In a Terry Mattingly article on "Divining the pope’s legacy"
Theologian George Weigel needs a global positioning system transmitter on his wrist so journalists can keep track of him.
As author of the 1,008-page "Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II," his life has been hectic since the news flash that the shepherd of the world’s 1 billion Roman Catholics had been rushed to the hospital, gasping for breath.
Weigel said a network-news reporter recently called and asked, " ‘Where are you going to be tonight, in case something happens to the pope?’ Well, I said, ‘I’m going to church and I’m going home and eat dinner with my family. That’s what we do on Ash Wednesday. Is that OK?’ "
and ends with this:
Based on his personal contacts, he is convinced that the pope’s health is actually quite sound for an 84-year-old who is suffering from arthritis and Parkinson’s disease.
"This whole idea that the next breath of wind that comes along is going to blow him over is just wrong," said Weigel. "The truth of the matter is that he is going to have his ups and his downs. We may see six or seven of these episodes in the next year or two or longer. So are we going to go crazy every time? That is going to get old fast."
3 comments
I think if you are looking for someone to make an objective analysis of the pope’s contributions during his pontificate, asking the guy who has made a career out of pre-humously canonizing him is the wrong approach. Weigel has done almost as much to create confusion among young faithful Catholics over the nature of this papacy as the pope himself. But sorry, I forget, neither Weigel nor John PaulII can do any wrong. Just keep chanting people, ‘JP2weloveyou…JP2weloveyou…’ and I’m sure everything will be fine in the Church.
Hilary,
While it is true that many have rushed behind the Pope during his time as pope, I don’t believe anyone thinks that he is unable to fault. There are problems in the church today and you could say, to a degree, his fault in causing or not doing enough to correct.
He is not faultless is what he does but he is a model of faith, hope and love. If you read his personal writings, you see a man deeply committed to Christ throughout his life. There are many, many other people out there who are equal, or perhaps better, models of this out there, but for such a model to be such a high figure in our society is great.
Is George Weigel the best person to contact regarding the Pope? Who is better that has the knowledge and depth of research? I’m not asking in a manner saying “prove this to me” but in all honesty, who else?
Just watch the biases. Even when they are on our side.