Has there ever been another person mourned on a global scale in the way Pope John Paul is being mourned? We in Bridgefolk have special reason to join this outpouring of emotion and appreciation. Surely the speed with which the Mennonite Catholic bridge has developed is due, in some major way, to his leadership. It will be years if not centuries before the full impact of this historic life is apparent, but already there are several things for which we may be grateful:
His personal witness. John Paul showed us it was possible to be committed to the sacraments and the institutional church, and at the same time to be committed to personal conversion and the Scriptures in the way that evangelical Christians have always been. Most important for us in Bridgefolk, he combined a profound personal spirituality and an equally deep commitment to social justice.
His commitment to peace. John Paul transformed the Catholic Church into a peace church—not a pacifist church, but one committed to peace. He helped lead the nonviolent defeat of the Soviet empire, thus showing that there is an alternative to both the just war tradition and classic pacifism. And his opposition to the Iraq War was the first time that a war initiated by a largely Christian nation has been declared unjust in advance.
His commitment to ecumenical dialogue. Again and again John Paul insisted that the commitment of the Catholic Church to the ecumenical movement has become “irrevocable.” The long-term implications of this are impossible even to imagine, but already we have seen its first fruits for us in the International Mennonite Catholic Dialogue and its initial report, Called Together to Be Peacemakers.
His personal support. We were amazed when we first began to hear that the pope was taking a personal interest in the Mennonite Catholic dialogue. But over the past six years there have been repeated confirmations—above all when he invited the President of the Mennonite World Conference to give the closing statement at the 2002 Assisi World Day of Prayer for Peace.
His prayers. Did John Paul know about us? Was he praying for us? We know that several people who worked directly with the pope knew about Bridgefolk. Given the pope’s interest in Mennonite dialogue he may well have learned about us. And if he was told, then surely he prayed for us—prayer was a central part of his life. In any case we can be certain he has been praying for the success of Mennonite Catholic dialogue.
And what now? This great Christian would not want us to heroize him, to place him on a pedestal where he could be admired but not followed. Instead he would surely want us to do what he did—giving ourselves to Christ, faithfully and fearlessly, entering the new millennium filled with hope.
4 April 2005