John Paul II and Young People

There are biographies about the recently deceased Pope John Paul II that are over a 1000 pages long. About someone who stood up to the Nazis during World War II, helped liberate Poland from Soviet domination through charismatic and spiritual leadership, and contributed to a peaceful victory over Soviet Communism certainly much can and should be written. But like other important men, it is possible to loose sight of an individual in a simple chronicle of achievement. Sometimes short metaphorical stories can reveal as much in their own way as pages of scholarly research. This is not to diminish the value of historical research, but to emphasize the human dimension of a person.

One of the misunderstood qualities of John Paul II is how he can ask that people live up to strict moral codes and at the same time be loved by so many, especially young people. Young people are predisposed to test the limits of authority. How then can they embrace a person that asks so much of them? Common experience does not always suggest that young people respond positively to those who challenge them.

Part, though by no means all of it, is a consequence of authenticity. Children are acutely sensitive to disingenuousness. They sensed in John Paul II an honesty that granted him a level of credibility that few other adults could earn.

Conservatives should note something else special about John Paul II. Too often Conservatives are viewed as people that always say, "No." No, you should not have an abortion. No, you should not treat sexuality as plumbing, divorced from love and fidelity. No, you should make a full commitment to marriage and not to selfishness.

John Paul II phrased his admonitions positively. Yes, you should embrace life. Yes, you strive toward fidelity. Yes you must seek love in the fullness of marriage. Moreover, even when saying no, John Paul II managed to convey the feeling that he wanted to liberate you to a broader existence, not simply circumscribe one's range of options. In short, John Paul lifted spirits rather than suppressed the eagerness and adventurousness of youth.

Like former President Ronald Reagan, John Paul II looked at people and saw hope, not failure, he saw more possibility, and less sin, saw the image of God in all of us, not the limits of our humanity.

Ambassador Raymond Flynn, former US ambassador to the Vatican, relates a story about a conversation he had when he flew across the Atlantic with the Pope immediately after youth rally in Denver. John Paul II told Flynn, "I met the future of America. I looked into the eyes of the future of America. The future of America is very bright, it's very hopeful, it's very promising. It's in the teachings of Christ. It's in your young people. America's best days are yet to come." Many of us can see flaws in our youth: excessive materialism, sexual promiscuity, self-centeredness encouraged by the "me" culture. In the young faces he lovingly cupped his hands, John Paul II came to the Reaganesque conviction that "America's best days are yet to come." He saw hope, and young people repaid the vision in love and respect. This loving example should inform those of us who sometimes must point out uncompromising truths.

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