Death of Love

The Pope passed today.

When John Paul II became Pope in the late 70's, I was in High School and was an active member of the Catholic Church. As any of you who read this blog know, I am no longer a Catholic. Still, on his passing I need to write about John Paul. He is one of the few examples in my life of someone who used the power of love to change the world.

I have, as often as not, disagreed with the direction of the Catholic church over the last 30 years; I have also disagreed with many of the conservative positions of the Pope (i.e. women clergy). If I look back into the church's more distant history, I am distressed at how much suffering and death has been caused (in the name of love) and at the hands of this church.

All that said, I am in awe of the love and energy that John Paul II brought to his church and to the world. I largely credit three people with the fall of totalitarian socialism in the 20th Century: Ronald Reagan, Michael Gorbachev, and Pope John Paul II. That the Pope should play such a critical role in this rebirth of freedom and human dignity is a testament to the power of his love.

There are two spiritual figures in my lifetime in whom I see the love of the God of Light. they are the Dalai Lama and Pope John Paul II. It saddens me that I don't believe the Pope is self-aware and ready to move on ... to rejoin the Light. Still, I believe (along with the Buddhists) that the love we give comes back to us is this life and in others.

I believe and pray that the Pope's path to oneness be soft and gentle. I look forward to knowing this part of our spirit when the time comes and honor the man whose quiet compassion and devotion made this world better for all of us.