Pope John Paul II placed Christ at the centre of his being and mission, writes Cardinal Cahal B. Daly
On September 13th, 1965, I arrived in Rome for the opening of the fourth and last session of the Second Vatican Council. I was there as a peritus or theological adviser. The places reserved for periti were in the Saint Andrew Tribune of the nave of St Peter's Basilica. I regularly sat beside Fr Henri De Lubac.
The session began with debate on the document on religious freedom and moved on in the second week to a debate on the church in the modern world. Various drafts had already been prepared on this topic, which still passed under the title, Schema XIII.
During the summer of 1965 a working group of bishops and theologians had been working intensively on a new draft. This group included the Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla, then aged 45; it included also three distinguished French theologians: Dominican Fr Yves Congar, and the Jesuits Fr Henri De Lubac and Fr Jean Danièlou.
In his published Diary of the Council, Congar wrote of the impression made upon him by the young archbishop: "Wojtyla made a remarkable impression. He dominates. Some kind of animation is present in this person, a magnetic power, prophetic strength, full of peace, impossible to resist." De Lubac, in his diary, recorded that Archbishop Wojtyla was clearly "a person of the very highest qualities".
Quite early in the debate on the church in the modern world, later called Gaudium et Spes, Archbishop Wojtyla made an intervention which had a strong impact. When he had finished, Fr De Lubac leaned over to me and said: "What a wonderful pope that young bishop would make." That was 1965. It was to be 13 years before the young "man from a far country" was elected Pope. Now, 27 years later still, we realise what a wonderful Pope he has been and how truly prophetic Fr De Lubac was.
It is difficult to summarise briefly his contribution to the church's life and mission. He has uncovered new richnesses in the church's fundamental articles of faith, namely, the Trinitarian faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Significantly, these are doctrines shared by all Christian churches. He has more recently brought new insights to bear on the mystery of the Eucharist, both as doctrine to be believed and taught and prayed, and as a programme for Christian living.
Following on the footsteps of Pope Paul VI, he has presented devotion to Mary, Mother of the Lord, in ways which are biblically sound, ecumenically sensitive and deeply christological. He has developed the traditional devotion of the Rosary, bringing out its christological aspect as a way of praying whereby we contemplate the face of Christ through the eyes of Mary.
He has vigorously promoted initiatives for Christian unity. He has cultivated closer relation with non-Christian faiths. He has worked actively for world peace, for justice in the world, for the elimination of world poverty. He was the chief initiator of the movement for the cancellation of world debt. He has developed the church's social teaching in a series of encyclicals in which he has criticised both liberal capitalism and doctrinaire socialism.
He has been an advocate of equal rights for women. He has outlined a philosophy of Christian humanism which offers meaning and purpose and hope to a world in which many have lost the sense of the transcendent. He has developed an exceptional rapport with young people across the world.
If one were to seek a single word to describe Pope John Paul's life and message, it would be for me the word "Christ-centred". For John Paul II, as for Saint Paul, "to live is Christ". For him, Christ has been the meaning, the purpose and the fulfilment of life. Christ is also the key to living in society. What he called "the Law of the Gift" is the condition for a society of peace and justice and for the mercy without which justice itself can be destructive and, literally, merciless.
Human beings fulfil themselves by giving themselves to others, especially those in greatest need, and ultimately in giving themselves to God. Living in this way, one is sharing in the life of Christ, whose whole being is self - giving to God the Father for love of all of us who are Christ's brothers and sisters. This Pope will be remembered as John Paul the Great; but he would want us to remember that all greatness comes from Christ and that only Christ is great.
John Paul's plans for the renewal of the church all begin from Christ. Christ for him is the beginning, middle and end of all ways forward for the church and for humanity. This is why his vision has always been a vision of hope, for the church and for the world.
He expressed it memorably for us in words from the first page of his document, Beginning of the Third Millennium. Recalling the Lord's words, "set out into the deep water and lay down your nets", he goes on: "These words ring out for us today and they invite us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm, and to look forward to the future with confidence."
The Catholic Communications Office has a special feature on its website to mark the death of Pope John Paul II which includes an online book of condolence and statements from the Vatican and the Irish Bishops' Conference at www.catholiccommunications.ie
Audio links to the Pope's 1979 homilies and speeches in Ireland are available on www.catholiccommunications.ie in the "Special Features Archive".