A John Paul II Follow-Up

Regarding our JPII post from a couple of days ago. In reading some of the comments, I recalled this entry from Boniface over at Unam Sanctam. Basically, he's noting how, all of sudden, some of the same folks who hated Blessed John Paul II just a few years ago now think he's all kinds of awesome. From Boniface's reckoning, this has nothing to do with the actual JPII and more to do with the actions of Pope Benedict. This kind of revision isn't anything new.


Read any popular account of Blessed John XXIII. Or any of our posts tagged with his name. The contemporary memory of Good  Pope John  has no basis in fact. If Pope John was reigning today, he would be considered a backwards-thinking, medieval-minded jerk, with no sensitivity at all to the teachings of Vatican II. All this would come as a great shock to the Holy Father, of course. That's all a shame, but it's all people know about him these days (ie- nothing).


Expect JPII to get the same treatment  over time. Especially if Pope Benedict keeps up his reform efforts and/or his successor is somebody like Cardinal Burke or Cardinal Ranjith.