory of Pope John Paul II.

In the days immediately following the report’s release, there were voices who eagerly put the blame on John Paul, claiming that report proved that he was aware of McCarrick’s misconduct and promoted him anyway. Many who were detractors of St. John Paul II in life characterized the report as tainting his memory.

One report from a customarily hostile publication put it this way: “Vatican’s explosive McCarrick report largely places blame on John Paul II.”

Defenders claimed that John Paul was deceived and thus is not culpable of the mistaken promotion. Papal biographer George Weigel argued that John Paul was deceived, that there was “massive system failure,” and that a report about McCarrick should not be manipulated to become “an assault on John Paul.”
 
The Legacy

Some commentators have suggested that the public cult of St. John Paul II should be limited, or even suppressed, after the McCarrick Report.

Two authoritative voices disagree, both of whom had seen the McCarrick Report well in advance, as it was ready almost a year ago: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who argued in May 2020 that the late Holy Father should be known as “John Paul the Great,” and Pope Francis, who published an interview book last spring by that very name.

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Video at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/remembering-saint-john-paul-ii-2-april-20015.html
Remembering St. John Paul II on the 16th anniversary of his death
02 April 2021, 16:08

Today, April 2, 2021, marks the sixteenth anniversary of the death of Saint John Paul II. As today is also Good Friday, we remember him praying in his private chapel while participating spiritually in his last Way of the Cross. He was watching the live television broadcast of the celebration taking place at Rome's Colosseum on March 25, 2005.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/hail-o-cross-our-only-hope-the-story-of-the-crucifix-st-john-paul-ii-held-on-his-last-good-friday
‘O crux, ave spes unica!’: The story of the crucifix St. John Paul II held on his last Good Friday

CNA Staff, Apr 2, 2021 / 05:00 am MT (CNA).- Days before Pope John Paul II’s death on April 2, 2005, Vatican television cameras captured extraordinary footage of the Polish pope.

He was sitting alone facing the altar of his private chapel. Beneath the crucifix and tabernacle was a television screen showing a torchlit procession at Rome’s Colosseum.

It was Good Friday and the 84-year-old pope was unable to lead that year’s Way of the Cross because of his infirmity. But he was still determined to take part.

Images of the pope in his chapel were broadcast live on video screens at the Colosseum. The thousands present there cheered as they saw him sitting silently with his back to the camera.

Near the end of the Via Crucis, John Paul II was seen holding a large wooden crucifix.

The crucifix originally belonged to a Polish woman called Janina Trafalska, who like the pope experienced great suffering.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/st-john-paul-ii-rome-synagogue-visit-jewish-catholic-anniversary.html

35 years since Pope St John Paul II’s historic visit to Rome’s Synagogue
13 April 2021, 15:00

Pope St John Paul II's historic visit to Rome’s Synagogue 35 years ago marked a new chapter in Catholic-Jewish relations.
By Linda Bordoni

The date of 13 April 1986 is etched in history as the day of the first-ever recorded papal visit to a Synagogue. It was a rainy spring afternoon when Pope St. John Paul crossed the River Tiber to pay his respects to the community of Rome’s imposing Victorian Synagogue, believed to be home to the oldest Jewish community in the West.

Thousands of Romans gathered to cheer, and the international press corps was present in force to capture the moment widely seen as a gesture destined to go down in history.

''The heart opens itself,'' Rabbi Elio Toaff declared, and the two leaders embraced and entered the synagogue together to the ovation of the 1,000-strong congregation.

In a service that emphasized the equal dignity of the two faiths, the two men sat on identical gilt and brocade thrones and took turns reading from the Book of Psalms. The Pope even read one in Hebrew.

He quoted extensively from the Declaration Nostra Aetate, proclaimed by Pope Paul VI in 1965 and dedicated to the relation of the Church to non-Christian religions, and which rejects a longstanding belief that held Jews responsible for Christ's death.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247420/postulator-st-john-paul-ii-remains-a-prophetic-voice-seven-years-after-canonization

Postulator: St. John Paul II remains a ‘prophetic voice’ seven years after canonization

CNA Staff, Apr 27, 2021 / 08:05 am America/Denver (CNA).

The postulator of St. John Paul II’s canonization cause said Tuesday that the Polish pope remains a “prophetic voice” seven years after he was recognized as a saint.

Msgr. Sławomir Oder said that when St. John Paul II was canonized on April 27, 2014, he felt he had completed the task entrusted to him by Benedict XVI, who permitted the cause to open in 2005 without the customary five-year waiting period after a candidate’s death.

“At the beginning of this process, Pope Benedict XVI gave me a clear instruction: work fast but work well. On that day, I was conscious that I had not disappointed the expectations expressed in those words of the Holy Father,” he said.

Referring to recent criticisms of St. John Paul II in Poland and elsewhere, Oder said that devotion to the pope who led the Church from 1978 to 2005 would prove stronger than the attacks on him and his legacy.

“The voice of John Paul II, which resounds through his teaching -- and the fact of the devotion with which he is surrounded by people manifesting their love for him -- this voice continues to be a voice that stimulates our conscience and a prophetic voice that will always be contested by those who do not share the idea of the Church and Christianity at all,” he commented.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-05/pope-francis-anniverary-st-john-paul-ii-attack-our-lady-fatima.html

Pope recalls 40th anniversary of attack on Saint Pope John Paul II
12 May 2021, 11:24

In his greetings to pilgrims present in the Courtyard of St Damasus for the weekly General Audience Pope Francis recalled the attack on St Pope John Paul II 40 years ago, the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Fatima and he invited the faithful to recite the Holy Rosary for the end of the pandemic.
By Linda Bordoni

Greeting Polish pilgrims at the General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis recalled the 40th anniversary tomorrow of the assassination attempt on Pope Saint John Paul II.

“He was certain that he owed his life to Our Lady of Fatima,” he said, noting that “that this makes us aware that our lives and the history of the world are in God’s hands.”

Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded as he passed through St Peter’s Square in an open car during the General Audience on Wednesday, 13 May 1981, on the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Fatima.

“Let’s entrust the Church, ourselves and the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Let’s pray for peace, for the end of the pandemic, for a spirit of penitence and for our conversion,” the Pope said.

And recalling tomorrow’s feast day dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, he said: “Let us place ourselves with trust under Her maternal protection, especially when we find ourselves in difficulty during our prayer life.”
 
Video of the General Audience at the link below--
May 12 2021 General Audience Pope Francis
https://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-05/may-13th-1981-remembering-that-fateful-day.html
May 13th, 1981: Remembering that fateful day
12 May 2021, 14:30

Video at the link
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-05/gun-shots-fear-prayer-and-forgiveness.html
Gun shots, fear, prayer and forgiveness
12 May 2021, 14:36

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https://cruxnow.com/church-in-europe/2021/08/poland-prepares-for-beatification-of-mentor-to-john-paul-ii/

Poland prepares for beatification of mentor to John Paul II
By Paulina Guzik
Aug 14, 2021

KRAKÓW, Poland – When he became pope, St. John Paul II said, “There would be no Polish Pope without the Primate.”

The primate he referred to was Polish Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, who will be beatified September 12.

Wyszyński, the “Iron Primate” known for his resistance to communism, was born in Zuzela, 75 miles east of Warsaw, on August 3, 1901, when Poland was still dived between Russia, Germany and Austria after the late 18th century partitions of the previously independent country.

He was only 9 when he lost his mother, Julianna. When his mother was dying and a teacher told him to stay after in class – teachers were sent by the Russians in his region – little Stefan said he didn’t want to go to a school like that and rushed home to say goodbye to his beloved mother.

“It was an early sign of his steadfast bravery,” writes Ewa Czaczkowska, author of a 1000-page biography of Wyszyński.

Julianna passed away the same day: “I transferred all my love from a Mother to a Mother,” Wyszyński wrote years later in his book Pro Memoria, referring to Virgin Mary who he credited with guiding and protecting him through the years of communist oppression.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249363/could-st-john-paul-ii-be-declared-a-doctor-of-the-church

Could St. John Paul II be declared a Doctor of the Church?
By CNA Staff
Warsaw, Poland, Oct 22, 2021 / 02:00 am

Could St. John Paul II, whose feast day is celebrated on Oct. 22, one day be declared a Doctor of the Church?

That is the hope of the Polish bishops’ conference, which called in 2019 for the Polish pope to be granted the title so far held by just 36 figures in Church history.

Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, the president of the bishops’ conference, formally requested the designation on Oct. 22 of that year.

The request’s supporters included Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, the longtime personal secretary to John Paul II, who served as pope from 1978 until his death in 2005.

“Doctor of the Church” is a title bestowed by popes on saints who have made a universally significant contribution to theology.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/44565/john-paul-iis-mom-chose-life-after-her-doctor-advised-an-abortion

John Paul II’s mom chose life after her doctor advised an abortion
By Courtney Mares
Rome Newsroom, Oct 22, 2021 / 07:00 am

Over one hundred years ago on May 18, Emilia Wojtyla gave birth to her second son, Karol, after a difficult and life-threatening pregnancy. The child would grow up to be St. John Paul II.

In a new book published in Poland, Milena Kindziuk describes how St. John Paul II’s mother was advised to get an abortion.

“She had to choose between her own life and that of the baby she was carrying, but her deep faith did not allow Emilia to choose abortion,” Kindziuk said in an interview with ACI Stampa.

“Deep in her heart she had to be ready to make this sacrifice for the baby she was carrying,” she said.

In her book, “Emilia and Karol Wojtyla. Parents of St. John Paul II,” Kindziuk cites the testimony of a midwife, Tatarowa, and the reports of her two friends, Helena Szczepańska and Maria Kaczorowa, as well as the memories of other Wadowice residents. She said that these showed that Emilia Wojtyla was depressed by the insistence of her first doctor, Dr. Jan Moskała, that she have an abortion.

She said that Emilia and Karol Wojtyla “made a bold decision that, regardless of everything, their conceived baby was to be born. And so they started looking for another doctor.”

They ultimately chose Dr. Samuel Taub, a Jewish doctor from Krakow, who had moved to Wadowice after the First World War.
 

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https://www.ncregister.com/interview/wanda-poltawska-friend-of-john-paul-ii-so-many-problems-can-only-be-solved-on-one-s-knees

Wanda Półtawska, Friend of John Paul II: ‘So Many Problems Can Only Be Solved on One’s Knees’
In this exclusive interview on the occasion of her 100th birthday, the famous Ravensbrück survivor discusses her friendship with the Polish saint, World War II, the excesses of science and the need for new generations of saints.
Solène Tadié  Interviews  November 3, 2021

KRAKOW, Poland — Wanda Półtawska is one of the greatest living testimonies of the 20th century. She experienced firsthand the atrocities of Nazi and communist totalitarianisms and is the last survivor of the 74 Polish women who were transported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp during World War II and subjected to pseudo-medical experiments.

This unspeakable ordeal that she lived at the age of 20 for assisting the Polish resistance (and that she recounts in her book And I Am Afraid of My Dreams) turned her into an untiring defender of life and human dignity. It is a fight that she fought through her long career as a psychiatrist.

And as the personal friend of St. John Paul II — who gave her spiritual support during the difficult years following the war and who she influenced on questions related to the family and marital life — she has followed closely Church affairs of the recent decades. She has also  been a prominent member of various Vatican dicasteries, in particular the Pontifical Academy for Life and the Pontifical Council for the Family.
 

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https://www.ncregister.com/features/celebrating-the-family-in-st-john-paul-ii-s-sanctuary-in-krakow

Celebrating the Family in St. John Paul II’s Sanctuary in Krakow

Every Sunday for the past six years, the famous shrine of the Polish Pope has offered a Mass especially dedicated to families, attracting each time around a thousand faithful.
Solène Tadié  World  April 26, 2022

KRAKOW, Poland — St. John Paul II used to say that the family constitutes the heart of evangelization, the “first and most important way of the Church,” and the “living cell of the great and universal family of mankind.”

The defense of the institution of the family was undoubtedly the core of the pontificate of the Polish Pontiff, who dedicated his first synod to this topic in 1980, which subsequently generated the famous apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio.

It is specifically to honor this important legacy of the one who wanted to be remembered as the “Pope of the Family” that the Sanctuary of St. John Paul II in Krakow (his historic diocese) decided six years ago to launch the first Sunday Mass entirely dedicated to families.
 

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Photo at the link

‘Everyone was crying’: An eyewitness recalls the attempted assassination of St John Paul II
By CNA Staff
Vatican City, May 13, 2022 / 03:47 am

On May 13, 1981, Mehmet Ali Ağca shot Pope John Paul II and critically injured him. The pictures of the pontiff in a blood-soaked cassock in a jeep went around the world. David DePerro, who was nine years old at the time, saw the assassination attempt at close range.

In an interview, the now 50-year-old speaks about how he experienced the attack and explains why he only talks about it decades later.

Markus Vögele: On May 13, 1981, you were in St. Peter’s Square when Mehmet Ali Ağca shot Pope John Paul II. From what distance did you see the assassination attempt?

David DePerro: We were close enough to the assassination attempt for the priest in our group to see the gun itself.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251228/church-leaders-and-scholars-to-explore-st-john-paul-ii-s-natural-law-legacy

Church leaders and scholars to explore St. John Paul II’s ‘natural law legacy’
By CNA Staff
Warsaw, Poland, May 13, 2022 / 08:57 am

Church leaders and scholars will gather in Poland next week to explore the “natural law legacy” of St. John Paul II.

Keynote speakers at the May 18-19 event hosted by Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw include the Polish pope’s biographer George Weigel, Princeton professor Robert George, and Harvard professor Adrian Vermeule.

Also scheduled to speak are the Dutch Cardinal Willem Eijk, Warsaw Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, and Latvian Archbishop Zbigņevs Stankēvičs.

Topics at the conference will include John Paul II’s vision of natural law, his contribution to biotechnology and human rights, and human rights in a secularized society.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2022-05/world-youth-day-lisbon-2023-patron-saints.html

WYD Lisbon 2023 announces 13 patron saints for young pilgrims
18 May 2022, 19:00

The press office of World Youth Day announces the 13 patron saints of WYD Lisbon to act as models for the young people who will gather in the capital of Portugal on 1-6 August 2023.
By Devin Watkins

As preparations continue for next year’s World Youth Day in Lisbon, thirteen holy men and women are being held up as examples of holiness for young people around the world.

Cardinal Manuel Clemente, the Patriarch of Lisbon, says these patrons “have shown that life in Christ fills and saves the youth of all times.”

In a press statement released on Tuesday, the Cardinal explores the contribution each holy person can make in the lives of young people.

“The patroness par excellence of the next World Youth Day is the Virgin Mary, the young woman who accepted to be the mother of the incarnate Son of God”

Inspiration for young, holy lives

Cardinal Clemente also pointed to Pope St. John Paul II, who brought the WYD events to life, “which have brought together and encouraged millions of young people from the five continents.”
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251285/st-john-paul-ii-and-blessed-carlo-acutis-named-among-patrons-of-world-youth-day-2023
St. John Paul II and Blessed Carlo Acutis named among patrons of World Youth Day 2023
By CNA Staff
Rome Newsroom, May 18, 2022 / 11:30 am

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/44565/john-paul-iis-mom-chose-life-after-her-doctor-advised-an-abortion
John Paul II’s mom chose life after her doctor advised an abortion
By Courtney Mares
Rome Newsroom, May 18, 2022 / 12:01 pm

Over one hundred years ago on May 18, Emilia Wojtyla gave birth to her second son, Karol, after a difficult and life-threatening pregnancy. The child would grow up to be St. John Paul II.

In a new book published in Poland, Milena Kindziuk describes how St. John Paul II’s mother was advised to get an abortion.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252052/twenty-years-ago-john-paul-ii-entrusted-the-world-to-divine-mercy-with-this-prayer

Twenty years ago John Paul II entrusted the world to Divine Mercy with this prayer
By Zelda Caldwell
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 17, 2022 / 04:00 am

On Aug. 17, 2002, twenty years ago today, Pope John Paul II entrusted the world to Divine Mercy as he consecrated the International Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki, Poland.

Standing before the image of Divine Mercy, the pope said, “I wish solemnly to entrust the world to Divine Mercy. I do so with the burning desire that the message of God’s merciful love, proclaimed here through Saint Faustina, may be made known to all the peoples of the earth and fill their hearts with hope.”

He finished his homily with this prayer:

God, merciful Father,
in your Son, Jesus Christ, you have revealed your love
and poured it out upon us in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter,
We entrust to you today the destiny of the world and of every man and woman.
Bend down to us sinners,
heal our weakness,
conquer all evil
and grant that all the peoples of the earth
may experience your mercy.
In You, the Triune God,
may they ever find the source of hope.
Eternal Father,
by the Passion and Resurrection of your Son,
have mercy on us and upon the whole world!

The consecration and entrustment of the world to Divine Mercy represented the fulfillment of a mission for Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938). Faustina, a poor, young Polish nun experienced visions of Jesus in which he asked her to make his message of infinite love and mercy known to the world. At the request of her spiritual director, she made a record of the visions in her diary.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-08/pope-francis-condolences-death-mikhail-gorbachev-soviet-union.html

Pope expresses condolences upon death of Mikhail Gorbachev
31 August 2022, 19:01

Pope St. John Paul II and Mikhail Gorbachev meet on 1 December 1991 (Vatican Media)

Pope Francis sends his condolences to the family of Mikhail Gorbachev following the last president of the Soviet Union's death at the age of 91.
By Devin Watkins & Lisa Zengarini

Mikhail Gorbachev died at hospital in Moscow on Tuesday following a lengthy illness at the age of 91.

Pope Francis sent a telegram of condolences on Wednesday to the former Soviet statesman’s daughter, Ms. Irina Gorbachev.

The Pope expressed his “spiritual closeness” during this time of grief, and extended his “heartfelt condolences” to his family members and everyone who saw him as a valued statesman.

“As we gratefully remember his far-sighted commitment to concord and fraternity amongst peoples, as well as to the progress of his own country at a time of important changes, I raise prayers of suffrage, invoking eternal peace for his soul from the good and merciful God.”
 
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2022/08/gorbachev-st-john-paul-had-great-appreciation-for-each-other
Gorbachev, St. John Paul had great appreciation for each other
By Catholic News Service
Aug 31, 2022

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252575/the-reasons-st-john-paul-ii-gave-for-adding-the-luminous-mysteries-to-the-rosary

The reasons St. John Paul II gave for adding the Luminous Mysteries to the rosary
By CNA Staff
Denver Newsroom, Oct 18, 2022 / 14:47 pm

Twenty years ago, St. John Paul II published the apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, adding five Luminous Mysteries to the traditional 15 meditated on in the rosary.

The Luminous Mysteries refer to Christ's public life, and are his Baptism in the Jordan; his self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana; his proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with his call to conversion; his Transfiguration; and his institution of the Eucharist, “as the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery,” according to the letter.

In his apostolic letter, the Holy Father explained that “the rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer” and that it had “an important place” in his spiritual life during his youth.

In fact, two weeks after being elevated to the Chair of Peter, St. John Paul II publicly confessed: “The rosary is my favorite prayer.”
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252558/what-john-paul-ii-and-benedict-xvi-saw-at-the-second-vatican-council

What two future popes saw at the Second Vatican Council
By Kevin J. Jones
Denver Newsroom, Oct 18, 2022 / 09:00 am

Sixty years ago this month, the Second Vatican Council brought together thousands of bishops, Catholic leaders and even non-Catholic observers to reflect on the role of the Church in the modern world.

Pope Francis’ two immediate predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, were eyewitnesses to this three-year event, which took place from 1962 to 1965. After they were elected to the papacy, their pontificates brought the legacy of the Second Vatican Council into the 21st century and taught generations of Catholics how to bring Christ into their lives — and into the world.
 
What John Paul II saw as a council father

Ahead of the council, then Bishop Wojtyla submitted to council organizers an essay about the human condition in which he reflected on what the people of the world expect from the Church.

He emphasized lay Catholics’ mission in the world. For John Paul II, the Church should remind lay Catholics that they have a “specific responsibility” in secular life, where they are “responsible for the Church and its witness.” They and the clergy must make a mutual effort to build up the Body of Christ.

The Pole’s biography on the Vatican website notes his “important contribution” to drafting Gaudium et Spes, the council’s pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world.

One of John Paul II’s biographers, George Weigel, says that for Wojtyla the “theological linchpin” of the council is found in Gaudium et Spes’ 20-second paragraph: “It is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear… all this holds true not just for Christians only, but also for all men of goodwill in whose hearts grace is actively present.”

During Wojtlya’s trips back home, he gave public lectures on what was happening at the council. He asked parishes, convents, and monasteries in his home archdiocese to hold days of prayer and vigils for the council, Weigel says in his biography “Witness to Hope.”

The council’s declaration on religious freedom, Dignitatis Humanae, had special resonance for Wojtyla, whose homeland suffered heavy communist hostility toward the Church.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252572/15-quotes-from-st-john-paul-ii-on-his-love-for-the-eucharist

15 quotes from St. John Paul II on his love for the Eucharist
By Katie Yoder
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 22, 2022 / 06:00 am

Catholics worldwide remember St. John Paul II on his feast day, Oct. 22. His “secret” to life and all that he did, he said, was the Eucharist — Christ present on earth.

Born Karol Józef Wojtyła in Wadowice, Poland, in 1920, the saint served as pope from 1978 until his death in 2005. During his nearly 27-year pontificate, his teachings transformed the Catholic Church. He is perhaps most remembered for his charismatic nature, his love for young people, his world travels, and his role in the fall of communism in Europe.

He was canonized a saint fewer than 10 years after his death, in 2014.

On his feast day, here are 15 quotes from the late Roman Pontiff reflecting on his love for the Eucharist.