May 2005

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Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

Reflections on the Death of Pope John Paul II

Frances Kissling is President of Catholics for a Free Choice, 1436 U Street NW, Suite 301, Washington DC 20009, 202/986-6093, www.catholicsforchoice.org

Like many Catholics, I have found Pope John Paul II's last year or so of public suffering more profoundly moving than any other aspect of his papacy. The example of humility in one who is powerful, one whose power has partly been his charisma and communication skill, has triggered a spiritual reflection on the meaning of my own life. For the pope to remain in public when that power had largely left him and to allow the world to see him struggle physically while maintaining both dignity and passion was a great gift.

To be pope is ultimately to be the spiritual director of the world's Catholics. As a Catholic who disagreed with the pope on many aspects of theology, I am grateful that he has given me something spiritual I can remember and learn from.

A child orphaned by HIV in Zambia. Photo: AIDS Epidemic Update 2004, UNAIDS, M. Jensen, www.unaids.org

On the temporal level, this papacy was a profound disappointment for those who believe that Christ's message of liberation, human freedom, and more democracy should apply not just to the world, but to the Church itself. In light of the pope's personal embrace of suffering, it is hard to reconcile his seeming lack of compassion for those in the Church who have suffered so much at the hands of his administration: for married priests, for women who have lost their lives or fertility and health in botched abortions, for women who cannot feed the children they have, for theologians who struggle with many aspects of Church teaching, for those who minister to people with AIDS, for gay Catholics who long to be welcomed at the altar, for those sexually abused by priests, for women who are called to ordination…. The list is almost endless.

These blind spots, where charity, compassion, and justice are concerned, were not overshadowed by his public commitment to the transformation of unjust systems in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, nor by his episodic and selective commitments to human rights throughout the world.

He was a pope, but he was a man. He was human; he did good things and bad things. He had glorious achievements and abject failures. God has finally taken him home and, I am sure, welcomed him with love and compassion.

Letters

To the Editor:

In your heart-lifting article on the Harvest Aid Fund (Peacework, Dec/Jan 2004-2005, p. 8), the first two paragraphs use the phrases, "serving in Iraq," "serve in Iraq," "called up for service," and "serves local military families." Through my Quaker eyes, only the last of these counts as helping people. The other three uses of the word service involve doing the bidding of corporate elites, abetting Empire, and enriching weapons companies - hardly what I'd expect AFSC to consider service. How we use words affects how we define our collective reality. Understanding this, government leaders define underpinning US corporate global plunder as service and patriotic duty. Compliant/complicit media repeat the lie until it lodges deep within the US psyche. The myth of service might help soothe a broken heart for those who loved one of the killed US soldiers. But we're not required to repeat the lie.

For a Better World,
Chuck Hosking, Albuquerque, NM

To the Editor:

Congratulations on another fine issue of Peacework. You do wonderful work.

As I read through it, I was struck by the photo on page 10 of the April 2005 issue in which Bush is labeled a torturer. While we should vigorously oppose torture - as Margaret Power writes - I believe AFSC should keep its focus on condemning the practice, rather than labeling those who may do it, order it, or condone it. In short, I think the photo contradicts our belief that there's God in everyone and that people can change for the better. The photos detract rather than add to the point of the article.

I've thought about this a lot in my own work on behalf of people in prison. For 16 years, I've visited a friend who has served 28 years of a life sentence for rape. He was guilty of a terrible crime, but is it fair for the media to refer to him today - as they do - simply as a "rapist?" Can't people be more than the worst thing they've ever done?

Thanks for listening,
Jon Krieg, Administrative Associate,
AFSC, Des Moines, IA

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