John Paul II

John Paul II 1920-2005, pope (1978-2005), a Pole (b. Wadowice) named Karol Józef Wojtyła; successor of John Paul I . He was the first non-Italian pope elected since the Dutch Adrian VI (1522-23) and the first Polish and Slavic pope. Ordained a priest in 1946, he earned doctorates in philosophy (1948) and theology (1953), taught ethics at Kraków and Lublin universities, and published works on theological and philosophical topics as well as poetry and a play. He was consecrated a bishop in 1958, became archbishop of Kraków in 1964, was a prominent spokesman for the Polish Church at the Second Vatican Council (see Vatican Council, Second ), and was made a cardinal in 1967.

As pope, John Paul II continued to implement the decisions of Vatican II and placed special emphasis on Marian devotion. He traveled widely, increasing the international character of the papacy. In the first decade alone of his pontificate he visited 50 countries, in spite of the physical setback caused by his being shot in St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981, by a Turkish gunman. The Bulgarian secret service was subsequently implicated in the assassination attempt, which some have suggested was ordered by the Soviet Union, but nothing was conclusively proved.

Despite his increasing age and frailty, John Paul II continued to travel until nearly the end of the papacy, visiting 129 nations during 104 trips abroad. In 1998, for example, he visited Cuba; in 1999 he visited Romania and Georgia, becoming the first pope to visit predominantly Orthodox countries; in 2000 he visited the Holy Land; in 2001 he retraced St. Paul's missionary journeys in Greece, Syria, and Malta and visited Ukraine; and in 2002 he visited Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Guatemala, and Mexico. He also expanded international representation in the College of Cardinals and Roman Curia.

John Paul pursued ecumenism (primarily with the Anglican Communion and Orthodox churches), although he was unsuccessful in arranging a visit to Russia, and took various steps to improve relations with Jews, including Vatican recognition of Israel and acknowledgment of Catholic failures in responding to the Holocaust . Conservative on doctrine and issues relating to women, he was also strongly critical of liberation theology and of those who called themselves Catholics yet continually questioned the church's teachings. In a 1995 encyclical he reasserted the church's condemnation of abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment. However, he also considered it the church's responsibility to grapple with social questions and was an outspoken commentator on world events. John Paul issued two encyclicals (1981, 1991) on economic issues in which he praised free-market economies but criticized the inadequacies and injustices of both capitalism and Communism. He expressed his opposition to the imposition (1981) of martial law in Poland and used the resources of the church behind the scenes to support Solidarity prior to the collapse of Communism in his native country, actions that also helped bring about the eventual collapse of Communism generally in E Europe and the Soviet Union. His 1998 encyclical, Fides et Ratio, condemned both atheism and faith unsupported by reason and affirmed the place of reason and philosophy in religion.

A charismatic, forceful, and multilingual man whose own faith was marked by deep piety and mysticism, John Paul II humanized the papacy and managed to connect personally with the many thousands that gathered whenever he visited a foreign land. The days of his last illness, his lying in state, and his funeral drew millions to Rome and Vatican City, where large, often emotionally demonstrative crowds affirmed one last time how greatly he had altered the nature of the papacy and the world's expectations of a pope. He was succeeded by Benedict XVI .

Bibliography: See biographies by T. Szulc (1995), G. Weigel (1999), G. O'Connor (2005), and J. Cornwell (2005).

John Paul II (1920– ) Pope (1978– ), b. Poland as Karol Wojtyla. Ordained in 1946, he became auxiliary bishop of Kraków (1958), archbishop (1964), and then cardinal (1967). The first non-Italian pope to be elected for more than 450 years. John Paul II travelled widely. Theologically conservative, he upheld papal infallibility and condemned artificial methods of birth control and the ordination of women priests.

John Paul II (1920–2005), Pope from 1978. Karol Wojtyła, the son of a Polish soldier, was born in an industrial town near Cracow. He became titular Bp. of Ombi and auxiliary to the Administrator Apostolic of Cracow in 1958, Abp. of Cracow in 1964, and a cardinal in 1967. He attended the Second Vatican Council and sat on several post-Conciliar Commissions.

He was the first Slav to become Pope and the first non-Italian since 1523. In 1979 he went to Mexico to open the Latin American Bishops' Conference at Puebla; he set the pattern for his later foreign visits, kissing the ground of the country and celebrating Mass in front of vast crowds. He subsequently visited over 100 countries, including Britain (1982). He is credited with a crucial role in the collapse of Communism, which spread from Poland. In 1989 he received the President of the USSR at the Vatican; soon afterwards the Uniat Church was restored in the Soviet Union.

His pontificate has been marked by a concern for orthodoxy. He has declined to make any concessions in the Church's attitude to contraception, abortion, and homosexuality, repeatedly reaffirming the traditional position. In 1994 he declared that the Church had no authority to confer priestly ordination on women, teaching that was defined as infallible in 1995. A universal Catechism of the Catholic Church was issued in 1997.

Visiting the World Council of Churches in 1984 he spoke of the ecumenical movement as irreversible, though he rejected intercommunion as a means of attaining unity of faith. He especially promoted good relations with the Orthodox, but the re-emergence of Catholicism in E. Europe in the late 1980s led to difficulties. Relations with the C of E also suffered setbacks. A ‘Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism’, issued in 1993, encouraged, but defined limits to, RC participation in ecumenical activity. He fostered good relations with other world religions, especially Islam and Judaism.

He reorganized the Curia and continued to internationalize both the Curia and the college of Cardinals. He promulgated the new Codex Iuris Canonici in 1983 and in 1990 the first ever Code of canon law for the Uniats.