Perhaps my parents might balk a little at me saying this, but I am Jewish and I like the Pope. Pope John Paul II was a great man that did many great things for humanity and, indeed, for the Jews. This is not something to laugh at. There are not many religious figures in the world that that could be said about. I don’t remember anyone making the claim that Louis Farrakhan has done a lot to better relations between the Nation of Islam and my tribe. Further­more, the Pope’s job is not an easy one. Perhaps his greatest challenge is uniting the 1.1 billion Catholics from hundreds of countries around the world. Each country has its own way of practic­ing Catholicism and each has its own internal conflicts. Pope John Paul II succeeded in keeping and in fact reviv­ing the Catholic community around the world while making some positive political and social statements. Yup, as a Jewish Republican, I am going to have to say, I like the Pope.

Pope John Paul II was born Karol Jozef Wojtyla, or “Lolek” as he was called in his home town of Wadowice , Poland , in 1920. While Lolek grew up in a strict Catholic household in Poland , his parents did not share the anti-semitic views of the Poles at the time. In fact, one of Lolek’s playmates Jerzy Kluger would later become the liaison between the Pope and Israeli officials at the time that the Vatican was extending its long over-due recog­nition of Israel . During World War II, Lolek escaped deportation to German work camps by becoming a stone-cut­ter in a quarry. It was during this time that Lolek, now called Karol, began his religious studies in an underground seminary in Krakow . As the war continued, he took refuge in the arch­bishop of Krakow ’s residence and was finally ordained in 1946. However, he managed to earn two masters degrees and one doctorate before taking up priestly duties as an assistant pastor in Krakow in 1949.

During his priesthood years, Karol was a professor of theology at the Catholic University of Lublin. He also founded and ran a service that dealt with marital problems, from family planning and illegitimacy to alcoholism and physical abuse. But his greatest gifts to the world came during his papacy. Less than eight months after his inauguration, Pope John Paul II came to his home of Poland for the nine cathartic days. He was met by huge adoring crowds and was celebrated as he moved around the country. Needless to say this was an acute embarrassment to the Commu­nist party; Pope John Paul II reminded his fellow countrymen of their human rights. In a crowd of one million people, he announced, “You are men. You have dignity. Don’t crawl on your bellies.”

The Pope was the most well traveled Pope in history. He attended and held mass in over 115 countries and all over the United States . But most impor­tantly, the Pope had a humanitarian mission. He opposed the regimes of all those who interfered with the human rights of their people. His criticism of such dictators as Alfred Stroessner in Paraguay , Augusto Pinochet in Chile and Ferdinand Marcos in the Philip­pines encouraged opposition move­ments that eventually brought down those governments. Furthermore, his relentless support of the Solidarity movement in Poland helped to bring down Communism there. The Pope also did a lot for the Jews. In 1993, he formally recognized the state of Israel and then took a trip to the Holy Land . Once there, he stood before the West­ern Wall (the holiest place for Jews) and asked forgiveness for past sins of the Christians against the Jews. This is perhaps one of the most profound gestures ever made between religions. The Jews have been persecuted by Christians for almost two thousand years and the step toward reconcilia­tion, in a time when there was already movement toward peace and such an apology may have seemed unnecessary, was remarkable. There was no politi­cal pressure for such an apology. But the deference with which it was done, by the Western Wall, after the recog­nition of Israel was perhaps the most noble gesture ever done by anyone of another faith.

Finally, the Pope was an unapolo­getic man. He knew what it meant to be Catholic and he would not bend on Catholic doctrine. He continued to stand firm on his belief that abor­tion and contraception were still not condoned by the Vatican . Regardless of many criticisms on this point, he refused to change with the trends of the times. To him, the Catholic tradition had to withstand the moral relativism of the time. The Pope combined strict adherence to the faith with the opening of the Papacy to diplomatic relations with the world. The Papacy is no lon­ger a rusty relic without much use. It is now a source of inspiration, religious foundation and, most importantly, political influence to fix the humani­tarian wrongs of the world. Thanks to the Pope, there is a deep connection between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people. Furthermore, we know that the Church will not condone the violations of such disgusting regimes as the Communist parties of the Eastern Bloc countries. Yup, I am definitely going to have to say I like the Pope.

Ms. Sadovnik is a senior, Philosophy major.