It is fitting and it is proper to bid farewell to Pope John Paul II.
The Presbyterian Church in Canada extends its sincerest sympathy to the Roman Catholic community in Canada on the passing of its pontiff. More than any of his 262 predecessors he was known as one who reached out to embrace the ecumenical movement and to acknowledge that relations have not always been smooth between Christian denominations.
In 1984 at the World Council of Churches in Geneva, John Paul II prayed for full communion among Christians. He was particularly concerned about a rapprochement with Orthodox churches acknowledging that there had been a strained relation between the "successors" of the brothers, Andrew and Peter.
Perhaps most noteworthy for Canadian Presbyterians, people nurtured in the light of the Protestant Reformation, was his invitation to the entire Roman Catholic Church to apologize for the sins committed during its history which contributed towards division between Christians. In Rome on March 13, 2000, he sought forgiveness from other churches for sins committed against them by representatives of the Roman Catholic Church.
John Paul II was also a man who sought dialogue with people of other faiths. He met twice – in 1986 and in 2002 – with leaders of the major world religions to join him to pray for world peace. It is particularly remarkable that he was the first Pope to visit and pray in a synagogue and in a mosque. In Jerusalem in 2000, he stated, "I assure the Jewish people that the Catholic Church Â… is deeply saddened by the hatred, acts of persecution and displays of anti-Semitism directed against Jews by Christians at any time."
The following year in Syria he stated, "For all the times that Muslims and Christians have offended one another, we need to seek forgiveness from the Almighty God and offer each other forgiveness."
Karol Wojtyla's life was his ministry and his ministry was his life. We sympathize with those who keenly feel his departure. We look forward to the day when even greater strides will be made by Christians of good will to more fully realize the meaning of the prayer of Jesus Christ, "That they may all be one."
