There was a documentary about John Paul II on PBS Channel 36 tonight, "Pope John Paul II: A Saint for Our Times." I could only get through 40 minutes of it before turning it off because it was complete drivel. The documentary reminded the watcher over and over again how saints throughout history have had quirks, doubts about God, etc., but never is there a single question about any decision or belief of John Paul II. They only interviewed people that seemed to believe he was Christ walking on water. John Paul II was apparently perfect like the Blessed Mother that he adored. In the forty minutes that I forced myself to watch, I don't think they mentioned Jesus once. Perhaps it should have been renamed: "John Paul II & Mary: The Perfect Marriage for Mariologists."
It really appeared to a cheap ploy by PBS to garner some extra money from a group of conservative Catholics. After the first 20 minutes, they cut to their pledge drive person asking viewers to be dedicated to PBS like John Paul II was dedicated to a holy life or some trite thing like that. This was one of the worst things I've ever seen on PBS. All in all, a very poor night for television.
3 comments:
I liked the post. JPII was a kind and good man, but he started in a small way, it seems to me, to not follow John 23.
It seems to me that John XXIII was basically a traditional Catholic who realized there was a larger vision of Catholicism than his own. JPII was basically a traditional Catholic who believed he knew the only way and that the Holy Spirit spoke more through him than anyone else.
Good for people to know.
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