*****NOTE 10/9/13 THE SCHEDULED CANONIZATIONS OF POPE JOHN XXIII AND POPE JOHN PAUL II APRIL27TH 2014 - MAKE CLEAR THAT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH REMAINS ON TRAJECTORY OF MADNESS AND BLINDNESS *****
This essay aims to put forth arguments and evidence to defend and fortify the thesis that the Beatification of and Conference of the title THE GREAT upon Pope John Paul II is a TRAGIC MISTAKE.
A POPE OF GREAT TALENT
I felt greatly honored to be in St. Peter's square in Rome in 1978, when the greatly talented and of high charisma Polish pope, stepped forward on the balcony almost directly above me, to give to the vast crowd his blessing, after just being elected as the new leader of the Catholic Church.
THE QUESTION OF GREATNESS
Only God is good and only God is great. The greatness of anyone is proportional to their closeness to God or to their unity with His will and performance of His will. Now for a pope, the Vicar of Christ, his greatness must be measured primarily according to the Greatness of the Church during his pontificate or how well the Church fulfilled it's mission. Requried then is very high perfection of the Church. The question then is WHAT IS THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH? What are the principles of Perfection of the Church?
THE MIDDLE AGES - MODEL OF PERFECTION AND GREATNESS
From the side of God, or from the side of the Church as a Divine Institution - the Church of course is Perfect. From the human side the question must be examined. It seems clear that the Church, as an established visible institution, reached a relative Perfection and Greatness in the Middle Ages (the early Church of the Acts of the Apostles was more perfect, when the graces of the Holy Spirit flourished and God willed to produce a Model for the future) . Some visible evidence of this greatness, in the Middle Ages is in the Great Cathedrals built by the poor as a rule, and secondely and more importantly we see religious communities flourishing. And not only did they flourish but they were places of great prayer and penance and production of saints.
According to the worlds standards and according to the principles of humanitarianism or love of your fellow man, Pope John Paul II deserves the title THE GREAT, it would seem. However the question is whether in the eyes of God he ruled the Church so as to be an exemplary figure in the history of the Catholic Church. Another way of stating this question is to asked whether THE GREATNESS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH was brought to vivid existence and performance or functioning during and through his pontificate. Of course we cannot know directly the mind of God, but that is no problem. In regard to canonization, including the initial step of beatification, the Church has always looked for indirect evidence of the mind and judgment of God in miracles performed through the intercession of the person in question. But even without miracles, the mind of the Holy Spirit has been made clear to the Church in numerous ways throughout the long history of the Church. It is the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit Who guides the Church and has spoken through the saints, the pontiffs of the Church, and nearly 2,000 years of Catholic tradition and practice. And so if Pope John Paul served God in an exemplary way, according to the principles of truth and action and sought for perfection of the Church as made clear to the Church through history, then the first requirement for the title THE GREAT, has been met. This would mean that the Church as The Light of the World and Salt of the Earth, were outstanding under his pontificate, or as a consequence of his pontificate.
Beatification and the intended follow-up of canonization is for the living and not for the dead person's honor. The Catholic Church exists as founded by Jesus Christ to lead men to heaven. And so beatification and canonization of exemplary figures with exemplary lives and solid and true writings, are done to help the living in their battles to win heaven. The focus is twofold. First and foremost the attention of the Church must be within, or with regard to its members who comprise the Mystical Body in its living element, the Church Militant. And then secondarily the focus is upon the vast body of men outside the Church who gaze upon the Church, and who desperately need her help. It is great foolishness to spend considerable time and effort to bring those outside her fold to interior membership, if there exists considerable danger that they will not persevere. In every way possible the Church Militant needs to be a Perfect Army and Perfect Institution, with regard to her members, before attention is given to evangelization. In addition the greatest evangelization or greatest number of true converts result when the Brilliance of The Light of the World shines most brightly and when the Salt of the Earth is what it is meant to be. If the Light of the World shines so brightly that the whole world is moved by her brillinace, know clearly her self-proclaimed mission upon the earth, see her greatness or Divine appearance openly displayed (after all she is a Divine Institution) and greatly deserving of reverence and respect - then the Church is doing well in part of her mission. It is first of all the duty of Peter and each of his successors to all in their power to obtain this mission. And if the Salt of the Earth, especially her members of high authority and dignity, display a discipline and fire, (*** NEEDS FILL IN) - then the Church is faithful upon another aspect. And again it is Peter and each of his successors who must above all lead the way and prompts its members.
THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
When the Catholic Church exists in a relatively perfect state of existence, what are some of the oustanding features which will then exist. A short answer to this question is to asked WHEN IS SHE MOST FULFILLING HER MISSION and so most faithful to her founder Jesus Christ. Her mission is clearly exspressed in the title given to her by Jesus : LIGHT OF THE WORLD, and her role HAVING THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, and her role as THE TRUE AND GOOD SHEPHERD who lays down his life for the flock. The Church exists as totally other worldly. The mission is to bring many to heaven. That is the end and her mission. The difficulty and confusion of our age of the Church is the means to obtain that clear mission or end.
THE ISSUE ABOVE ALL ISSUES
With regard to Pope John Paul, the issue above all issues is the great council of Vatican II and the massive changes brought upon the Church, as a result. If one argues that the fruits of Vatican II are good and positive (a position which is most contradictory and blindly held by the majority),
RELIC OF POPE JOHN PAUL AND FLOODING OF LOURDES (Added 11/13/12)
The following paragraph is taken from the Remnant Newspaper of an artricle printed in October (I believe):
"In a strange coincidence, major flooding by days of non-stop rain in southwest France caused the closure of most of the Catholic sanctuary of Lourdes yesterday (October 21) the same day the relic of John Paul was scheduled to arrive. The evacuation of hundreds of pilgrims became necessary, local authorities report. Buses ferried guests from hotels in the lower town to a conference center and a sports complex as officials said the sites would stay closed for several days."
CONCLUSION
Was this just coincidence or God showing His displeasure over the activities of His servants within His Church. In any event, the issue, as above stated is Vatican II. The position of this writer is made clear in many places. But at this point please proceed to Celebrating 50 years of Vatican II.
***** READ the articvle by Marian T. Horvat PLEASE traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/a006ht.htm
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