In Western Europe, some people say: “The Pope should not participate in such great celebrations; he should not gather such crowds around him, because this is triumphalism and an obstacle to the ecumenical process. It would be much better if he came to have a dialogue.” But that’s what I do every day with the people I meet. I do so during my Apostolic visits. Could this not be a dialogue? Is it not a dialogue to prepare for the journey, the journey itself? All these journeys were for the service of peace. Of course, they served entirely religious, pastoral and ecumenical purposes, but by leading the Pope to various points of the globe, they also created an opportunity to meet societies, with realities, with very different political systems. How can we fail to see that these visits have contributed to better understanding of others? And this is the role of the Church that wants to unite, that wants to serve fraternity between individuals and between peoples, beyond what divides them, and sometimes turns one against the other.
These are journeys of faith and prayer that always focus on meditation and the proclamation of the word of God, the celebration of the Eucharist, the invocation of Mary, Mother of the Church. They are journeys of love, peace and universal fraternity. They are also an occasion for an “itinerant catechesis”, for the prolongation of the Gospel throughout the world. Having been preaching for years, every time I feel like I’m doing it all over again. Every time there is a small discovery. I always find something new (…).
Wherever I can, I visit the universal Church through the various local Churches living in different countries and on different continents. I have become such a traveling shepherd, a wandering Pope, and in this way I want to serve the universal Church and the Church in various countries of the world, among different peoples and nations, as I can afford. I will go forward as long as Providence gives me strength.
John Paul II “The Autobiography”
Polish Publishing house – Literary Press – 2005
