A light for humanity

“May the Blessed John Paul II become our spiritual guide on the paths of liberty, unity and solidarity”. That’s the hope that the Polish bishops express in their pastoral letter (published a few days ago and signed in Warsaw on 22 February), written in the run-up to the momentous ceremony of 1st May that will raise Karol Wojtyla to the honour of the altars. The bishops declare their conviction that “the beatification of John Paul II opens new prospects for the future”. It obliges the faithful “in an even more attentive and creative way to reflect on his legacy as expressed by his words, his personality, his lifestyle, and the service he performed”. The bishops therefore hope that “the signs that the Pope left us may help us to tackle the new challenges by inspiring both our private and social life”. A gift for the Church and for the world. The Polish episcopate is fully conscious that “the gift of the life and service of John Paul II has significantly enriched the life of the Church and of the world”. “We ourselves in our country and in our part of Europe have experienced first hand the epochal change inspired by the Pontiff’s vision of a world freed from the fetters of a totalitarian and godless system: a system that for decades oppressed individuals and whole peoples”. It’s a vision from which a light of hope for humanity continues to shine forth today: “the faith of John Paul II in the redemptive work of Jesus in the history of mankind constitutes an encouragement and an example of the new freedom and life in Christ”. The bishops recall that “the Pope’s prayer, that the Holy Spirit may change the face of this earth”, “has been heard”: it has become “a powerful prayer” of millions of Poles. They also emphasize how much John Paul II’s defence of human dignity and of human life, accompanied by his understanding of human beings “in all their weaknesses and difficulties”, enabled him to indicate to the men and women of our time “ideals and chances of building a better world”. Describing John Paul II as “direct witness of the inhumane totalitarian systems of the 20th century and of the risks run by modern civilization”, the bishops point out the importance of the Divine Mercy that “accompanies our generation and is the response to our fears, aspirations and hopes”. A commitment that requires a response. The gift of the beatification for which the bishops thank Benedict XVI “also represents a commitment that requires a response”. The bishops therefore invite the faithful to “profit from the period of Lent for an examination of conscience” and express the hope that “the law of the love of God and of our neighbour may become the supreme law of our action”. Recalling the importance of the value of the family “as basic cell of the life of peoples and of the Church”, the letter underlines that the preparations for the beatification of John Paul II must also concern public life. The bishops say they share “the concerns linked to the quality and style of public life” in Poland, pointing out “the scandalous divisions between persons and between the various parties that in equal measure appeal to Christian values”. Such conduct characterized by “constant rancour, hostility and lack of respect for the opinion of others” leads to the “squandering of energies that ought instead to be used to solve problems and questions of importance for the whole of society”. The bitter reflection that this is “not the freedom and democracy we yearned for in the dark years of communism” is followed by an exhortation to the faithful to translate the beatification into their lives, recalling that John Paul II “taught us by his words and by his example to be different without impairing our own dignity and that of others”.A hope for the land of Poland. The bishops appeal to the political world to avoid “sterile disputes” and hope that “forgiveness and reconciliation may become a programme for all sides”. As pastors, however, they declare that “they don’t want to limit themselves to rhetorical appeals to others”, conscious as they are that “the worrying divisions in society require from everyone, and also from us, a profound conversion”. “We know that by appealing to others for a change of heart, we ourselves must first set an example of that”, the bishops declare, adding that by following the example of John Paul II “we too wish to confess that more than once we have failed to stigmatize evil in a sufficiently unambiguous way, and that we have failed to seek the ways of mutual understanding and unity”. So the bishops hope that the gift of the beatification of John Paul II be understood as a way of following his exceptional life and service, and that it “be a continuation of the history of faith, hope and charity in the land of Poland, the land of that great Pope”.