Read complete books and articles on: Pope John Paul II

John Paul II - 1920–, pope (1978–), a Pole named Karol Józef Wojtyla, b. Wadowice; successor of John Paul I. He was the first non-Italian pope elected since the Dutch Adrian VI (1522–23) and the first Polish pope. Ordained a priest in 1946, he taught ethics at Kraków and Lublin universities and published works on theological and philosophical topics as well as poetry and a play. He was consecrated a bishop in 1958, became archbishop of Kraków in 1964, was a prominent spokesman for the Polish Church at the Second Vatican Council (see Vatican Council, Second), and was made a cardinal in 1967.

As pope, John Paul II has continued to implement the decisions of Vatican II and has placed special emphasis on Marian devotion. He has traveled widely, increasing the international character of the papacy. In the first decade alone of his pontificate he visited 50 countries, despite the physical setback caused by his being shot in St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981, by a Turkish terrorist. John Paul has continued to travel widely despite his increasing age and frailty, and by 2003 had visited more than 125 nations, having made 100 trips abroad. In 1998 he visited Cuba; in 1999 he visited Romania and Georgia, becoming the first pope to visit predominantly Orthodox countries; in 2000 he visited the Holy Land; in 2001 he retraced St. Paul's missionary journeys in Greece, Syria, and Malta and visited Ukraine; and in 2002 he visited Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Guatemala, and Mexico. He also has expanded international representation in the College of Cardinals and Roman Curia.

John Paul has pursued ecumenism (primarily with the Anglican Communion and Orthodox churches) and has taken various steps to improve relations with Jews, including Vatican recognition of Israel and acknowledgment of Catholic failures in responding to the Holocaust. Conservative on doctrine and issues relating to women, he also has been strongly critical of liberation theology and of those who call themselves Catholics yet continually question the church's teachings. In a 1995 encyclical he reasserted the church's condemnation of abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment. However, he also considers it the church's responsibility to grapple with social questions and has been an outspoken commentator on world events. John Paul has issued two encyclicals (1981, 1991) on economic issues in which he praised free-market economies but criticized the inadequacies and injustices of both capitalism and Communism. He expressed his opposition to the imposition (1981) of martial law in Poland and used the resources of the church behind the scenes to support Solidarity prior to the collapse of Communism in his native country. His 1998 encyclical, Fides et Ratio, condemned both atheism and faith unsupported by reason and affirmed the place of reason and philosophy in religion.

See biographies by T. Szulc (1995) and G. Weigel (1999).

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15 of the Best Books and Articles on: Pope John Paul II

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Pope John Paul II and the Church » Read Now
by Peter Hebblethwaite. 312 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

The National Catholic Reporter editors have selected the most significant of Peter Hebblewaite's articles on the life and times and church of Pope John Paul II. They were stirring years of world change and papal trips and not a little controversy.
2.

The Rhetoric of Pope John Paul II: The Pastoral Visit as a New Vocabulary of the Sacred » Read Now
by Margaret B. Melady. 256 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

John Paul II's frequent use of international pastoral visits to communicate directly with local church members and the society in which they live has become a distinctive mark of his papacy. While media coverage of these visits is extensive, most commentators are perplexed by the pope's enigmatic...
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John Paul II's frequent use of international pastoral visits to communicate directly with local church members and the society in which they live has become a distinctive mark of his papacy. While media coverage of these visits is extensive, most commentators are perplexed by the pope's enigmatic style. This book explains this ambiguity by examining John Paul II's rhetorical strategy and analyzing his purposeful choices in planning, arranging themes, managing form and imagery, and performing the visit. Using the 1987 visit to the United States as a prototype for rhetorical study, the author treats the visit's discourse and symbols, and their contexts and arrangements, as observable data that can be interpreted using the accommodation-resistance dialectic to locate religious vocabularies in relation to secularizing tendencies. The pope's overseas pastoral visits emerge as a rhetorical response to a church and society deeply affected by secularization and pluralism, and as a new way of speaking about the sacred.
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3.

The Contours of Church and State in the Thought of John Paul II » Read Now
by George Williams Huntston. 90 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...the thought and actions of Pope John Paul II concerning church-state relations...Karol Cardinal Wojtyla Pope John Paul II as Philosopher and the Cracow...18 February 1981...
4.

Mary's Pope: John Paul II, Mary, and the Church since Vatican II » Read Now
by Antoine Nachef. 282 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

Rooted in Scripture, Tradition, and Redemtoris Mater and other encyclicals, this book lays the foundations for understanding the teachings of the Catholic Church concerning Mary.
5.

Prophecy and Diplomacy: The Moral Doctrine of John Paul II A Jesuit Symposium » Read Now
by John J. Conley, Joseph W. Koterski. 334 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
6.

Karol Wojtyla: The Thought of the Man Who Became Pope John Paul II » Read Now
by Rocco Buttiglione. 404 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

Written by Rocco Buttiglione, one of the Pope's closest friends and counselors, this volume is the standard work for all who want to understand the philosophical mind of Karol Wojtyla, the man who became Pope John Paul II. Based on an accurate reading of all of Wojtyla's works and of all relevant...
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Written by Rocco Buttiglione, one of the Pope's closest friends and counselors, this volume is the standard work for all who want to understand the philosophical mind of Karol Wojtyla, the man who became Pope John Paul II. Based on an accurate reading of all of Wojtyla's works and of all relevant secondary literature, this English edition of Buttiglione's book provides a complete introduction to the Pope's philosophy and his original contribution to the philosophy of freedom. The early chapters give biographical information on Wojtyla and examine his early philosophical formation. The middle chapters explore in depth two of the Pope's central philosophical and theological conceptions - human love and the acting person. The closing chapters look at Wojtyla's role at the Second Vatican Council, examine his poetic works, and place his thought in dialogue with contemporary philosophy. New to this English edition of Buttiglione's work are a foreword by Michael Novak, an appendix published for the third edition of The Acting Person, and an afterword that updates the book with a survey of secondary literature on the Pope's thought published between 1982 and 1996.
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7.

From Alms to Liberation: The Catholic Church, the Theologians, Poverty, and Politics (Chap. 12 "Pope John Paul II and Liberation Theology") » Read Now
by Werner Levi. 180 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

By comparing broadly similar situations of poverty in 19th-century Europe and 20th-century Latin America, Levi reaches the conclusion that, in its reluctance to go beyond rhetoric in dealing with poverty, the church may lose the loyalty of its Third World constituency in much the same way as it lost...
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By comparing broadly similar situations of poverty in 19th-century Europe and 20th-century Latin America, Levi reaches the conclusion that, in its reluctance to go beyond rhetoric in dealing with poverty, the church may lose the loyalty of its Third World constituency in much the same way as it lost the loyalty of the labor movement in the 19th century. The book examines Pope John Paul II's progressivism in dealing with poverty and the similarities between the socialist leanings of the Pope's speeches and the Liberation Theologian's writings. Levi points out, however, that the Pope's progressivism is not shared by the Vatican officialdom.
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8.

Catholicism and Politics in Communist Societies (Chap. 16 "Karol Wojtyla and Marxism") » Read Now
by Pedro Ramet. 454 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...originally appeared in the Pope John Paul II Lecture Series in honor of...group strongly supportive of Pope John Paul II , recently put it, "Democracy...continuity with the...
9.

The Pope's Passions: The Legacy of John Paul II, in The Christian Century » Read Now
by Charles E. Curran. 5 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...The Legacy of John Paul II. by Charles...man who became pope in October 1978...churches. No pope has done more than John Paul II for Jewish-Catholic...elect the new pope...
10.

John Paul II's Ut Unum Sint and Conversation with Women, in Theological Studies » Read Now
by Sally M. Vance-Trembath. 16 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...CONVERSION Pope John Paul II in that document...discussion with Pope Gregory the...power because Paul VI used it...council and John Paul II repeatedly...model. Pope John...
11.

John Paul II, Intellectual, in Policy Review » Read Now
by Damon Linker. 16 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

...for the past 22 years, Pope John Paul II has stood astride the...elicit the behavior the pope would have us believe...This is not to say that John Paul is unaware of the...
12.

John Paul II and the Crisis of Humanism, in First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life » Read Now
by George Weigel. 6 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...serious case can be made for Pope John Paul II as the man who most singularly...too, buttresses the claim that Pope John Paul II is the emblematic man of our...dangerous...
13.

John Paul II: The Philosopher Pope, in The Christian Century » Read Now
by Leo D. Lefebure. 7 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...John Paul II: the philosopher pope by Leo D...centuries. Indeed, for John Paul II, Christians preparing...human rights. The pope urges Christians...religions. The pope...
14.

Natural Law, Marriage, and the Thought of Karol Wojtyla, in Fordham Urban Law Journal » Read Now
by John J. Coughlin. 16 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...58 AAS 1025 (1966), nor of Paul VI, see Paulus PP VI, "Litterae...WOJTYLA, supra note 9, at 302; cf. JOHN T. NOONAN, JR., CONTRACEPTION...omnes ..." Ioannes Paulus Pp. II...
15.

John Paul II and the Priority of Culture, in First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life » Read Now
by George Weigel. 7 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...biographers have recognized Pope John Paul II as a seminal figure...book, His Holiness: John Paul II and the Hidden History...argue that, yes, the Pope played a large...