Saint John Paul the Grate

Saint John Paul II

 

SAINT JOHN PAUL THE GRATE

 

Just two days ago was released a book about Papa Francesco’s very personal views—his own words—about Saint John Paul II, the man and his legacy. Titled Saint John Paul the Great, the book pushes “the Great” honorific, extremely rare in the Roman Catholic Church, as a result highly complimentary, we might even say, adulatory.

See, for example: https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/new-book-pope-francis-points-continuity-john-paul-ii

—Claire Giangravé, “New book by Pope Francis points to continuity with John Paul II,” National Catholic Reporter (February 12, 2020) 

Saint John Paul II was not without his faults and sins, in particular, his failure to address the clerical sexual abuse crisis in a manner that sought to protect child and teenage victims and to advance their psychological recovery.

He was more interested in protecting the institution, that is, the Roman Catholic Church, in a manner that appears to reflect his misguided and culpable clericalism.

The source of his blameworthy clericalism is persuasively located by Clifford Longley of The Tablet in the preconciliar milieu of the Polish Roman Catholic Church. Polish Catholicism at the time was characterized by a religious and doctrinal conservatism that became even more pronounced in resistance to a viciously persecutory Communist regime.

[Boldface mine]

“…even before he was elected Pope, was aware that the Communist regime that ruled his native Poland was ever willing to invent accusations of sexual misconduct as a weapon against the Catholic clergy. That appears to have shaped his response when, as Pope, he was faced with clear information that Fr Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder of the Legion of Christ, was a habitual sex offender who included child abuse and incest among his many crimes.

“But there is more to it than that. Marcial Maciel was his kind of Catholic, and the Legion was his kind of Catholicism. It was authoritarian and ultra-conservative, and the head man’s word was law, not to be challenged. It was, so to speak, more Opus Dei than Opus Dei – another organisation John Paul II was to favour. He dismissed the sort of spiritual and moral deviation being alleged as just not credible.

“Or take the case of Cardinal Bernard Law. He was hounded out of Boston, Massachusetts, as told in the Oscar-winning film Spotlight, and offered refuge in the Vatican to escape the clutches of the Boston public prosecutor. But rather than opt for a quiet life, he became a major player inside the Vatican. He belonged to more dicasteries than any other cardinal, and used his positions to promote a conservative authoritarian agenda. Yet this man had repeatedly protected abusive priests, moving them round his diocese in response to complaints so they would abuse again and again. He caused a vast amount of human misery. Yet in the Vatican he was a major policy influence on John Paul II.

“Or take the case of Theodore McCarrick, whom John Paul II promoted to cardinal in spite of widespread rumours about his sexual proclivities. Or the case of Hans Gröer of Vienna, another of his protégés, who had to stand down when his history of sexual wrongdoing was exposed. And indeed, George Pell, promoted by John Paul II to cardinal in 2003 – the same year he promoted Keith O’Brien. And these are just some of the figures he advanced to the top of the Catholic tree. Why could he not see it? Because they were loyal and unimaginative, safe pairs of hands who did not question the received Catholic orthodoxy – John Paul II’s orthodoxy – on issues, above all, of marriage, sex and gender. That was the Catholic ‘product’ that good salesmen did not criticise.”

Longley remarks in brief, almost an understatement: “It is not entirely irrelevant that sexual abuse survivors held a protest demonstration when John Paul II was canonised.”

See: https://www.pcnbritain.org.uk/news/post/why-did-john-paul-ll-fail-to-address-sexual-abuse-in-the-church

 

—“Why did John Paul ll fail to address sexual abuse in the Church,” Progressive Christianity Network Britain, March 14, 2019

Saint John Paul II’s policy of cover-up and circling the wagons to protect the institution threw up difficult walls for the clerical sexual victims in their quest to obtain just redress, deepening their wounds and doubtlessly prolonging their psychological travail.

“The pontiff ‘turned a blind eye to the problems that were happening in Los Angeles,’ said Joelle Casteix, Western Regional Director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

“‘The canonization of Pope John Paul II is very traumatic for victims of sexual abuse in the catholic church because they don’t see him as the unifying figure that many other Catholics do,’ Casteix said. ‘They see him as someone who knew about sexual abuse, covered it up, promoted wrong doers and allowed more priests to molest kids.’

“…Casteix acknowledges that Pope John Paul II may have said many things against the oppression of communism. But she says he failed to speak up for abused children.

“‘A true saint would stand up and say what you are doing is wrong. And say I will make it publicly known. And I don’t care if it's bad public relations. And I don’t care if people are upset,’ Casteix said. ‘Because we must reward the good and punish the wrong and protect the vulnerable.’”

See: https://www.scpr.org/news/2014/04/24/43763/some-victims-of-catholic-church-sex-abuse-oppose-p/

 

—Shirley Jahad, “Some victims of Catholic Church sex abuse oppose Pope John Paul II reaching sainthood,” KPCC 89.3FM, April 14, 2014

No doubt for many if not all victims of clerical sexual abuse under Saint John Paul II, his obdurate, uncompromising, ill-conceived, and destructive policy of protecting the institution to the grave prejudice and enduring harm of the victims grates painfully. To many victims he is—and we assume they still profess Roman Catholicism—Saint John Paul the Grate.

We surmise that the same is true for all victims of clerical abuse, sexual, otherwise, or some combination thereof, under Saint John Paul II’s shortsighted, intransigent, and willfully blind pontificate.