Pastoral Letter, Second Sunday after Easter, 2005

Brethren:

We have just observed a historical week watching the world observe the funeral of Pope John Paul II. It was rich to listen to the talking heads discuss his life. There often was the constant refrain, "He failed to bring the church into the modern world." True, he failed to assent to the moral collapse of the dying and decadent industrial nations. While the pundits criticized John Paul II's life, millions descended upon Rome, watched on television or just prayed in the place they were for this good and Christian man. It was a fact that he never compromised on the eternal truths that drew the love and respect of the world. He never tried to compromise or adjust to the zeitgeist, the spirit of the age. This is the reason why the world paused in respect. We were all moved as the massive crowds in St. Peter's Square kept calling out 'Santos, Santos, Santos' - a Saint, a Saint, a Saint. This all came forth for a man unyielding in his desire to serve God, share the Gospels and follow Christ totally. It was not for one who wanted to be politically correct, popular, or to be a candidate for Entertainment Tonight.

There is now a demand to call him John Paul the Great. I understand that only two other Popes share that title, Gregory I and Leo I. What is remarkable about all three is that they all appeared at moments of great crisis, both political and ecclesiastical, and went on to lead their church through and beyond danger.

Gregory the Great started out as a very wealthy man. He gave his house in Rome to be a Benedictine monastery called St. Andrew's. While he lived there as a monk he opened a soup kitchen for the poor of Rome. They tell that once an angel came to dine there with the destitute. I've been to St. Andrew's and seen the room and felt intuitively that it was true. Angels, we are told, do from time to time descend among us. I like to say 'They often appear in humankind.' If that is a fact, John Paul II is one of them. Any Pole will testify to that!

Last week during Easter week, the feast of the Resurrection, I said that I was struck by how sad I felt, just like millions of others. A good man has gone from time into eternity. A good man who always pointed us towards God. A good man who always had his eye on God is now with Him. World without end. Amen.

With every good wish and blessing,

The Most Reverend Robert Sherwood Morse