Eight years ago I reviewed a biography of Pope John Paul II in which the author, Tad Szulc, presumed that the present papacy was coming to an end.  How wrong that expectation was appears clearly as the pope now celebrates the 25th anniversary of his election as bishop of Rome.

As I foresaw in 1995, John Paul’s toughness, both physical and mental, would carry him for many more productive years. Though now much more debilitated, he continues to travel and to exercise leadership in both the Church and the world.

Among the thousands of photos that give testimony to a marvelous ministry on his part, two stand out in my memory. The first shows John Paul sitting in a Roman prison cell in 1985, talking with Mehmet Ali Agca, forgiving this young man for shooting him, almost fatally, two years previously. This act of forgiveness for a murderous deed continues to show me the spiritual stature of this pope.

A second image that speaks to me shows him being welcomed by Elio Toaff, the chief rabbi of Rome, as John Paul arrived at the Great Synagogue of Rome in 1986.  This marked the first time in recorded history that a pope had visited a synagogue. This one did so to signal his reverence for the Jewish tradition and his love for the Jewish people.

Changing the attitudes of Catholics toward the Jews will surely stand as one of this pope’s greatest achievements. In doing so, he extended the Second Vatican Council’s work by rejecting Christian stereotypes about Jews such as holding them responsible for the death of Jesus. In granting official Vatican recognition to the State of Israel, John Paul did something other popes had balked at doing.

Many times John Paul has spoken out and acted to promote world peace. However, contrary to widespread expectation, he was not selected for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. As New York Times columnist David Brooks sees it, that happened because this pope is “too big and complicated” for the award.

“John Paul II dedicated his life to the defense of the whole and the indivisible dignity of each person,” writes Brooks.  He has done so because “at the core of each individual, he believes, is the moral need to seek truth.”

Not a Catholic himself, David Brooks recognizes in this pope a moral leadership that finds even liberty and democracy insufficient human goods by themselves. Ultimately they are valuable because they provide opportunities for doing good and seeking truth.

As Brooks sees the pope’s message, “You can’t talk about politics, economics, science, philosophy or war .  .  . while conveniently averting your eyes from God and ultimate truth.”

I believe that John Paul will go down in history as a man of great spiritual stature. His ability to forgive and to ask forgiveness from others distinguish him; so does his reaching out to all the people of the world in sympathy and love. A man of prayer and peace, he has brought to a large community an impressive array of spiritual gifts.

He will also be recognized as having led dramatic change in the church that he has served for so many years. However, I would like to feel more enthusiastic about some of these changes than I actually do.

Like many other Catholics, I regret this pope’s restoration of the monarchical model to church governance. To my mind, his exercise of papal authority has worked to reverse, or at least blunt, the collegial approach adopted by Vatican II.

The hopes for change that many of us Catholics had at the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) have, to a dismaying extent, failed of achievement. John Paul II would seem to be responsible for that failure. The Catholic Church is in serious crisis at the moment, especially in America, but the pope and the Vatican seem highly deficient in response.

I also think that the pope’s anniversary would have been a fine occasion for him to retire.  Like others, I worry about the church’s lack of a plan when its leader is suffering severe disabilities that, in time, could lead to crippling incapacity or even dementia.

However, John Paul’s personal stature remains extraordinary. He is a man of spirit in ways that can inspire all of us. As the church and much of the world celebrate his 25 years in office, I join others in wishing him blessings pressed down and flowing over.

Richard Griffin