Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is genuinely saddened by the death of John Paul II. He has been conflicted about what he should write on the subject. So, if this post doesn’t seem to go anywhere, well, consider yourself forwarned.

I am, as you may know, 35 years old. This means that John Paul II has been the leader of the Roman Catholic church for the great majority of my life. Indeed, I remember the death of Paul VI, the election of John Paul I, the death of John Paul I, and the election of John Paul II. That period was both interesting and exciting for a young boy. A young boy who was Catholic, an altar boy, and generally fascinated by the pomp, mystery, and tradition of it all.

I went with my grandmother and tried to see the Pope during his visit to Washington DC in 1979 (or 80 - don’t recall specifically). I have to say I remember crowds and lots of pushing and praying - but I can’t recall seeing the Pope except on television.

I’ve always had a great deal of respect for John Paul. Both as a religious leader and a world leader. Stalin may have joked about how many divisions did Pius XII have; but Yuri Andropov, Constintine Chernyenko, Mikhail Gorbachev, and General Jarwozulski found out that a Pope didn’t necessarially need to have any army divisions to be a force for change.

If you look at the period of the early 1980’s you have a remarkable confluence of three people who really changed the course of human history. Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and John Paul II. The life’s work of these three great people brought down the communist empire and brought on the new age in which we live today.

I’ve read somewhere that John Paul was being described as one part rock star and two parts St. Paul. That may be a more apt description tan it might look on the surface. John Paul had the charisma and panache needed to harness the communications revolution that took place during his papacy. But at his core he was definately a Pauline. His theology, as you have no doubt heard, was conservative. Pauline insomuch as he stuck with the hard line (like the Paulines did against the Petrines in the early days of the church).

His conservative theology never bothered me. Indeed, if anything it was attractive to me. I was raised Catholic. And even after my parents stopped going to church, I went. I waited until much later in my life to recieve the Sacrament of Confirmation (my 20s as opposed to my teens - it meant more to me and I better understood the whats and whys of Confirmation). I stayed with the church for a long time. I can’t say that I am a good Catholic now. I’ve had some little epiphanies of my own which have changed the overall framework of my personal beliefs. I stopped going to church a few years ago. But, just in the past few months, I’ve started to go back to church. And I’m attending a Catholic church. It appears as though I remain rooted in my own, and the church’s, tradition. I can’t say that my little epiphanies have been undone, they haven’t, but I think that going to church has a healthy influence on me.

John Paul II’s theology has been the source of constant discussion around my house. Mrs. Villain said yesterday that the next Pope should go ahead and change some of those silly stances on birth control and women priests to make the church more popular. To which I responded that it isn’t about being popular, it is about being true to your convictions. The theology John Paul II promulgated was the faith of his convictions. John Paul II was a true believer. Sure other good, honest, and contemplative Catholics might reach differing conclusions on points of doctrine; but they were not the guy in charge.

To John Paul II being a Christian (at least a Catholic Christian) was hard work. That is something with which I agree completely. It is hard to be a Christian. Turning the other cheek is hard. Escpecially if you know that kicking someone’s ass might get you further. Living a modest and humble life is hard - if you are exceptional compared to others. Having free will and taking right choices is hard when easy choices are available and open. I firmly believe that John Paul II lived his life as a constant example of what he believed to be right behaviour. I know I’ve taken many bad choices and done things at odds with good Christian behaviour. And I know that I could do better. John Paul II showed us the path he believed would help us do better. And in a world beset with all sorts of moral relativism, John Paul played an important role.

So, I am sad that another icon of my youth has passed. But, I am glad that John Paul’s earthly suffering has ended. I am confident that the Pope has gone to his reward. It was interesting, last night I found myself falling into the mode of a Catholic I was saying prayers by rote for the soul of John Paul. When I realized what I was doing I stopped for a moment. I focused my thoughts for a second; then started again. The prayers may be rote, but I think I was able to add some serious contemplation of my own.

Carry on.