An historic pontificate” “

An “historic” pontificate, “an energetic, courageous and visionary pontiff”, who “bore suffering and weakness with dignity, has inspired countless millions of believers and non-believers across the world”. That is how the European bishops remember John Paul II, unanimously recognized for his commitment to overcoming every “wall” and promoting dialogue between peoples and religions. A POPE IN THE GLOBALIZED WORLD. A statement of the Executive Committee of Comece (Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community), issued on 4 April following the death of Karol Wojtyla, reconstructs the international profile of the pope’s teaching. In the age of globalization, John Paul II offered a “universal vision in his teaching and in his pastoral outreach” and “proclaimed the universal message of Christ as the source of true hope for humanity”. His “vision of human dignity – rooted in the person of Jesus Christ, in whom God lived, suffered, died and rose from the dead – was inextricably linked to the common good of all of humanity”. Comece, formed of the bishops of EU member states, maintains that “through this vision” John Paul II “sought to build bridges between people everywhere” and “took particular pains to deepen ecumenical understanding between the Christian confessions, as well as to promote and strengthen interfaith relations”. According to Comece, chaired by Bishop JOSEP HOMEYER of Hildesheim (Germany), assisted by vice-presidents Msgr. ADRIANUS VAN LUYN (Holland) and HIPPOLYTE SIMON (France), “Europe is indebted to Pope John Paul II’s vision and drive. As a son of Poland, he experienced the horrors of war and the subsequent painful division of Europe. His involvement in the grassroots struggle for freedom from the shackles of oppression influenced his papacy from the beginning”. “He envisaged a Europe which transcended the divisions of the Cold War. Fully recognising the significance of the process of European integration, he often expressed the desire that this free organization of peoples and nations in solidarity, as achieved in the European Union, would one day encompass the countries of central and eastern Europe, so that Europe might acquire ‘the dimension given to it by geography and more so by its history’ (Address to the European Parliament of 12 October 1989)“. THE EUROPE OF “TWO LUNGS”. “Aware of the challenges facing Europe after the peaceful revolution of 1989, and convinced that the Church had a vital role to play in promoting new relations and reconciliation between East and West, Pope John Paul II – continues the Comece statement – called the first Special Assembly of Bishops for Europe in 1991”. This Synod “gave an impetus to the exchange of gifts and to mutual enrichment between the local Churches of eastern and western Europe”. John Paul II’s vision of Europe “was that of a continent with its two lungs, east and west, breathing in harmony, ‘not just in the religious sense, but also culturally and politically’ ( Address to Comece Plenary meeting in Rome on 30 March 2001)”. The Polish pope “continuously encouraged Europeans to recognise ‘how Christianity can offer to the European continent a determinative and substantial support for renewal and hope, proposing with renewed fervour the ever pertinent proclamation of Christ the Redeemer’ (Address to COMECE Plenary meeting, 30 March 2001)“. AT THE SIDE OF THE YOUNG, THE ELDERLY AND THE SICK. The statement of European bishops also recalls the Pope’s apostolic exhortation “Ecclesia in Europa”, in which the pontiff appeals to the continent “to rediscover its true identity” by proceeding to real integration; this process, he insisted, “must consist above all in an agreement about the values which must find expression in its law and in its life” ( Ecclesia in Europa, no. 110). “To address the challenges facing European society and the Church in Europe at the turn of the millennium, he called a second Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops”, from which emerged the document “Ecclesia in Europa”, signed by the Pope on 28 June 2003. In it the Pope called “upon the local Churches and Christians to think and act continentally, to transcend the confines of borders and to reach for new horizons of community. His tireless efforts to reconstitute a Europe built through solidarity will be a living testament to his papacy”. Lastly Comece recalls the Pope’s “encouragement to young people, his empathy with the aged, the sick and the suffering”. This testifies to “his ability to enter into the lives of many at a very personal level”. “He humbly followed Jesus’ example and was for the world a living example of the gospel message lived out truthfully and reverently in contemporary society”.