Pope John Paul II

“We should allow for the heroic impulse—which is to be greater than oneself, to try to find another version of oneself, to grow. That’s where virtue comes from. And we must allow our young generation to strive for virtue, instead of ridiculing it” (Stone). In the essay, “Where I Find My Heroes,” Oliver Stone explains how the concept of virtue is what people strive for today. A hero wants to grow and be virtuous to inspire others, but most importantly wants to become a greater person. Many heroes had different types of adversities they had to overcome, but one thing all heroes share in common is their strong motivation to inspire many types of people. A hero could range from a child helping his mother carry in groceries or a man sacrificing himself to fight a school shooter, but they all want to make the world a better place. The point of heroism is not the selfish recognition or publicity for an individual, but rather the morals and beliefs he has when doing what is right. The major goal all heroes have is to solve the problems of the world and is especially important today when. A true hero is any person which has stayed true to his beliefs, does heroic acts for the sake of righteousness, and inspires the world to reach their maximum potential.

Pope John Paul II at a Papal Audience at St. Peter's Square, Vatican City (July 17, 1985).ATTRIBUTION. © by James G. Howes, 1985. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ioannes_Paulus_II#/media/File:Pope_John_Paul_II.jpgSomeone who truly stayed with their beliefs, cares about the people, and influenced the world to this day is Pope John Paul II, the previous leader of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005. Born in Poland on May 18, 1920, Karol Wojtyla’s childhood was practically “between heaven and hell.” In the 1940s, he coincidentally experienced Poland’s small window of freedom between World War I and World War II. Wojtyla became a priest while studying in Poland, but eventually he was promoted to the College of Cardinals, where he was then elected for pope in the second papal conclave of 1978. Taking the name “John Paul II,” he was one of the greatest traveling world leaders in history, travelling to 129 different countries during his papacy. Mainly, he transformed the Catholic Church’s morals to try and unite with other religions and contributed to the end of Communist rule in Europe. Surviving two assassination attempts and being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he passed away on April 2, 2005. Integrity, the quality of staying true to one’s beliefs and morals, and perseverance, the persistency in overcoming difficulties and becoming successful despite failed attempts or troublesome adversities, makes John Paul II a worthy hero. Pope John Paul II was not only the leader of the Catholic Church but an inspirational leader of the world because of his actions displaying integrity and perseverance, making him a true hero whom inspired the world’s ideals.

As others doubted the actions of John Paul II, his true integrity inspired the culture of the world around him by establishing upright morals. The Catholic Church has simple morals like “praise God” or “do not sin” but there are complex and confusing ones ones such as forbidding being homosexual or having a baby aborted. John Paul II demonstrates integrity by following these ethics when traveling to America for a United Nations meeting in 1995, where he talks about how the United Nations needs morals in order to proceed in the world:

It is precisely its global character which offers us its first and fundamental ‘key’ and confirms that there are indeed universal human rights, rooted in the nature of the person, rights which reflect the objective and inviolable demands of a universal moral law. These are not abstract points; rather, these rights tell us something important about the actual life of every individual and of every social group. They also remind us that we do not live in an irrational or meaningless world. On the contrary, there is a moral logic which is built into human life and which makes possible dialogue between individuals and peoples. (John Paul II)

The universal law of morals everyone has unites the disoriented people of the world and permits people to set aside their different beliefs and communicate with each other without conflict. John Paul II illustrated integrity by caring about everyone regardless of their faith, and he believes that if everyone has the same morals then the world can be united. By setting aside differences in morals, John Paul II improved society by demonstrating the integrity a hero should have, improving the outcomes of many world problems. Despite the different faiths of other religions, John Paul II uses his influence on morals by actively improving Catholic relations between other religions:

Pope John Paul II blessing a child at St. Peters Cathedral, Vatican City (1984).Aurto Mari - Vatican 1984 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ioannes_Paulus_II#/media/File:Jubileeofhopeandredemption.jpgNevertheless, by the mid-1990s John Paul II had orchestrated some dramatic acts of interfaith reconciliation, especially with the two other religions that stem from Abraham—Judaism and Islam. He worked to improve relations with these two faiths through frequent meetings that often garnered little public attention. Crucial to John Paul II's approach to other religions was his unprecedented campaign to involve Catholics in general apologies for the sins of Catholics against others throughout history, including those committed during the Crusades and against indigenous peoples, women, suspected heretics, non-Catholic Christians, Muslims, and Jews. (Blakemore)

John Paul II held frequent meetings not for attracting attention to Catholicism, but rather to improve relations between Judaism, Islam, and other closely-related religions. Involving the Catholics in these apologies displayed how he believed in the Church taking responsibility for discriminatory actions against non-Catholics. John Paul II apologized for the acts of Catholicism he never was involved in, all the way to back to the medieval times, demonstrating how he respects others religions. Respecting people of all kinds and disregarding their ethics he may not particularly agree with is morally correct in this day and age, which is what people need in a time of frequent discrimination in differences. John Paul II embodies heroism by uniting people of other faiths and different beliefs with integrity.

Despite the world’s unfortunate people and the media’s opinions on him, John Paul II persevered through difficult challenges and spread his morals whilst challenging others’ ideals. Continuing the United Nations conference, he continues his speech and states that others of higher class should not take advantage of people more unfortunate:

When millions of people are suffering from a poverty which means hunger, malnutrition, sickness, illiteracy, and degradation, we must not only remind ourselves that no one has a right to exploit another for his own advantage, but also and above all we must recommit ourselves to that solidarity which enables others to live out, in the actual circumstances of their economic and political lives, the creativity which is a distinguishing mark of the human person and the true source of the wealth of nations in today's world. (John Paul II)

Saying “millions of people” emphasizes the value of creativity, especially when people are more or less fortunate than others to prove themselves with economics or politics. Yet, he encourages others to persevere through their suffering of poverty and become more creative, which John Paul II has shown through his countless efforts to try and improve the lives of the unfortunate. Despite these efforts to solve poverty of the world, people started to walk away from the church as he took a stance on controversial conservative issues:

But the pope is facing a difficult time; while many Catholics around the world may applaud his courageous stand on difficult issues, they still walk away from the Church. To John Paul II, this is only a call to stand fast and take heart in the motto that has guided him all his life: ’Be not afraid.’ In those three words, a single man has taken on the challenges of a centuries-old institution, a modern world, and all that goes with both. (Greene 159)

John Paul II takes “heart in the motto that has guided him all his life” as a way to express how he faces the fears and challenges he had of both himself and the Catholic Church using his famous phrase “be not afraid.” Instead of changing his own beliefs to match the media to bring them to the Catholic Church, he stays with his controversial ideals and strongly sticks with them, staying true to his beliefs and also never backing down from his own ideals. A hero will persevere through any challenge in their way to do what is right, and John Paul II does exactly that when facing the controversial issues of the church. John Paul II’s demonstrates perseverance as he stays with his conservative beliefs despite the media’s objections and inspiring the lives of people in poverty, helping inspire the world on how they too should stick with their ideals.

Pope John Paul II during the General Audiency at St. Peter Square, Vatican (September 29, 2004).Radomił Binek https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ioannes_Paulus_II#/media/File:JPII_29_09_2004_2.JPGWith his overwhelming integrity and strong perseverance, Pope John Paul II was a powerful inspiration and hero to all. By apologizing for the decisions of Catholics and staying true to his beliefs, his strong and right morals exemplifies integrity. He did not let the media bring his ideas down or other people tell him that he was incorrect and continuously proved that his morals and beliefs are what others need to follow. His perseverance when uniting other religions of the world together and staying with his conservative beliefs despite the media’s opinions demonstrates how someone can persevere through their problems. Someone with perseverance can solve through any problem if he tried enough, which is what any hero really needs to become an inspiration. A true hero fights for what he believes in, and John Paul II fought for his whole life. Nothing brought him down as he told himself and the world that despite their problems, they should “be not afraid.” John Paul II inspires me because of his perseverance to his goals. Unifying the Catholic Church with other religions and the whole world in general is what I believe what the world should do; follow their own morals and beliefs. But most importantly, he gave me the ideas and morals that I need to follow. Being Catholic myself, other people who believe in other gods or are atheists prevent me from truly following God. Especially in a world of common discrimination and racism where people always force others to follow their own particular interests and morals, a hero like the former pope has inspired me to stay true to my beliefs despite others’ controversies. John Paul II improved relations with these religions and treated everyone equally as a basis of morals to follow, which is what I look up to when facing difficult moral dilemmas. The world isn't so black and white, so John Paul II directs me to follow the word of God, or as others say, “what would Jesus do?” Instead of telling others that atheists, Muslims, or Buddhists are wrong, he respects their faiths and wants others to respect them too. It doesn't matter whether or not others have different morals or not because the real value of a person is their unique character. Oliver Stone once said that a hero wants to accept the concept the virtue to inspire others. John Paul II continuously kept striving for his own virtue, from starting off as a young cardinal to a deeply religious and committed world leader who influenced the world as we know it.

Works Consulted

Blakemore, William B. “John Paul II, Blessed.” Britannica Biographies, Mar. 2012, p. 1.
EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=b6h&AN=32414161&site=brc-live.

Greene, Meg. Pope John Paul II: A Biography. Greenwood Press, 2003.

John Paul II, w. “Address of His Holiness John Paul II.” Vatican: The Holy See, Vatican
Publishing House, 5 Oct. 1995,
w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1995/october/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_05
101995_address-to-uno.html.

Mazurczak, Filip. “How St. John Paul II Changed the Church and the World.” Catholic World
Report, 22 Oct. 2016,
www.catholicworldreport.com/2016/10/22/how-st-john-paul-ii-changed-the-church-and-t
he-world/.

Stone, Oliver. “Where I Find My Heroes.” McCall’s Magazine, Nov. 1992.