John Paul the Great by popular acclaim

By Brian Murphy in Rome
April 6, 2005

It is being proclaimed by powerful clergymen, printed in newspapers and even tucked into a Vatican-drafted homily: Pope John Paul the Great.

A worldwide movement is building to honour the late pontiff with a title that has been given only twice - and to predecessors who led the church more than 14 centuries ago.

Whether John Paul II becomes the third depends on the followers and church leaders rather than any formal process, experts in Vatican law and tradition say.

"It's vox populi on a grand scale," said Father Robert Taft, a professor of church history at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. "If people keep calling him the Great then he will become the Great."

A canon law authority, James Conn, noted there is no "code or procedure" to add the title. "It's more of a popular acclamation," said Father Conn, who teaches at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University. "It gains strength and credibility each time it's proclaimed."

Which is becoming often.

Italian newspapers were filled with the honorific. "The long farewell to John Paul the Great," read the headline in Corriere della Sera on Monday. The official Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, called him "John Paul II, the Great", and Catholic-oriented websites were full of references to "the Great" pope.

"So how would he be remembered? He will be Pope John Paul the Great," said Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Britain.

The text for a Mass on Sunday in St Peter's Square called the late Pope "John Paul the Great", a title usually designated for popes considered worthy of sainthood. But the reference was dropped by Cardinal Angelo Sodano when he delivered the homily.

No explanation was offered by the Vatican. But Holy See texts are considered official even if not read aloud.

"He was the most significant leader of our times. I'd say he was the man of the century, and at some time in the future may he get another title, 'Pope John Paul the Great'," said Bishop Edward Kmiec of Buffalo, New York.

It would be the first time in many centuries.

The 5th century pope Leo I, or Leo the Great, was known for his stirring writings and his unwavering defence of the fundamental theological concept of Christ having two distinct natures, divine and human. He also persuaded Attila the Hun to spare Rome and managed to save many Romans from torture and other abuses during a later rampage by vandals.

The other pope to carry the title, Gregory I, brought a monastic simplicity to the church during his 14-year papacy ending in 604 and used its vast holdings to help starving citizens of Rome during battles with rival states.

Associated Press


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