John Paul II:
Leading greatest days of pontificate from cross

		The Catholic  Difference  George Weigel

Pope Leo XIII led the Catholic Church for some 25 years before he died in 1903 at age 93.

A few years before his death, Leo received a much younger American bishop on his ad limina visit to Rome. Shortly before he left, the bishop said to the nonagenarian pope, "Holy Father, I expect this is the last time we will meet on this earth."

Leo reached over, took the American prelate by the hand, and said, "My dear man, you didn't tell me you were feeling poorly."

Things are different, this time.

Leading from cross

As the whole world understood during John Paul II's August pilgrimage to Lourdes, this pope is not leading the Church from his office with witticisms. This pope is leading the Church from the cross.

With pain and difficulty, but without embarrassment or complaint, Karol Wojtyla is spending out his life in witness to the truth on which he has staked his life. That truth - the "law of the gift," as he once called it in a philosophical essay - is most powerfully revealed on the cross: our human and Christian vocation is to make our lives the gift to others that our own lives are to us - and to do so, not by relying on our own skill, or strength, or cleverness, or virtue, but on God. Without reservation.

So New Zealand Bishop Patrick Dunn, recently in Rome for his ad limina visit, was onto something important when he told ZENIT news service that John Paul II might well "be living out the greatest days of his extraordinary pontificate," as he marks the 26th anniversary of his election on Oct. 16.

Communicated by love

In his message to the New Zealanders, the pope had challenged the bishops to proclaim "the splendor of Christ's truth." The "splendor of truth" is, of course, the title of one of the pope's most important encyclicals, on the nature of the moral life and the renewal of Catholic moral theology.

Yet, as he demonstrates again in his new book, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way (Warner Books), John Paul understands that the proclamation of the truth is always linked to love - to radical, self-giving love.

Reflecting on his experience of more than four decades as a bishop, the Holy Father tells story after story illustrating how the truth of Catholic faith is best communicated by love: whether that be the love of friendship, the love involved in teaching and counseling, the love involved in charity and service, or the love involved in a bishop's simply being present to his people.

Witness to truth

Canonizing Edith Stein in 1998, John Paul II commended the new St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross to the entire Church in these memorable words: "She says to us all: Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love. And do not accept anything as love which lacks truth. One without the other becomes a destructive lie."

We live surrounded by such lies; we probably don't notice them, just as a fish doesn't notice that it's in "water." That is why the pope stresses in his new book that the heart of the bishop's office is its witness to truth.

As Archbishop of Cracow, Karol Wojtyla had to shoulder his share of diocesan management and planning. But his memoir of those days confirms what I discovered when writing Witness to Hope: Cardinal Wojtyla didn't spend most of his time as a bishop in meetings. Rather, he spent himself, and his time, in teaching, preaching, and celebrating the sacraments with his people.

Which is to say, he spent his time living the truth in love.

That is what John Paul II has been doing on the world stage for 26 years. Now, far closer to the end of the pilgrimage than to the beginning, his pontificate ever more visibly embodies the truth of a prophetic sermon he gave in Rome, just before his election, when he reflected on the terrifying question Jesus posed to Peter on the lakeside in John 21: "Do you love me more than these?"

Why terrifying? Because Peter was being challenged to a more complete emptying of himself - to be ever more the instrument of God's purposes, not his own.

George Weigel is a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

Voting my conscience: Questions to consider

	Guest commentary  Marlen F. Junck, M.D.

As an election approaches, the question again arises, "How should morality affect my choice in voting? Should I vote my own self interest, or should I take the well being of others and perhaps the will of God into account?"

From the Scriptures, I know that God will reward me in eternity according to my deeds. If I am to hope for a generous reward, it is important that I consider God's wishes in casting my vote.

Moral issues

Some moral issues to consider in this year's election might be the following: 1.) The moral implications of the country's activities in Iraq, 2.) The well being of poor in our country and elsewhere, and 3.) The well being of the unborn.

Regarding Iraq, the morality of our invasion last year is no longer a current issue. The invasion has taken place and we are now in Iraq. What course of action is most appropriate at this time, and which candidate best represents that action?

What are the needs of the poor? Are these needs best served by government welfare programs and regulation or by policies promoting job creation and skill development? Which candidate best represents the most important needs of the poor?

Pre-natal care is of course important, but the outstanding moral issue concerning the unborn at this time is their right to life, or lack thereof. I would like to consider the various implications of this issue in some detail.

Church teaching

The Catholic Church insists that life begins at conception, when a human sperm and egg unite. The Church maintains that the abortion of a human life at that or any age represents the unjust killing of an innocent human being, an act which cries out to heaven for justice.

Moral theologians maintain that anyone who votes for a pro-abortion candidate because of his pro-abortion position becomes an accomplice and shares the guilt of the abortionist, offending God and seriously jeopardizing his own eternal salvation. This is not the case when voting for a pro-abortion candidate because he represents the lesser of two evils.

The Church's position is based on its interpretations of the Scriptures, its tradition from the apostles, and the doctrine of Church infallibility regarding faith and morals.

Scientific facts

Although many disagree with the Church, the Church's position regarding the personhood of the unborn is buttressed by the following scientific considerations: 1.) The fetus is clearly a living entity. It grows and develops as do living things, unlike non-living things.

2.) The human fetus is clearly human. If left undisturbed, it grows into a human child and then a human adult.

3.) The fetus is located within the shelter of its mother's womb and derives its nutrition from her, but the fetus is not a part of its mother's body. Half of its genetic material comes from its father. The genes of every cell of its body are different from those in every cell of its mother's body, and are identical to the genes of the individual child and adult into which the fetus will grow.

4.) The best definition of personality that I have ever heard is that a personality is a pattern of habits or characteristic behaviors. The fetus does have certain characteristic behaviors, and thus a personality, although not a highly complex one.

Supreme Court ruling

How much weight should be given to the Supreme Court's ruling the fetus a legal non-person? I remember from American history that our Supreme Court once ruled members of the black race to be legal non-persons.

Other supreme courts have made similar errors. One in Germany ruled members of the Jewish race to be non-persons not that many years ago.

If the Church is right, and the fetus is a living human being, then an innocent very young person is unjustly killed in every abortion. There are 10,000 such abortions every year in Wisconsin. This is over 25 each day in this state alone.

Impact of abortions

What is the moral significance of these abortion numbers? If 25 10-year-olds were taken out of their classrooms every day of the year, stood before a firing squad, and executed, it would certainly create quite a stir.

How often would a politician supporting such a thing represent the lesser of two evils? Is the sanitized killing taking place behind the walls of the abortion facilities something of different significance?

Our Lord has told us that He will reward each of us according to our deeds. He has told us that whatever we do to one of the least, we do unto Him.

Do I want to carry the guilt of being an accomplice to abortion? When is a pro-abortion candidate ever the lesser of two evils?

These are questions to consider when taking the well being of others and the will of God into consideration in exercising my right to vote.

Dr. Marlen F. Junck is a member of St. Ann Parish in Stoughton.