The death of a Pope almost always signals the end of an era. This is certainly true in the case of John Paul II, whose reign as Pope has been the second longest in the history of the papacy. He came to the Throne of Peter in October 1978, following the sudden death of Pope John Paul I, who served for only 33 days. He was the first Polish Pope in history. At the time of his election he had spent most of his ministry in a country locked behind the Iron Curtain.
Without doubt, John Paul II has been the most travelled Pope in history. For the first 20 years of his reign he criss-crossed the globe, a familiar sight descending from aeroplanes and kneeling to kiss the soil of another country -- Asia, Australasia, America, Africa. He became a regular visitor to European countries. Who can forget the vast crowds in Phoenix Park, Dublin, or the sight of the man in the white soutane kneeling humbly at the shrine of Thomas a Becket in Canterbury Cathedral with Archbishop Runcie?
In those years John Paul II had a thorough grasp of international politics and committed himself publicly to every search for peace. He had a deep concern for the poor, the outcast, the hungry and the homeless. Observed in the Roman prison of Regina Coeli on the banks of the Tiber on Christmas Day he appeared as Christ to the world, one of us, thoroughly incarnational in all he did.
This truth about him was painfully illustrated in 1982 when he was shot and almost killed. Characteristically his first act on recovery was to visit that Prison again and talk to his attacker.
In these last few years, John Paul II has been less mobile, grounded by his increasing frailty and immobility. But this has not stemmed his natural energy. The demanding routine of "Ad Limina" visits, the meditations published in "Osservatore Romano," the large Wednesday General Audience, the Sunday Angelus in the Piazza San Pietro have all continued, his increasing frailty painfully visible. A priestly vocation which had its beginnings in southern Poland was being lived out to the last breath.
Some of John Paul's official pronouncements will have appeared conservative to ecumenical observers. But the signs he gave out were always much warmer. The mutual kissing of rings, the exchange of gifts, the warm embrace, the wide smile, were evidence of an ecumenism of the heart which belied the written statements. The world and the Church will be a poorer place without him.
We shall now watch for the signs of the Spirit as Christians everywhere -- catholic and non-catholic -- hold their breath to see who the Cardinals will choose: and how that person, once chosen, will lead us all into the future. For we can be certain that the choice of the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church will affect us all -- Christians of all traditions, believers and non-believers alike.
The world, and the Church, needs your prayers now, as never before.
+John Flack
Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome
Archbishop's Representative to the Holy See
