LOOKING at the news reportage on the death of Pope John Paul, one runs into the usual accolades for his personal sanctity, his outgoing personality, love for all people, and conciliating gestures to other religions.
Here was a man that people, regardless of race or religion, could admire and respect.
That explains why millions went to St. Peter’s to pay him their final respects.
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All that has been drummed into our heads.
Something new and striking has come up with the release of the Pope’s last will and testament, that one short paragraph declaring himself penniless.
It said he left no property and that the things he used in daily life, such as rosaries or shoes, be distributed as seen fit. He left the world as poor as the day he was born.
That has made it easier to understand the Pope’s uncompromising stand against marriage for priests. Their devotion to their vocation and their God must be total.
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The Pope knew that a married priest would not be able to keep his vow of poverty.
A married priests must look for money for support a comfortable living for his wife and children. He must give them the security every family man is obliged to give.
Like every other married man, he would like to bequeath a house, a business, or money in the bank to his family. He would violate the Biblical instruction of "lay not for yourself the treasures of this world."
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The Pope, knowing all this, left this testament offering his own life as an example to make a strong statement against materialism.
That testament is meant not only for the priesthood, a final reminder of the vow of poverty for priests.
It may also be meant for those outside the priesthood, businessmen who are never satisfied with their wealth and must amass more, politicians who seek not only wealth but also strive to put up dynasties to benefit their children and all others who are greedy for worldly treasures.
When Mother Teresa died owning only her two sets of habits, there were a universal cry to make her a saint. For Pope John Paul, the crowds in St. Peter’s called for his instant canonization.
It would seem that one principal reason people love and admire a religious leader is his or her detachment from material things. That may go for political leaders as well.
