Pope John Paul II

[navane]

Anyone watching Pope John Paul II's funeral service? It's nearly 2am here, but I decided to stay up all night to watch it live. At the very beginning, there was a man walking before the casket holding the book of scriptures (a red book). He looked like he was trying not to cry....my heart went out to him. It must have been a very emotional moment for him to lead the Pope out for the funeral service.

As a Polish-American, I felt that I wanted to "participate" with the rest of the world. I just found out that one of my cousins, who lives in Poland, travelled to Rome for the funeral. I'd like to think that Dominik travels on behalf of the whole Wiwatowski family.

You see, Pope John Paul II meant a *LOT* to the people of Poland.....even those who are not religious. He his election to Pope gave Poland a sense of worthiness, especially during a very difficult time for the Polish people. Further to that, he helped to push for Poland's ultimate freedom from Communism and for that they are grateful as well. Of course, we all know that his manner of reaching out to people of other religions was unmatched among Popes.

Since I am not Catholic, I do not have any particular tie to the Pope. (Well, I was baptized as a Roman Catholic, but chose for myself to become a Christian.) However, I think this one was exceptional and most of the people of the world appear to recognize that as well.


RIP Papiez Jan Pawel II


.....Kelly

[JennRN]

I'm at work right now, so I have it on. Very, very sad.

[navane]

For what it's worth, I watched ABC coverage. (Sorry, Lifesaver, no Katie Couric for me.) Here are some of my thoughts:

* The homily was beautiful. The parts where Cardinal Ratzinger talked about the Pope's election in 1978 and his last Easter appearance were especially touching.

* Flags of many nations - there were *lots and LOTS* of flags from Poland (top half white/bottom half red, some displaying the eagle) plus flags from everywhere. Very cool!

* It was nice to see the different religious clerics in the audience

* I enjoyed the photo slideshow retrospectives they showed every now and again. I especially enjoyed the photos and clips of the Pope greeting children.

* Wow! The Sign of Peace custom, AKA the "meet and greet moment" was something else. To see world leaders turning to each other to shake hands and wish peace to one another was very interesting.

* It was so sweet when the crowd sort of took over before the final prayers by adding their own part to the ceremony by clapping and chanting. It was very gracious of the Cardinals to allow the crowd to do this for several minutes!

* I also thought the segment where the Cardinals from the Eastern Churches sang special prayers was special. It was so different from the previous music segments. Apparently participation by the Eastern Churches is unprecedented.

* It was also nice to hear that, when the actual internment takes place downstairs in the crypt, the Pope's family will among the 20 or so people in attendance.

* I have to say that I did ok through the whole thing...until the very end. When the pallbearers walked the casket to the door of the basillica, and then turned the Pope around to face the people one last time, I simply burst into tears.


.....Kelly

[emleepc]

One of the paralegals I work with's brother was the guy who read the Epistle at the funeral. His name is John Mcdonald from Citronelle, Alabama. We were so proud of him!!! He was hand picked by the faculty at the Anglicum school in Rome to participate!

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by navane
Since I am not Catholic, I do not have any particular tie to the Pope. (Well, I was baptized as a Roman Catholic, but chose for myself to become a Christian.)

This is the most inappropriate thing I may have ever read on GreekChat and I can't believe it came from one of my own sisters. What on earth has led you to believe that Catholics are not Christian, which is precisely what your post is implying?

[valkyrie]

OOF.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

I was thinking the same thing. And I have read something similar before on GC. Roman Catholics are Christians. Maybe she meant Protestant.


I missed the entire funeral since I was sleeping. Does anyone know if the funeral will be aired again? I woke up and only watched the last few minutes.

[Jill1228]

I am giving her the benefit of the doubt and think she meant to type Protestant.

I watched some of the funeral, and then fell asleep. Funny how much I remembered of Mass.

The Sign of Peace Custom blew me away.

[navane]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin


This is the most inappropriate thing I may have ever read on GreekChat and I can't believe it came from one of my own sisters. What on earth has led you to believe that Catholics are not Christian, which is precisely what your post is implying? [/B]

I wasn't intending to be disrespectful. Surely you could have PM'd me instead of calling me out on the board and bringing our sisterhood into this?

I have nothing against Catholic worshippers. I was baptized Catholic, most of my family is Catholic, my own father attends mass regularly and is actually employed at the parish. In this context, I meant to say "protestant". I guess, due to the fact that you are Catholic yourself (right?), you automatically thought I was saying that Catholics are not Christian. In fact, that is not what I said. I was merely trying to distinguish between Catholic and non-Catholic. Indeed, some people would assert that we are *all* "Catholic" as that word refers to the universal church.

Over here, when someone describes their religious practices they say "I am Catholic" or "I am a Christian" etc. No one says "I am a Protestant." Perhaps it is different in your part of the country? Further to that, "Church of God, Reformation Movement - Anderson, Indiana" seemed a little too cumbersome for my post.

I think you grossly misunderstood what I was saying. I apologize for offending you and others on this board through my incorrect word use. I assure you again that what you propose is not at all what I was trying to convey.

Now am I sad that I have unintentionally offended a sister and the whole spirit of my original post has been lost. All I was trying to say with that last paragraph was that, even though he was not the leader of my particular denomination, I still admired him. Enough so that I stayed up all night and cried along with millions of others.

Please forgive my mistake.

.....Kelly

[DeltAlum]

Call off the hounds.

Kelly's posts were very respectful, and a slip of the keyboard or misunderstood phrase can be overlooked, can't it?

I haven't seen any of the service, but hope to over the weekend providing the VHS machine decided to work.

Having had the opportunity to direct for television an outdoor Papal Mass and Candlelight prayer vigil with the late Pope, I'm anxious to see the Vatican coverage.

[GeekyPenguin]

I apologize for any hurt feelings, but I've seen "Catholics aren't Christian" too much on GC.

And yes, where I'm from, people say "I'm not Catholic, I'm Methodist/Presbyterian/ELCA/WELS/non-denominational/Jewish/Krispy Kreme/Manalo."

I watched the funeral last night and it was a very good and moving service.

[qteasied]

I've heard the "I'm not Catholic, I'm Christian" thing EVERYWHERE. It's a common mistake that lots of people continue to make although it's totally ass-backwards. I don't know why people believe this though...

But I'm agnostic (baptized Catholic), and I don't know why I'm bothered by the Pope's death. I really was saddened when I heard the news. We all knew it was going to happen, but still...He may have said some things that many people don't agree with, but he truly was a forward-thinking Pope. The fact he even admits that the Church committed sins was a great thing. I hope his successor continues to move the Church in this direction.

[Taualumna]

Originally posted by qteasied
I've heard the "I'm not Catholic, I'm Christian" thing EVERYWHERE. It's a common mistake that lots of people continue to make although it's totally ass-backwards. I don't know why people believe this though...

I'm bothered by this too. This often comes from Protestants who are members of more evangelical churches. If that's the case, then are members of "mainline"/"high" churches such as the Anglican/Episcopal church or Presbytarians considered "Christian" or are they something else? Anglican services are often criticized for being too "Catholic."

But I'm agnostic (baptized Catholic), and I don't know why I'm bothered by the Pope's death. I really was saddened when I heard the news. We all knew it was going to happen, but still...He may have said some things that many people don't agree with, but he truly was a forward-thinking Pope. The fact he even admits that the Church committed sins was a great thing. I hope his successor continues to move the Church in this direction.

I know what you mean. I was deeply saddened by this too. John Paul was the only pope I knew. I remember my Grade 1 teacher telling the class about him on my first day in Catholic school.

[kddani]

well let this thread go to remind people that Catholics consider it a great insult when people say or imply that they are not Christians.

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by kddani
well let this thread go to remind people that Catholics consider it a great insult when people say or imply that they are not Christians.

Exactimundo! While I am a lapsed Roman Catholic, I still hold great respect for the Church and I would take great offense if someone insulted my religious beliefs. As a Masonic Knight Templar, I also took an obligation to defend the Christian religion as well, and it's an obligation I don't take lightly.

For many people who are not Catholic, the grand ceremonies that took place during the Holy Father's funeral this (very early)morning is but just a sampling of the Roman Catholic rites most people are exposed to. And much of it is in either Latin or Italian.

In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen. (In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.)