A Fearless Champion of Life, Human Dignity and Justice

Summary of a Fr. Gerry Creedon homily from April 3, 2005

"Put your finger here and see my hands."

BOTH POPE JOHN PAUL II AND JESUS had many human characteristics in common.

They were both affectionate, tactile people.

Tony Melendez is a Latino singer, born without arms, who plays the guitar with his feet. His song at the Youth Rally with the Pope in Los Angeles was so poignant that the pontiff climbed down from his throne, jumped off the platform, went to where Tony was seated above him and reached up in an embrace that endeared him for life to the vocalist and to the thousands of enthusiastic youth.

A story is told that when he first visited the Vatican Embassy in Washington he shook up the protocol of the place by coming to breakfast by sliding down a banister. His athletic exuberance could not be repressed.

The infectious warmth of his personality endeared him to children and youth and all who have a heart.

At the same time John Paul was a fearless champion of life, human dignity and justice.

"Be not afraid " was his favorite scriptural injunction. He exemplified that motto when he stood with Lech Walesa in Poland, when he scolded Marcos about human rights in the Philippines, when he raised his arm with the workers of Brazil shouting "Solidarity" with them as he asserted that no group should use their power to dominate another. He was relentless in his critique of Communism but strongly condemned the greedy excesses of capitalism and the global inequity they spawn.

His commitment to a culture of life extended from the unborn to the aging and all the way to death row. There was no inconsistency about the assertion of his belief in the dignity of the human person.

He condemned the violence of terrorism and yet rejected the solution offered by war. "No to war! War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity. International law, honest dialogue, solidarity between states, the noble exercise of diplomacy; these are methods worthy of individuals and states in resolving their differences" (New Year Peace Statement 2004)

His conviction about the value of dialogue was nowhere more beautifully articulated than in the Decalogue of Assisi for Peace. There he called for a new effort from religious leaders of all faiths to reject the distortion of religion when it serves violence and to engage anew the fundamental assumptions that bind people together under God.

1. We commit ourselves to proclaiming our firm conviction that violence and terrorism are incompatible with the authentic spirit of religion, and, as we condemn every recourse to violence and war in the name of God or of religion, we commit ourselves to doing everything possible to eliminate the root causes of terrorism.
2. We commit ourselves to educating people to mutual respect and esteem, in order to help bring about a peaceful and fraternal coexistence between people of different ethnic groups, cultures and religions.
3. We commit ourselves to fostering the culture of dialogue, so that there will be an increase of understanding and mutual trust between individuals and among peoples, for these are the premise of authentic peace.
4. We commit ourselves to defending the right of everyone to live a decent life in accordance with their own cultural identity, and to form freely a family of his own.
5. We commit ourselves to frank and patient dialogue, refusing to consider our differences as an insurmountable barrier, but recognizing instead that to encounter the diversity of others can become an opportunity for greater reciprocal understanding.
6. We commit ourselves to forgiving one another for past and present errors and prejudices, and to supporting one another in a common effort both to overcome selfishness and arrogance, hatred and violence, and to learn from the past that peace without justice is no true peace.
7. We commit ourselves to taking the side of the poor and the helpless, to speaking out for those who have no voice and to working effectively to change these situations, out of the conviction that no one can be happy alone.
8. We commit ourselves to taking up the cry of those who refuse to be resigned to violence and evil, and we are desire to make every effort possible to offer the men and women of our time real hope for justice and peace.
9. We commit ourselves to encouraging all efforts to promote friendship between peoples, for we are convinced that, in the absence of solidarity and understanding between peoples, technological progress exposes the world to a growing risk of destruction and death.
10. We commit ourselves to urging leaders of nations to make every effort to create and consolidate, on the national and international levels, a world of solidarity and peace based on justice