Pope John Paul II the Great was the head of the Roman Catholic Church for almost 27 years (October 16, 1978 - April 2, 2005). He began World Youth Day (I attended the World Youth Day 1993 in Denver, Colorado) to connect to connect with the youth of the world. Pope John Paul II was one of a small group of people who was credited with bringing down Communism in Eastern Europe and in the countries that made up the former Soviet Union. He had canonized more saints than any pope before and after him (including Pope Benedict XVI (16th). Pope John Paul II has had the most impact on me. So much so that I am perusing a vocation as a Roman Catholic Priest...it is just a matter of where I will be entering the seminary, an Archdiocese or religious order and when I enter.
Recently, there have been what some have called "Hit Pieces" news stories and/or opinion articles written with the intention of demeaning and/or destroying a person and/or their credibility with the result of people not believing their message...or to put it another way...to "kill the messenger". The vast majority of these hit pieces have been directed at Mother Teresa and the rest directed at Pope John Paul II. I will first talk about Pope John Paul II.
An Italian doctor has recently made allegations that Pope John Paul II was euthanized by the catholic Church, a procedure used to us to end a person’s life by unnatural means...which totally goes against Catholic Church teaching and Cannon Law . . .period. Do you all remember the Terri Schiavo Case? The doctor, anaesthesiologist Dr. Lina Pavanelli alleges that Pope John Paul II was denied nutrition until just a few days before he died and went to be with the Lord on April 2, 2005..in essence saying that the doctors that were attending to Pope John Paul II hastened the pope’s death so that he would not suffer anymore...also known as a Mercy Killing...the same that Dr. Jack Kevorkian a.k.a. Dr Death, did to at least 130 terminally ill people before he was sent to prison in Michigan in 1998.
There’s just a few problems with this doctor’s allegations. First off, Dr. Lina did not ever see Pope John Paul II at any time during his life on Earth, including during his pontificate, nor was Pope John Paul II ever a patient of hers. Second, not once did Dr. Pavanelli ever see Pope John Paul II’s medical records or consult any of the pope’s doctors. Third, Dr. Lina Pavanelli bases all of her claims on what she saw of him on Italian Television. Finally, Dr. Lina Pavanelli has been part of a "Right to Die" campaign that has been going on in Italy for some time now. When Dr. Pavanelli was confronted with the facts, she simply changed the core of her allegations...if not the allegations themselves.
Now, let me address the Mother Teresa controversy that has been going on for the past month. Last month, a new book came out that contained letters written by Mother Teresa herself to a few priests who served as spiritual adviser to her over the years. The book, Mother Teresa: Come to My Light, contains those letters where she wrote about different subjects ranging from questioning her faith to questioning the very existence of God himself.
The following is the Big B Files’ summarization of the Ancient Media’s coverage of the writings contained in the new book of letters by Mother Teresa:
"What a hypocrite…she says one thing then believes something else."
"Why should we believe what she says? She says to trust and believe in God, and yet she questions whether God even exists."
The Big B Files summarization of the whole "Controversy" has been the same since the media driven thing began a month ago and basically boils down to this:
"Well, whoop-de-doo-hoo! So what! It happens to everyone to varying degrees at some point in their lives. I have even questioned my faith at one time or another and have even asked god "are you there at all?" This was especially the case within the past 3 1/2 to 4 years, while perusing my call to the Roman Catholic Priesthood. I have spent the past few years checking with religious orders and after a series of Rejections due to Tourette’s Syndrome, I began questioning my faith to a point to where I seriously considered leaving the Roman Catholic Church altogether."
The whole point is that even though we (Myself, Mother Teresa & Pope John Paul II) questioned our faith at one time or another, we still held steadfast to it, Mother Teresa & Pope John Paul II each had doubts and, in the end, proved to be the two best examples of people who…even when they had doubts about their own faith, inspired others and lifted up the faith of others that extends to today.
Many people around the world have Mother Teresa & Pope John Paul II to thank for giving faith, inspiration, love confidence, and hope to those of us around the world who had none before . . . thank you Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta & Pope John Paul II.
And that is the Big B Files. Click on the "Comments" Link below and tell me what you think . . . I’m Bryan Hewing.
