April 1, 2005
-
JOHN PAUL II AND THE COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM
John Paul II was, in my opinion one of the two most important Popes of the past century or so. He and John XXIII certainly had an impact on Catholics and on the World. John XXIII for his bringing the Catholic Church as close to the twentieth century as he could and JP2 for his political impact on Communism in Europe. Perhaps the fact that he was (I'll say was even though his death is not yet official) a stern traditionalist as far as doctrine went and very firm in his opinions, gave strength to the Poles who defied and toppled their government and started the collapse of the whole house of cards that was the Soviet Empire. For that alone he will be remembered by history. As an aggressive and untiring spokesman for his religion, he energized Catholics around the world.
I'm not sure his popularizing of religion was necessarily good for America - it did lead to some Bishops condemning a presidential candidate who is apparently a good practicing Catholic and led to a peculiar alliance of some catholics and the theo-con fanatics; but if you are a religious person, you must admire his faith and stamina.
Concerning the collapse of communism in Russia, John Paul II, Michael Gorbachev, and Ronald Reagan have all been praised for their part in the collapse.
I was a visitor in Russia during the Gorbachev era and, even though the Reagan was still muttering about the Evil Empire, it was plain that Russia was on the verge of economic and social collapse. They were well into the "We pretend to work and they pretend to pay us" phase of communism and were obviously not much of an economic or military threat.
Gorbachev had a lot to do with changing the face of Russia. He was an economic realist who attempted (unsuccessfully) to save all he could of Soviet power. Reagan was a very lucky, very bull-headed. very opinionated actor, who happened to be president when the USSR collapsed. His pressure on Russia was the straw that broke the camel's back but he was just continuing pressure begun by Truman and Eisenhower and continued by every succeeding administration . John Paul II surely had a more direct impact, both as "the Polish Pope" and as a powerful world leader who used his power carefully and successfully.
Comments (2)
I'm just curious, honestly, and not trying to be a smart ass, but you said John Paul was one of the 2 most significant popes of the last century ... nevermind
hehe, I was going to ask how many there had been, but I looked it up. I don't feel too foolish for the moment though, papal history has never been one of my strong points.
However, I find it very interesting to hear about it from your point of view, I don't get many chances to talk with people who've seen as much of the last century, and were paying attention. Take care.
-Aldo
Great blog.Thanks Again. Much obliged.