BC theologians: John Paul 'lived the Cross of Christ'

Boston College theologians recalled the late Pope John Paul II as an extraordinary leader who championed the human spirit.

"He was a great giant who strode across the stage of history," said Prof. Thomas Groome, speaking at a Burns Library press conference on April 1 as the world kept vigil for the dying Pope.

Elected to the papacy in 1978, the former Karol Wojtyla of Poland was the only pontiff many people have ever known, observed Rev. Raymond Helmick, SJ. "He's given a face to the Catholic world, and people have had great affection for him."

Rev. Robert Imbelli noted the pope who so publicly bore his infirmities with grace and courage did his doctoral dissertation in theology on St. John of the Cross. "He has lived the Cross of Christ," Fr. Imbelli said. "He has shown his own vulnerability to the world in a way few historical figures have."

Assoc. Prof. Stephen Pope said John Paul was above all a pastor, who in his last hours chose not to go to the hospital but to remain in his Vatican apartment, where he "sat by the window with the cold breeze in his face to be present to the people.

"What it comes down to for John Paul is the dignity of the person," said Pope. "To his last breath he wanted to care for people."

The theologians were reluctant to handicap papabile, or candidates for the papacy. "The ancient wisdom," Groome noted, "is, 'He who goes into a conclave a pope always comes out a cardinal.'"

But with the selection of a new pope, Groome said, comes "a new moment of vitality and possibility for the Church." - Mark Sullivan