A fallible Pope

Of all the issues facing the Roman Catholic Church the canonization of John Paul II is probably the least important. For many it will represent the icing on a cake consisting of various burdensome layers of deceit, lies and corruption. The facts are irrefutable. John Paul II despite his many positive qualities turned his back on the victims of sexual abuse, allowed pedophile priest to be moved from parish to parish, and ordered these most vile crimes to be held in secret, hidden from the general public. At the same time it was during his reign that an investigation into accusations of sex abuse by the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado founder of the Legionaries of Christ were first effectively squelched.

That same silence and secrecy was applied to the huge banking scandal (the collapse of the Vatican Banca Ambrosiano in 1982, with debts of up to $1.3billion) which occurred during his pontificate. Since September 2010 the Vatican Bank is again under investigation by Italian officials.

John Paul II embraced and then canonized Josemaria de Balaguer in record time. This controversial figure founder of Opus Dei openly defended Adolf Hitler stating that Hitler had been unjustly accused of killing 6 million Jews when he had killed only 4 million! Escrivá was well known for his political involvement with right-wing causes, such as the dictatorships of Generals Francisco Franco in Spain

Pope John Paul II has been called the champion of human rights, but publically denied those same rights to members of his own clergy defending ‘liberation theology’. Surprisingly this same Pope offered support to Chile’s ruthless dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

It was under John Paul II in 1999 that human rights were violated when the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) declared that Catholic workers should no longer be engaged in pastoral work with lesbian and gay persons. What rights or truths was this Pope defending when he silenced more than a hundred Catholic theologians throughout his reign?

Pope John Paul II created more saints than the entire number originated by all of his predecessors. He beatified over seven hundred men and women and declared over three hundred saints. Until Wojtyla’s papacy, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints had had to certify two miracles for each person beautified; John Paul II lowered the bar to one miracle.

Catholics who have tied their faith to the Church will undoubtedly consider this report slanderous. However, in the Catholic Church co-dependency works in both directions. Millions of Catholics have been taught that disobedience to the Church is tantamount to disobeying God – and that is perhaps the greatest lie that has been perpetrated by the hierarchy for centuries. An all loving God does not make demands, punish, play favourites, or offer rewards to his people. God simply loves unconditionally and desires nothing more than to reveal his healing presence that exists within the hearts and souls of all humankind.

Sources:

Carl Bernstein & Marco Politi, His Holiness – John Paul II and the Hidden History of our Time, Doubleday, 1996

Jason Berry & Gerald Renner, Vows of Silence, The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II, Free Press, 2004.

David Yallop, The Power and the Glory – Inside the Dark Heart of John Paul II's Vatican, Carroll & Graf, 2007.

David Gibson, The Rule of Benedict – Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World, Harper Collins, 2006.

Michael W. Higgins & Douglas R. Letson, Power & Peril – The Catholic Church at the Crossroads, Harper Collins, 2002.

Fast-tracking two Popes to Sainthood

I have just purchased the book, The Power and the Glory- Inside the Dark Heart of John Paul II's Vatican (2007) by David Yallop. Hopefully this book will reveal an honest and objective portrait of the 'real' Pope John Paul II, unadorned by the usual biased Vatican approved criteria. The author promises to expose some of the myths about the role Wojtyla played during and after WWII in Poland as well as some of the half-truths about this Pope's long reign. At the same time this book will examine the role of the Vatican in the fall of Communism, the mismanagement of Vatican finances, its failure to address the child sexual abuse crisis, the rise of Opus Dei, to the "Holy Alliance" between the White House and the Vatican. The Power and the Glory, according the fly-leaf is a bold and unflinching look at a man being fast-tracked to sainthood and his profound effect on a polarized institution.

As a convert to Catholicism, married to a cradle Catholic, I initially avoided almost everything and anything that spoke against 'the Church'. Today all that has changed due to a greater inner desire for truth and justice. As an active member of our small parish it was my happy duty to accept the role as Catechist for more than twenty years. In order the present fresh material for our yearly inquirers I specifically avoided using the same material and resources as much as possible (admittedly for the purpose of keeping it interesting for myself). The research lead me into many avenues and alleys along the way. However, the objective as I saw it was to bring people closer to an unconditionally loving Creator. As the years went on, I gradually began to question some of the teachings of the Church against the greater Gospel values. This was to become my 'downfall' as I started to speak out about a God, who did not punish, reward or hand-out favours. Additionally questions about Apostolic Succession, Gays, Abortion, and Sexual Abuse lead to my eventual (predictable?) dismissal by a recently appointed completely Orthodox minded priest. Most of the priests, during the previous year's understood and accepted my more expanded views. I seldom failed to include the Church's Traditional position or teachings. 'Critical thinking' is better than 'no thinking' remains my motto in the search for truth.

Nowhere does this seem more appropriate, then on the subject of Pope Pius XII and his role regarding the Jews during WWII. Yallop suggests that Pius XII may have saved as many as 860,000 Jews. The latest findings by German historian, Dr. Michael Hesemann were hailed as Proof is overwhelming Pius XII saved Jewish lives by a local Catholic on-line news media. The online article stated that Pius XII "arranged the flight of 200,000 Jews from Germany as early as 1938."

The number of books that have been written 'pro and con' about Pius XII during WWII would almost fill a medium sized library. Since the Vatican remains secretive and unresponsive, this controversial subject will remain on people's questioning minds for many more years to come. In the meantime, fast-tracking Pius XII to sainthood, similar to Pope John Paul II, may take a little longer.

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