2 April, 2 May 2005 ” “

John Paul II died at 21.37 on 2 April 2005. SIR commemorates him in the words of Thomas Jansen , spokesman for European policy of the Central Committee of Catholics in Germany, the homeland of his successor Josef Ratzinger, elected with the name of Benedict XVI, who will make his first foreign trip to Germany, on the occasion of the 20th World Youth Day (see also page……). In the history of the Church stretching over two millennia, John Paul II was, more so than any of his predecessors, a Pope for the whole world, for all continents, for all countries and for all mankind. With his active presence everywhere in the world, he fulfilled in an outstanding way the mandate that had been entrusted to him. The Pope is Pastor and head of the universal Church. John Paul II used the opportunities given to him by globalization and responded to the needs of this phenomenon of universal history of which humanity became conscious just during his pontificate. His journeys and the images that portrayed him during his meetings with people of all races and nations also contributed to this growing consciousness and also demonstrated that the phenomenon of globalization has positive and thaumaturgical potential. In the political context of the late 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, John Paul II, to become a pope for the whole world, had to be first of all a pope for Europe. So, in Europe he had to decide if and how the division of the world into two spheres of hostile power could be overcome. This division, in which two antagonistic social and economic systems were opposed to each other, had persisted since the end of the Second World War. The decision had to be taken in Europe because the division of the world had been above all a division in Europe, caused and consolidated by a world war that had begun as a conflict between European nations and states and had also been a European civil war. With his exhortation not to be afraid and to open the doors to Christ, John Paul II appealed first to Poland, his homeland, and then to all the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, mobilizing the courage of people to rise up against the Soviet regime, the enemy of freedom, and to demolish the decrepit Communist structures. He also showed to the leaders of Western societies and states that the division of Europe and the world, which also signified subjection, the violation of human rights and suffering, was unacceptable. As a European from Central Europe, as a Pole, who had been directly affected by that division and personally suffered from what it had caused, namely the ideologies of National-Socialism and Communism, false and hostile to man, Karol Wojtyla was also a credible witness and admonisher. The peaceful overcoming of the division of Europe, to which John Paul II contributed in an essential way, was the premise for the restoration of an undivided world and also for the acceleration of globalization, which we have been experiencing ever since. For John Paul II, however, what was at stake was not just the mechanical overcoming of division, but also the healing from the wounds through unification and unity, both for Europe and for the world. He therefore promoted the process of European integration. His definition of Europe as “the world’s lung”, which can breathe freely and strongly only if its two parts, the East and the West, are healed and live with each other in harmony, was arresting and proved influential. In his memorable exhortations to Europe and the Europeans at Santiago de Compostela (1982), to the European Parliament (1989), to the Synod of Bishops for Europe (1991), to the COMECE plenary assembly in the Vatican (2002), in his Apostolic Letter “Ecclesia in Europa” (2003) and in other messages and discourses, John Paul encouraged Europe along the road of unity. Nothing is without consequences. The politicians chose not to listen to his plea to recognize the significance of the Christian roots of Europe for the renewal and future promotion of the continent through a reference to those roots in the Constitution of the European Union. Nonetheless, the contents and values of the Christian message and tradition find ample scope in the Constitution. That is also the merit of the European commitment of this Pope.