Standing by the ill Pope
By TIM ELLISON
Special to The Collegian
During the recent news reports on the increasing illness of Pope John
Paul II several of my friends have asked me, as a Roman Catholic, whether
or not I thought the Pope was a fitting spiritual leader in his physical
state.
This certainly is a logical question that deserves an honest answer, but
I fear that it belies an ignorance on the part of American people about
the nature of life on this earth: All men and women, great and humble
alike, grow old and die.
Pope John Paul II has been a force of tremendous good in the post-modern
era. He was instrumental in the deconstruction of the Soviet Union and
the Communist regime that supported it. He has boldly worked to reconcile
the relationship of Christians and Jews after the horrors of the Holocaust.
Through his travels around the world, he has been an inspiration to millions
and a leader of young people looking for more in life.
Shall we now, when he is racked with Parkinson’s disease and has
lost the camera-friendly strength of his youth, abandon him for new leadership?
The answer is no. To abandon the Pope now would be no less than abandoning
the very nature of our humanity. The full beauty and tragedy of life are
nowhere more visible than in the elderly, and they who have endured to
old age deserve our utmost compassion and respect. In the United States,
we may take cheap comfort in the fact that drugs can prolong our sexual
functions and minimize our aches as we grow older, but in the end we are
all players in the same comedy.
Life is a pilgrimage both spiritual and physical. The Roman Catholic Church
agreed in October of 1978 to walk with John Paul II on his journey through
life, and in return he has walked with us on ours, showing what it means
to be a true force of good in the world. I don’t believe it is too
much to ask of the world that it show some respect for the end of one
man’s journey, and to remember that we all must walk the very same
road.
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