A Good Shepherd

A number of priests and church officials took the occasion of Pope John Paul II's death as an opportunity to tag "the Great" onto his name as a sign of respect for his actions.

To me, nothing speaks better of him than to call him a good shepherd. (THE Good Shepherd, of course, would be Jesus.) He showed us all how to be.

With the Pope's death came many, many reports about his life. The most telling, I think, is the story of Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who shot the Pope on May 13, 1981. See Pope's forgiveness of Agca provided a powerful example.




The most amazing thing I've ever seen a man do was forgive. Pope John Paul II met with Mehmet Ali Agca two years after the assassination attempt and forgave him. He blessed him and forgave him.

What an incredible lesson for us all to learn from this truly holy man. He forgave the very man who tried to take his life. If anyone ever followed the gospel about forgiving someone, this Pope did.

How many gripes live on for too long in your life? How many people do you need to forgive? How much capacity for love is there in your heart?

The Pope provided his church and the world a moral compass. The Pontiff didn't change his opinions to suit the time or the place. There were no situational ethics for John Paul II, only right and wrong, good and evil. I already miss the absoluteness he provided in a world that occasionally feels bankrupt of morality.

I won't claim to speak for Catholics everywhere, nor will I claim to speak for Americans everywhere. People do have their disagreements with the church. But for this much there can be no disagreement: Pope John Paul II was a good, loving man, and we all should thank God for the time we could follow this good shepherd.