A Polish Pope! It was hard to believe in the Autumn of ‘78. It’s all so diufferent now. You need to be over 30 to have even the dimmest recollection of any other Pope. For over 26 years John Paul II has been a giant not only in the Church, but on the entire world stage. He is credited with playing the decisive part in the downfall of Communism not only in his native Poland but in the entire Eastern bloc. He galvanised Catholics and people of good-will all around the world. A secular writer of such authority as Timothy Garton Ash, has not hesitated to call John Paul, the “only world leader.” The others he refers to simply as “local leaders with a world impact.”

We remember him struggling heroically with illness, age, and the aftermath of a violent hand. We remember him too as the Pope of the crowds, the Pope-mobile, the all–night vigils before Mass in the Park, the handsome man in the fullness of life, arms outspread in welcome, and a smile as bright as sunlight. Now he is gone.

He is at rest. We may not be. The new Pope may already be in place by the time this is published. There are divisions in the Church John Paul II left behind. It does not help to pretend otherwise. The new Pope will have to face all that. The dead Pope has followers who are fiercely loyal. They turned his every utterance into near political orthodoxy. They connot accept any criticism of his papacy. Those who dare to do so are simply dismissed as “wrong.” Some of our divisions are as deeply-rooted as the traditions each side calls to its defence. The new Pope will need our prayers and our good will. Catholics will give him both in abundance. We should be equally gnereous towards each other. Better that, than sit around waiting for the other side to follow John Paul into eternity.