Papa II. Johannes Paulus - A pilgrim pope: messages for the world

C ontents

F oreword

T HIS COMPENDIUM OF THE PILGRIM JOURNEYS of Pope John Paul II bespeaks his innovative ministry in the history of the Popes. Never before has one Pontiff traveled so extensively in the service of the Gospel. This Pope has occupied the Chair of Peter longer than any other in this century. He has also lived and ministered in a time of rapid social change, during which communications are more immediate and long-distance travel is more efficient.

The fundamental character of Karol Wojtyla was revealed on that October Sunday in 1978 when his pontificate as Pope John Paul II was formally inaugurated. At the end of the ceremony, after greeting the world in a variety of languages, he went forward to meet the crowd of some 250,000 by waving his crosier before him in St. Peters Square. This symbol of the episcopacy had already been restyled into a crucifix by his predecessor, Pope Paul VI. By this gesture, the newly elected Pope deferred the crowds applause directed at him to the image of Jesus on the Cross. The new Pope did not want a popular cult directed at him, but a clear prominence to the person of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Pope John Paul II soon followed up the great innovations of his election and installation, all focused on ethnic and global inferences by the press, with his encyclical Redemptor Hominis. The central theme of the Popes first encyclical is that Jesus is at the heart of human history. The Church wishes to serve this single end: that each person may be able to find Christ, in order that Christ may walk with each person the path of life, with the power of the truth about man and the world that is contained in the mystery of the incarnation and the redemption and with the power of the love that is radiated by that truth ( R.H. 13).

Right from the start, Pope John Paul II defined himself as a person with a missionto carry Jesus Christ to the world, to all its many countries, to the variety of expressions of culture, to each person, to every expression of need. From his first encyclical, he also emphasized that the years of his pontificate might run concurrently with the preparations for the new millennium. He wrote, For the Church, the People of God, spread, although unevenly, to the most distant limits of the earth, it will be a year of a great Jubilee ( R.H. ).

Now that we are on the threshold of that Jubilee and the start of a new millennium, the many pastoral journeys of Pope John Paul II have very much helped the entire world raise its consciousness to the new age about to dawn and to the presence of grace in the midst of many transitions which accompany the events we prepare to celebrate.

Cardinal Achille Silvestrini has organized passages from the papal addresses delivered on these many trips from Rome to various nations. They reveal the complexities of our era with its many challenges, but they also reveal the faith of one who is secure in a simple answer to lifes challenges: All things in Christ.

C ARDINAL P IO L AGHI

Prefect

Congregation for Catholic Education

P reface

P OPE J OHN P AUL II S regular travels are one of the most striking and original aspects of his pontificate. Pastoral visits and pilgrimages are cardinal elements in his service to the Church Universal and have become a means of communication with the entire world.

The Bishop of Rome travels in order to encounter the Catholic community. But he also uses these occasions to reach out to other Christians, thereby giving his ministry an extraordinary ecumenical dimension. In addition, he is always desirous of meeting with representatives of the Jewish community and other believers in God, including those from other religious confessions. His pastoral visits, in fact, show his willingness to neglect no avenue in his quest to reach all men and women of goodwill. By addressing them sincerely and intimately, he strives to show that in every person there are deep, shared values and that, under the Fatherhood of God, humanity is a single family called to dialogue and collaboration regarding justice and freedom for everyone.

The Pope, as Successor of Peter, is sent to confirm his brothers in the Episcopate in their mandate to shepherd the ecclesial community and help it grow in faith. This is a service of charity that continually opens to an ever-wider horizon, as the call to faith is addressed to all people. In harmony with the bishops, the Pope confirms all of his brothers and sisters in their commitment to faith in Christ. In this way, they become close to every person, beginning with the last because of material or spiritual poverty. Wherever the Pope visits, he remembers above all that Christ has already preceded him. The joyful reception reserved for him everywhere by persons of all faithsand by those burdened by doubt, and even those who fail to recognize themselves in the vision of man and history which arises from the Gospelis a sign of hopeful expectation for himwhom the Pope represents and by whom he is sent: Christ the Redeemer of man. The profound fraternity which an encounter with the Pope engenders is none other than the reawakening of an awareness of a presence, that of Christ.

Since the Pope intends to guide the Church, which is everywhere, deeper into the mystery of Christ, he also encounters on that same road the men and women of our time. With respect and veneration, this voyager traverses the different regions of the globe and encounters Christians and non-Christians alike, with their unique histories, cultures, and, most important, with their religious journeys. He seeks an encounter with people from every corner of the globe, from every age group and personal and social condition, with the man or woman who lives, works, loves, and hopes, with those who suffer under lifes burdens. Having dedicated his entire existence to the one who said I am the way (Jn 14:6), the Holy Father was able to write in his first encyclicalthe prelude to his pontificatethe way of the Church is man (R.H. 14).

From the moment of his first discourse in October 1978, Pope John Paul IIs intentions have been clear. His ministry would be one of going in search of the men and women of our time to announce to them the Gospel, that is, the person of Jesus, Son of God, our brother who knows what is in the heart of man and who can thus address the hearts deepest questions. Each person is a person who awaits, in the depths of his being and from Christ alone, the gift of the Spirit without measure (see Jn 3:34).

The Popes entire ministry draws motivation and strength from this decision to lead all people either onto or farther along the path to Christ. The pages of this book seek to give due recognition to this pilgrimage of faith as well as to the importance of not turning ones back on the paththe Wayonce it has been taken.

John Paul II will clearly emerge in these pages as pastor and pilgrim.

The Papal visits of John Paul II have occurred largely in response to invitations extended from Bishops Conferences around the world, from international organizations such as the United Nations, or from government leaders. In many instances, the invitations for a visit have come from all three sources combined. The focus of each journey is pastoral in nature and is directly connected to the contemporary proclamation of the Gospel. Often the Pontiff has been present to some critical need, as in the instance of his journey to war-torn Sarajevo, in Bosnia. He also speaks to the many issues of our era, an era characterized by rapid change, exposure to mass media, and an overall shift in personal and social morality.