At some point on Saturday, after the physicians were done with their examination, a priest leaned down and shouted into the pope's ear: “Karol! Karol! Karol!” And got to response. That's probably when the lights went on in the papal apartments, and the protocol for the inter regnum of the Catholic church started.
The Norwegian press - as could be expected - treated the events as if they were taking place on a different planet. One “expert” said that the late pope's views on women were “medieval.”
I can't recall where I read this, but supposedly John Paul II once remarked that 100 years was a short period in his church - meaning that it could only take a few timed. By that standard, this pope revolutionized the church in many ways. He brought the Vatican to the people through his travels, initiated unprecedented interfaith dialogue, and even though his views on celibacy, birth control, and abortion were decidely traditional, he allowed debate on the issues.
I thought Sinead O'Connor's spectacle on SNL was obscene at the time. I had many disagreements with the pope, but only a cynic of the lowest order would doubt his piety and goodness.
Like many lapsed Catholics, O'Connor may be estranged from the Catholic church, but John Paul II wasn't part of the problem that drove her away. He was part of the solution that yet may win them back.
Much work remains for this pope's successor(s), but the stage has been set.
Sent wirelessly from my Blackberry.
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