Let’s call him great – Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard said. Although for almost five years as a senior primate he has been restrained towards the media, this time he decided to speak to defend John Paul II the good man, after voices appeared in the Belgian Church that the canonization of the Polish Pope was unjustified, and his cult expires.
The former Belgian Primate notes that criticisms of John Paul II are disproportionate to his greatness. Archbishop Léonard admits that he met with the Saint Pope many times and read everything he published during the long pontificate. Although not everyone liked his teaching and behavior, he was a unique source of inspiration for many Catholics, especially the young.
Young people were attracted to his holiness, full of tenderness and mercy, as well as the clarity of his teaching. As Jesus commanded, his language was ‘yes, yes, no, no’, without any ambiguity, confusion or simplification. The former Archbishop of Brussels admits that John Paul II set the bar high in all areas, but he never discouraged his brothers and sisters because he was spreading mercy.
In an article in the journal La libre, Archbishop Léonard notes that John Paul II wanted to fulfill his mission to the extreme. This negatively affected his concrete ministry, but in this way, he reached many hearts and gave testimony of human dignity also in the midst of the greatest deprivation. And when he died, people felt that he was a saint.
Archbishop Léonard reminds that he already in 2005 requested that John Paul II had to be called great. Now he admits that he was very pleased to receive the text of the Senior Pope Benedict about his predecessor in which he is reconsidering this issue. And although Benedict XVI does not speak in this matter neither in the way nor in the case, nevertheless, recalling in his testimony the exceptional achievements of the Polish Pope, he confirms not directly but unequivocally that John Paul II was a great Pope – notes Archbishop Léonard.
Krzysztof Bronk – Vatican
