Pope John Paul II Praised By Pope Benedict On Anniversary Of Beatification

DESCRPope John Paul II addressing a crowd of 80,000 from the window of his studio at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City, Italy on Nov. 5, 1978. During the blessing in his speech he said he will devote this Sunday to Italy’s two patron saints, St. Francis and St. Catherine of Siena. (AP Photo)

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI has praised his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, as a model for the Polish people on the first anniversary of his beatification.

Benedict made his remarks in Polish during his weekly public audience Wednesday, saying "may the witness of his life, his teaching and his love for the homeland remain your particular heritage."

A string ensemble played the Polish national anthem for Polish pilgrims celebrating several holidays this week.

The beatification of Pope John Paul 11 on May 1, 2011, was the fastest in modern history, coming six years after John Paul's 2005 funeral drew calls of "Santo Subito!" or "Sainthood Immediately!"

The Vatican must approve a second miracle attributed to John Paul before he can be declared a saint.

Related on HuffPost:

Comments

[Raynell Rossi]

04:06 PM on 02/22/2013

JPII was full of himself. Christ's unconditional love only applied when you did what JP II wanted. He told priests to stay out of politics yet meddled in the politics of russian and Poland. He used church funds for efforts in Poland--is this the correct use of our money. He publicly scorned liberation theologians in Latin America yet upheld Lech Walesa.

And the worst of all things, when cardinal Ratzinger tried to punish Fr. Maciel (founder of the Legionaires of Christ) JP. II ordered him to be given VIP status at the Vatican--when it was well known that he fathered 6 kids, raped seminarians and molested children. Is this a Saint!!!!!

[Patrick Brennan]

05:11 PM on 05/11/2012

Lesson to the Poles; when you see your local parish priest doing the nasty turn a blind eye, say a couple of Mail Mary's, and forget the whole thing happened.

[positano1970]

02:52 PM on 05/03/2012

JP II is no saint. In the midst of the initial horror of the continuing AIDS crisis, he was uterrly opposed to the use of condoms which could have possibly saved thousands and thousands of lives. Then during the revelvations about sexual abuse of children in the United States, he had Cardinal Law (of Boston) whisked into the Vatican so Law could avoid any type of prosecution. And, please recall, that Law said one of the memorial masses after JP II died ! Law should be in jail in the US. JP II also refused to even consider the ordination of women. What strikes me as disturbing is that JP II grew up in a Soviet dominated country which tried to crush any dissent yet as pope he did the same thing. Sainthood - no. Scorn - yes.

[ValerieTerzi]

02:59 PM on 05/03/2012

You have a lot to learn.

[2tellthetruuth]

06:35 PM on 05/03/2012

I think if you do some research about him and his church you will learn a few things you did not know.

[EthanEdwards]

09:19 PM on 05/09/2012

Positano, the Pope did not grow up under Soviet domination as he was 25 when the Soviets took Poland from the National Socialists, actually their second invasion in six years. If people would follow the Church’s teaching on chastity there would have been no AIDS epidemic in the first place.

Also the failure rate for condoms is between 2 and 3% if they are used every time a person has sexual intercourse for preventing pregnancies. There are three problems with the use of condoms for “safe sex” first people do not use condoms each and every time that they have sex so the failure rate jumps to between 10 and 30% depending on what study you read and that is for pregnancy prevention. The second problem is that the AIDS virus is 50 times smaller than a sperm cell. The final problem I am discussing here is that a female can only get pregnant within a short portion of her cycle whereas the transmission of the AIDS virus has the potential of causing an infection any time that two individuals have sex.

[Raynell Rossi]

04:08 PM on 02/22/2013

Your argument avout condoms is just tripe. Is all of what you say still a valid reason to DENY condoms!!!!

[EthanEdwards]

04:49 PM on 03/15/2013

Raynall, what I said is fact, if not please give me your sources that disagree with what is stated.

[Janet Stockey Swanborn]

06:43 AM on 05/03/2012

A German telling Poles what to think. No thanks.

[Asmondius]

11:28 AM on 05/03/2012

Please quote the Pope's exact statement of where he told them 'what to think'.

[maternatura]

02:14 PM on 05/03/2012

It's his job.

[qsfoxx]

06:11 AM on 05/03/2012

Let's see now... some woman prayed to this pope and was subsequently cured? Isn't that somewhat of a stretch? Christian prayers should be to God, not to those who would be gatekeepers. I think it's time to re-examine the nature of "cause and effect." In medieval Germany, storks returned from their migration at a time when a disproportionate number of babies were born, so the people came to believe that the storks brought the babies. I can't wait to see what the Vatican conjures up for the second and third miracles.

[Asmondius]

11:55 AM on 05/03/2012

Catholics ask the Blessed for intercession concerning a request to God - they are not requesting the miracle from anyone but God. The only way I know of to communicate with those on the spiritual plane is through prayer - perhaps you use another method.

A French nun was formally diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease in 2001. By the time of the Pope's death in 2005 her condition had progressed to the point where she had largely retired from her job in a maternity hospital.

She now has no sign of the disease and has gone back to work.

Very dfficult to 'conjure' this type of information - you either have the disease or you do not.

Incidentally, dozens of reported cures were forwarded to the Vatican but only this one was selected to receive a full examination.

[Brygida Biedro]

05:30 AM on 05/03/2012

I'm SO tired of the late Pope to be the role model in Poland. It's like we don't have any other models to choose from.

[qsfoxx]

06:13 AM on 05/03/2012

Yes, but his selection was actually his first miracle! The cardinals were at a terrible loss to decide who should be the next pope until one of them suggested, "Let's take a pole!" And the rest is history.

[Asmondius]

11:57 AM on 05/03/2012

The selection of the next Pope is always guided by the Holy Spirit.

[Asmondius]

11:56 AM on 05/03/2012

Doesa the fact that he was Catholic bother you?

[themodernleader]

05:17 AM on 05/03/2012

  In the past 100 years there has been only one pope that made social and economic justice the sermon of the Catholic Church.  The other popes have made faith and obedience the foundation.  The human species goes nowhere  believing and obeying the self-serving doctrines of high priests in any religion.

[nolo548]

03:35 AM on 05/04/2012

"Insufficient! Zero points. Sit down!"
You should not "just believe" but research ....

[maternatura]

03:33 AM on 05/03/2012

So much evil over millenia has been perpetrated by this church. Martin Luther saw it in his time. Now the exposure of worldwide sexual abuse is having the effect of cleaning house.

[Asmondius]

11:58 AM on 05/03/2012

Evil has always been perpetrated by people, not the Church itself.

[maternatura]

12:55 PM on 05/03/2012

Certainly it's people and that's what runs the church - people and not just people. It's a men's club run by rich and powerful men only.

[Kelly5472]

04:48 PM on 05/04/2012

Until the church as an institution condones the evil that the individuals do by covering it up.

[nolo548]

04:07 AM on 05/04/2012

... and the Reformation of Martin Luther has brought centuries of wars an millions of dead people (until "today" - e.g. N-Ireland ...).

M.L. was a religious man on one hand, but he was kind of mentally ill, was a vulgar, raunchy blusterer, fundamentally against the "normal people", favoring the death penalty of reformed christians which did not follow "his" reformation, he was defender of witch-tracing and burning of "witches", he adhered to the princes and subjected his "new church" to the sovereign princes which became "bishops" of his church and got all the properties of the church as their own (the first and main reason why the reformation had such a success as the princes were able to enrich themselves in a double way: both material [with territories, money and income] and spiritual [with the "episcopal" power over the faithfuls]), he was an outstanding anti-Semit, all but a good man ...

That does not mean that the catholic church in different reasons at that time was not in a deplorable situation.

[Rob y]

08:55 PM on 05/02/2012

There are some bad clergy(infiltators)in the church that need to be removed(not present Pope or PJPII). But sadly that wont happen, as the church will be split in two - one the True traditional Catholics, the other liberal modern false Catholics

[Kelly5472]

09:05 PM on 05/02/2012

Why is it you exclude PJPII, when he knew about the cover ups, and even promoted one of the biggest criminals of the sex abuse scandals (Cardinal Law of the Boston Archdiocese)......he did nothing to stop the cover ups and it seems helped those who did. My mother loved John Paul II, and it broke her heart when all of this came to light.

[Asmondius]

12:01 PM on 05/03/2012

Cardinal Law was at one time the most powerful bishop in the United States. He was asked to resign and given a largely symbolic job in a single church in Rome. This was not a 'promotion, but rather a waiting place for him until he retired so that a more capable man could be assigned to deal with the scandal in Boston.

[seanmagee]

09:44 PM on 05/02/2012

So where is the line drawn between "True" traditional Catholics and liberal modern "false" Catholics?

I love my faith an my Church. I try to get to Mass multiple times a week, I pray the Daily Office and the Rosary. I appeal to the Blessed Mother and the saints for help and guidence and prayer. I believe that Christ is Truly Present in the Eucharist. The Nicene Creed is the basis for my understanding of the world and spirituality.

But am I a false Catholic for believing the my own belief should not limit a womans right to choose? Or that governments around the world should grant the same rights to homosexuals that are granted to heterosexual couples?

I don't think so.

The strength of our Church and our faith is in our unity. Just because someone like me is of a liberal persuasion politically (a stance which also includes advocating on behalf of the poor, the homeless, and the worker or taking a firm stance against the death penalty-- all stances in line with traditional Catholic teaching) doesn't mean they should be excluded from the Church.

We need to stick together, now more than ever.

Yours in Christ.

[Rob y]

10:17 PM on 05/02/2012

Its very good that you go to Mass, pray rosary, believe in Holy Eucharist. Many graces given that way. But I would also recommend you read the Catechism book(Catholic teachings), hopefully you read the bible, & ask Mary & Jesus for discernment on what teachings are correct.
On 1st Joyful Mystery of rosary reflect on Humility. We all need humility to accept truth.
True, we need to strive to remain in unity. Peace

[ruthsdaughter]

02:35 AM on 05/03/2012

Sean, do you remember the words of Mother Teresa as she worked in the slums of Calcutta? She pitied America, because she said that a country that killed its own children was a country with no hope.

[saganz999]

08:15 PM on 05/02/2012

. . . and then he praised Hitler.

[AntithiChrist]

07:22 PM on 05/02/2012

Not sure what the first miracle was, but so far no pope has "gotten those stiff little stains out" of, or off of, the frilly clerical robes...now that'd be a miracle.

[YeOldeSnark]

07:12 PM on 05/02/2012

Yes, let's celebrate JP2's rise to cult status as we're seeing how much of an organized crime syndicate he and Benny16 have had going for them. Catholics need to drop these clowns like a bad habit and get back to pristine Christianity freed from the yoke of these "Dons".

[mona19595]

03:56 AM on 05/03/2012

What a disgusting comment........and what pristine religion do you belong to?

[Asmondius]

12:08 PM on 05/03/2012

'...need to drop these clowns like a bad habit..'

As dour as a naked person who can't get arrested.

[Robert Frano]

05:51 PM on 05/02/2012

Re: “…Benedict made his remarks in Polish during his weekly public audience Wednesday, saying "may the witness of his life, his teaching and his love for the homeland remain your particular heritage..."

Pope J.Paul-2 either knew or had a professional, (as 'pope') and a moral, (again, as 'pope'), obligation, to be aware of / do something preventative / corrective about...
the late bishop Marcial Maciel Degollado (3-10-20 ~ 1-30-8), who established the Legion-'O-Christ, (sounds like a ‘Marvel-DC-commix.series’ super heroes squad, doesn't it?), but instead…

this pope ignored this bishop, who had a classic, semi-closeted ‘Me-SO -Horny’ clerical career, with, ‘…children begat, incestuous children begat, a ‘smattering-a-day, (of seminarians...!), keeps the blues at bay’ theology, etc.
The lawsuits (for back child support & sexual assult, if memory serves), against the legion, as a result of Bishop Degollado, continue, unresolved, to this day!

And...
That is just ONE OF THOUSANDS OF CRUMMY (‘moral’) EXAMPLES!!

[Asmondius]

12:09 PM on 05/03/2012

Letus know when things are better for you and you have your thoughts together.

[Robert Frano]

11:20 AM on 05/04/2012

Re: "...Let us know when things are better for you and you have your thoughts together..." {Asmondius}

As an assault-survivor, (non-clerical division), I'd be pleased to be made aware, if/when this 'religious-faith' decides to STOP protecting rapist-clergy, and/or, holding their protector-enablers (particularly the late Karol Wojtyla, criminal_alias J.Paul-2'), up as alleged 'moral' examples / what a saint should strive to be!

As I would be pleased to become aware that you’re unwarranted support, for child rape, international transfer of rapists, alleged money laundering, baby-selling, and unsafe, potentially life-threatening S.T.D.'s transfer, has ended, as well...

[Al Schrader]

05:14 PM on 05/02/2012

His Holiness John Paul II really was a Saint. He spear-headed the Absolution of Galileo. I was one of the people who suggested he be made a Saint to His Emminence Cardinal Leonardo Sandri....Alfred-

[YeOldeSnark]

07:15 PM on 05/02/2012

Absolution? LOL LOL a fake resolution to a punishment Galileo should never have received in the first place. Dump this Church built upon fraud and deception.

[mona19595]

03:58 AM on 05/03/2012

And you sir are at it again with your insulting comments. I am still waiting to find out what pristine religion you belong to? People like you have no right to judge......just wait you will see.........

[Kelly5472]

09:07 PM on 05/02/2012

I guess the other miracle could be the extent of the cover up of the sex abuse scandals throughout the world. They kept it covered up for so long, it's a miracle nobody caught on.

[Asmondius]

12:10 PM on 05/03/2012

Gather some understanding of miralces and your confusion will come to an end.

[Indigo1941]

02:35 PM on 05/02/2012

Travesty!

[Asmondius]

12:10 PM on 05/03/2012

Economical!

[Indigo1941]

01:11 PM on 05/03/2012

Yeah.