I have a theory about why John Paul II neglected the child molestation crisis.

After he was shot and almost killed in 1981 (3 years after his election as Pope), JPII often said that his life was saved by a miracle, and he made a big deal about that miracle. He even built a gorgeous chapel in Zakopane, Poland, to commemorate that supposed miracle. I think that he began to regard himself as a "living saint," and thus may have lost the ability to perceive his own fallibility and the fallibility of his church. If you read things he wrote as Pope, that attitude came through. I think he also felt he was chosen by God to save the persecuted Polish church - and saviors tend to take a very defensive attitude about whatever it is that they're saving, even if they're saving something that is deeply flawed.

Ronald Reagan was almost killed about the same time, and he and JPII had similar attitudes. I think both believed that their unsuccessful assassination attempts proved they were Chosen By God to bring an end to godless Communism.

I've never had much good to say about JPII, and I sometimes wonder if that's why I lost my job at my Catholic parish. Many Catholics, especially the conservative ones, speak of JPII in hushed, reverential tones; and they cannot accept any criticism of the man. One time when I was teaching a religion class to adults, I dared to criticize JPII's writing style. I said that JPII's style was flowery, and that he had an annoying habit of quoting himself. He also used the "royal we" when speaking or writing, and he often didn't make a whole lot of sense. In contrast, I said that Benedict XVI had a writing style that was direct, clear, rational, and compassionate. A very conservative, very prominent member of the parish came up to me after class and castigated me for referring to JPII so irreverently. I mean, this guy reamed me up one side and down the other. He was MAD! Shortly afterwards, I was removed from my volunteer teaching position - and the pastor refused to tell me why. The pastor had removed me from a paid position a couple of years earlier, and he has tried (mostly unsuccessfully) over the years to remove me from other positions of influence. It's hard to fire a volunteer, but he keeps trying. So, when I was removed from the teaching position, I decided my financial contributions were better spent elsewhere. I went from donating $3,000 a year to nothing. Mudcat is one of the beneficiaries of that. I hope some of you purists don't mind that you're posting messages on a server that was paid for (at least partly) by money intended for the collection basket in a Catholic Church. I won't give a penny to my parish and my diocese until we get a new pastor and a new bishop.

Mind you, I am saying that Rome was aware only of the child molestation crisis and should have done something and didn't. I still believe that the Irish mother and baby homes, the industrial schools, and the Magdalene Laundries were completely beyond the awareness of Rome. Communication was far less effective, and there was no Pope until 1978 who had the power that John Paul II wielded. It may well be that his rockstar personality and the effectiveness of modern communications and his long reign, made John Paul II the most powerful Pope in history. And he wasted his power.

-Joe-