The Pope: Doctor Veritatis or Rock Star?

Another thing stuck out about John Allen's column; he discusses Archbishop Michael Miller, secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, who spoke March 9 in the "Theology on Tap" series in Rome, at the Nag's Head Pub, on the subject "The Pope is a Rock Star!: Legacy of a Living Legend."

Miller began by emphasizing that the title of his talk was assigned to him, and he doesn't think the pope is a rock star.

He then told two stories of John Paul II, one set in 1978 when Miller was a student at the Canadian College and Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was first elected pope. "He was a strong man, a robust man, who simply dominated St. Peter's Square from the beginning," Miller recalled. He contrasted that memory with seeing the pope in February/March 2005, now the Suffering Servant of Isaiah.

"We don't see God's athlete," Miller said. "We see a face frozen in this Parkinsonian mask. We see a man who has always been in touch with his own body slowly crumbling. ? He's letting it unfold before us, allowing himself to be a kind of spectacle to the world. He's demonstrating that life is still wonderful and beautiful, that there's nothing shameful in illness, suffering and approaching death."

Miller then presented what he conceded is inevitably a partial list of elements of John Paul's legacy.

First, Miller argued, John Paul has "recast the meaning of the papal ministry, and set an agenda for what it means for generations to come. He has done so, Miller believes, by regarding "the whole world as his parish." He is "the evangelizer par excellence," so that it is now unimaginable that a future pope would "withdraw behind the walls of the Vatican and have people come to him."

Second, John Paul is a world leader, "the single most authoritative voice on moral questions worldwide." In this regard, Miller observed, no one in the future will ever be able to complain about a "silence" of John Paul II on pressing social and ethical concerns.

Third, Miller noted, John Paul is a "true believer," a man for whom there are "no shortcuts and no compromises." He said that "in a world of doublespeak, you get clarity."

Fourth, Miller said that John Paul has created a body of teaching "which surpasses that of any other pope," certainly in quantity, and arguably in richness and depth. Miller said that today some call John Paul II the doctor veritatis, or "doctor of truth." On quantity, Miller observed that John Paul has turned out 30 pages a day of written material.

Fifth, Miller said that John Paul has helped to shape "a new Christian humanism." The pope believes that modern civilization is in crisis, Miller said, and that the way forward must revolve around three central truths about Christ, the human person and the church. "The pope has a radical sense of Christ as the center of the universe and of history," he said. "He's Christological to the core."

Sixth, Miller said that John Paul has worked out a theology of the body that is deeply sacramental. It arises, he said, from the pope's "rich vision" of the human person and what human dignity requires.

He's absolutely right about these points. Yet I don't think many people, including many Catholics my age, have a memory with regard to all that the Pope has done, nor do we appreciate just how much he has contributed to the world. What might explain some of this is the fact that all many Catholics my age know about the Pope is what we have seen on the television news or read in newspapers. To use a harsh term, we have allowed the secular media to spoon feed us for too long. We've lost our ability to engage and reflect.

I wish more young adults would spend time studying the pope's encyclicals - they contain so much depth and wisdom, and they are strikingly prophetic, particularly Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason), Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), and Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth).

I also wish more young adults would spend time studying all that the Holy Father has put forth regarding the Theology of the Body and weigh it, honestly and sincerely, against what the world says about humanity, love, sex, human dignity, and responsibility. We also need leaders who are willing to teach these things and actually challenge us, knowing full well that we have brains!