Goodbye

A very sad, though expected, event took place this weekend with the death of Pope John Paul II. It's hard to continue throwing a party when you know the Pope has died, it doesn't leave you in much of a party mood but not wanting to disappoint my friends, I plowed ahead with Firth Fest. I did get up at one point during one of the movies and go and read some reports on the net.

It serves as a time to go back and look at his legacy, all that he has done over the past 26 years. It was a long papacy, one of the three longest. St Peter himself was one of the longest. I have a feeling I am going to learn a lot over the next month or so as everything unfolds.

I found the Pope to be a great man. He always seemed kind and generous, and I especially appreciated his affection for youth and encouragement of them. Like a lot of young Catholics I didn't necessarily agree with his stance on some issues, which I don't want to debate here, but to me his accomplishments during his papacy outweighed any issues I disagreed on. His legacy can be seen in a lot of places, but one area I find interesting is how other religious leaders seemed to respect this Pope and his efforts. Even non-Catholics have referred to JPII as a great leader.

It's an extremely fascinating time right now to watch these events. John Paul II had been in poor health for so many years that debate over a successor has been going on for what seems like forever. I have a sense of concern that the next Pope will have large shoes to fill, wondering what his primary focus will be, what issues will be important to him, will he be as well-travelled? A lot of questions.

One of the cardinals described the effect of the Pope's death on us as like being orphaned. I find that to be a good description, it does kind of feel that way. Also somewhat like the death of a grandparent, an elder that you cared a lot about and who guided you through [religious] life. Except we'll be fortunate enough to be granted another spiritual leader.

Friday we will see the funeral of JPII and within 14 days of his death, but no more than 20, the cardinals will begin the process of picking a new leader amongst themselves. One of the changes JPII made during his papacy that directly affects this papal election was to change the definition of majority. The previous rules stated that the candidate had to have a 2/3 majority before being declared, but now it is a simple majority that will determine the successor.

I was 3 when John Paul II became Pope, but that is beyond my memory so it seems like he has been there all of my life. Now he's gone and it feels strange, eerie, unstable. Yet intriguing at the same time to be an adult and witness the process of finding a new Pope, learning about how the process works and praying that we will have another great leader to look up to and be guided by. Fascinating times.