Who Is Pope John Paul II?
Few Catholics doubt that the last two decades of the twentieth century will be called the era of John Paul the Great. Some scoffers will say his reputation is a product of the Vatican public relations machine, the ever-present popemobile, and his endless trips around the worldalways in the eye of the media, hi the last few months the world watched him with over a million young people at World Youth Day in Paris and 1.5 million at an outdoor mass in Brazil. John Paul II has been physically seen by more people around the world than any other man in history. This does not even include his constant presence in the electronic media: No doubt the man we have watched on television for nearly 20 years is media savvy and friendly. Even his most hostile critics, however, admit that his list of actual accomplishments goes well beyond his capacity to earn a positive rating from the pollsters. John Paul II has been a gifted theologian, administrator, diplomat, and pastor. His series of encyclicals
