The papal legacy

Jeff Jacoby argues that the attitude Pope John Paul II held toward the Jews - who suffered at the hands of Catholics for generations - was revolutionary. On the other hand, the most ferocious attack on the late Pope I've seen this week is this column by Johann Hari, who says history will judge John Paul II as poorly as "Hitler's Pope", Pius XII. Hoo, boy.

Actually, even defenders of the Pope will have to concede some of Hari's points, especially regarding the Church sexual-abuse scandals and his opposition to condom use in AIDS-ravaged Africa. Although, as Arthur Chrenkoff notes, it's a logical fallacy to assume African Catholics would disobey the Church's teachings on adultery and premarital sex, but strictly follow its commands about condoms. (Hari also chides John Paul II for opposing "liberation" movements in Latin America - and I'm disappointed to see Hari, a leftist who has spoken out admirably against Castro, defending the Sandinistas as "democratic socialists".)

I'll leave the final word on John Paul II to this powerful story - which may mean nothing, but I believe says a lot:

[Israeli] President Moshe Katsav shook hands and chatted briefly Friday with the leaders of Israel's arch-enemies, Syria and Iran, during the funeral of Pope John Paul II, the president's office said.
[...]
Katsav told Israeli media that he shook hands twice with Syrian President Bashar Assad, who sat one row behind him during the service. Dignitaries were seated in alphabetical order, according to their countries.

Katsav said the first handshake occurred when he turned to shake hands with the nearby Swiss leader. "The Syrian president also stood there. We exchanged smiles and shook hands," Katsav told the Web site of the Maariv daily.

"During the prayers, according to the Christian tradition we exchanged handshakes ... During this, it was the Syrian president who extended his hand to me and we again shook hands," he said.

The Iranian-born Katsav also spoke briefly with Iranian President Mohammed Khatami in Farsi.

Katsav said that as he was leaving, "the Iranian president held his hand out to me. I shook his hand and greeted him in Farsi."

Cohen said the men conversed about Yazd, the city in central Iran where both men were born.

Pope John Paul II was far from perfect, but he had that effect on a lot of people.

Posted by damian at April 8, 2005 07:16 PM | TrackBack