April 8, 2005

As millions today witnessed the funeral Mass of Pope John Paul II, the faith and unifying accomplishments of this Pontiff – a term derived from the Latin "bridge builder" – were clearly reflected among the unprecedented human assembly, which reached from those gathered at the Vatican to all who followed the rites worldwide via broadcast media.

In death as in life, the Pope demonstrated a far-reaching "convening power" in assembling persons from all walks of life around the centrality of Christ's message of love, forgiveness, sacrifice and service.

"What has always struck me is that John Paul II always gave an impression of personal approachability and involvement, especially to young people, who responded in huge enthusiastic crowds to his visits," said Paris-based Episcopal Bishop Pierre Whalon in comments before today's funeral Mass.

"He had an extraordinary ability to communicate in memorable phrases – ‘the culture of death,' for instance. As a theologian, his writing remains unmatched in the field of economic justice," said Whalon, who is bishop-in-charge of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe. "His clear strong personal faith was a witness to the world."

Whalon said the Pope "showed a personal courage which won the admiration of even his sworn enemies."

"John Paul had the gift for gestures, in which he regularly moved out of the normal bounds of papal behavior to reach out to others," Whalon said. "Perhaps his greatest one came when he went to pray at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, leaving, as all supplicants do, a prayer on a scrap of paper wedged into a crevasse. Thus he made an indelible impression that started moving the Church toward real reconciliation with the Jewish people."

Whalon echoed the voices of other Anglicans who since the Pope's death on April 2 have commented on the potential of what can be achieved by reconciliation, by bridge-building, much as John Paul II helped liberate his native Poland from communism.

The Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop, Frank T. Griswold, said April 2 that "With the death of his Holiness John Paul II, Bishop of Rome, the world has lost one of its great Christian leaders. Like the householder in the gospel he was able to bring out of the treasure of his own deep spirit things ‘both new and old.' His voice and moral authority gave inspiration and hope to millions well beyond the Roman Catholic Church. His commitment to the unity of the church expressed itself in his personal willingness to meet with representatives of other faith communities and to invite those outside his own tradition to reflect on how the ministry of the Bishop of Rome might be of greater service both in the cause of Christian unity and the well-being of the world."

The full text of Bishop Whalon's statement is posted on-line in a collection of comments assembled by the Episcopal News Service http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_60816_ENG_HTM.htm.

Anglican sources in Rome include St. Paul's (Within the Walls) Episcopal Church in Rome (part of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe), http://www.stpaulsrome.it/, the Rev. Dr. Michael L. Vono, rector; and the Anglican Centre in Rome, http://www.anglicancentreinrome.org/, Bishop John Flack (Church of England), executive director. Further information about the Convocation of American Churches in Europe is available at http://www.tec-europe.org/.

Episcopal News Service