The Best of Humanity

A statue of Saint Pope John Paul II in front of the cathedral he was baptized in.

“Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create” - Saint Pope John Paul II. 

The wise words of this new saint, who I now feel strongly connected to. Today we stood in the kitchen of Saint Pope John Paul II’s childhood home, and I could not help but fall in love with who he was.

Only miles from his childhood home, millions of Jewish people were murdered in the Shoah at the Auschwitz death camps. Through his outreach to the most simple organization of society, family, he restored faith in the hearts of many. Alongside his work in building up an image of peace and solidarity for the future, brave scholars like Seelisberg in Switzerland spoke up about violence and hatred against Jewish people during this post-war era. To me, both men were brave and exemplify the best of humanity.

Walking through the Family Home Museum in Wadowice taught me so much more about him. Starting with the foundation of family, he created multiple documents like the Theology of the Body. This clarified and informed young people about significant parts of Catholic Social Teaching. For example, he touches on relationships, purity, specifically touching on the dignity of human life. On top of that, I learned about how he created World Youth Day, where he invited thousands (and soon, millions) of Catholic young people to gather in one place. He educated them, prayed with them, and set grounds for them to build from so that they could change the future. Through this extensive and hands-on outreach he restored many people’s faith in the Catholic Church by embodying what it truly means: universal. The universe church accepts all, respects all, and forgives all. His dedication to this was just one of many ways I believe he brought out the best of humanity.

At the Family Home Museum we heard many stories of him living out these values. I noticed that his actions always spoke louder than his words. A perfect example of such was his response to his assassination attempt. A man named Mehmet Ali Ağca tried to kill the Pope in public on May 13, 1981. However, it only injured him, bullets going through his stomach, even damaging his index finger. Almost immediately, the Pope responded saying, “pray for my brother who I haven forgiven”. Despite the pain he faced, the Pope fully forgave Ağca. He even went above and beyond to show love him, meeting him in prison and later meeting with his family. This act clearly changed Ağca’s heart, as he remained friends with the Pope until his eventual passing. This ultimate forgiveness, is another way I saw the best of humanity displayed today.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience in Wadowice, following in the footsteps of this saint. I was able to return to the retreat center and dive into our Course Pack One, Part A. I reread “An Address to the Churches” by Seelisberg in 1947. Being that this was so soon after the war, this document was courageous. It truly represented accountability on the part of Christianity for it’s role in the Holocaust. In the document, Seelisberg states, “the Christian Churches have indeed always affirmed the un-Christian character of antisemitism, as of all forms of racial hatred” (page 1). This act of standing up for a marginalized group after the Shoah was the good, positive side of life. However, Seelisberg does not stop there; he goes on to state ten points to draw attention to anti semitism to prevent it from growing in the Christian Church. He uses comparisons of Judaism and Christianity to make connections, and later suggests that people not utilize the scripture references to Jewish people as the killers of Christ alone, since it was truly the Romans. Picking this apart in our class proved to me the importance of being an advocate instead of a bystander, and that speaking up, though difficult, can pull back stereotypes and hidden prejudices that lead to the worst of humanity.

Both Saint Pope John Paul II and learning in class about Seelisberg showed me the best of people. The best people are those attempting to replicate our perfect, loving, forgiving God. I will be holding onto this later in the week as I travel through the “Gate of Death” and witness the polar opposite of humanity.