The Red Giant

When you’re 13, a girl, and in a private Catholic school, there are certain rights and wrongs that are unquestionable and inevitable. God is in heaven, the devil burns in hell, and you spend a year in purgatory for every grain of rice you don’t eat.

I started debating in freshman year high school. A Catholic kid who gets introduced to abortion, prostitution, euthanasia and divorce as debatable issues and not as definite crimes is bound to be one very confused (and fascinated) kid. I was. Morality became a most exhilarating concern.

There are no absolutes in debate, but new debaters learn something very early: Saying "the Church/Bible/God says abortion/prostitution/murder is wrong" is the easiest way to lose a competition.

In high school, whenever someone used "that religion argument," we would grin and laugh and say the win was in the bag. We would bring up a thousand and one examples of Church cruelty, from the Crusades to sexual harrassment to the prosecution of Galileo. "How," we would argue, "can a Church like that be credible?"

It was an old debate coach that brought us back from our intellectual – and admittedly arrogant – high. He said that it’s true, the Church has made mistakes, and will continue to make mistakes because it is made up of mortal, fallible men. It does not make morality any less credible, nor God any less divine. It just means men are not perfect.

I consider myself a more liberal Catholic than most – my stances on issues have shocked many who do not know me. But the story of this great man is one that has crossed the boundaries of religion and beliefs, and all over the world, many have listened to his message of love, hope, and "be not afraid."

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In 1920, Karol Jozef Wojtyla was born in the Polish town of Wadowice. He was a sportsman, a prolific writer, a poet, a linguist, a playwright, an economic critic, an actor, a philosopher, even a political strategist. He was also the first non-Italian Pope in almost 450 years.

He was the Pope who made known to the world that, yes, the Church is of man, and has made mistakes – he was not afraid to admit it.

He apologized to women and Orthodox Christian. He acknowledged that Galileo was wrongly censured in 1633 by the Inquisition for asserting that Earth is not the center of the universe, and that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was credible. He apologized to the Muslims for the Crusades, which ravaged the Holy Land for over 300 years. He left a personal note in the cracks of Judaism’s sacred Wailing Wall in Jerusalem asking for forgiveness for the Christian’s sins against the Jews.

All of these were firsts in the Church’s history. He built relationships with leaders from Bill Clinton to Mikhail Gorbachev, from Nelson Mandela to Fidel Castro, from the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Dalai Lama. They called him "God’s politician".

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He was a man known for the kindness of his smile and his personal touch. It is said he journeyed the equivalent of the earth’s circumference 28 times over. He preached in thousands of places all over the globe, from great European cathedrals to African churches struggling in the midst of civil war. He traveled from the equator to the Arctic Circle, from arid mountaintops to lush tropical islands, from the cracked sidewalks of Manila to the marble floors of his own Vatican.

It is a testament to his kindliness that the people who will remember and miss him the most are the young. "Just to see him smile at the people and raise his hand made the whole crowd so happy. I just felt so good," said Nina Estrella, a delegate in the World Youth Day held in Manila.

In 1994, 15-year-old Enrisa of Sorsogon wrote a letter to the Pope – a letter that could have been written to a pal or a relative with its simplicity and frankness.

"It is a countdown to January 1995. I will soon be one of the millions of youth who will be with you in Manila. I’m the fourth of seven children. My father is a carpenter and my mother is a teacher. I like to play the piano and read books, but what interests me now is thinking about my journey-of-a-lifetime – the World Youth Day! In making this special journey, the whole family shares by saving a little each day for my expenses. My sister will take my place for the tasks which have to be done while I’m away."

In 1980, two-year-old Cheri was with her family at St. Peter’s Square in Rome. The Pope rode his white popemobile through the crowd. The little brown faces of the Mapa children among the sea of Caucasians must have stood out in the crowd for the Pope called them to him, then kissed and blessed them. Cheri had a special message from the Pope, when he picked her up and hugged her. "Be a good girl," he whispered, and today, 27-year-old Cheri Mapa is undergoing training for a religious vocation in Switzerland, giving up a promising career as a prima ballerina. She remembers the words of the Pope during the World Youth Day: "Young people, know that your life have meaning to the extent that it is a free gift to people."

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I used to be fascinated with astrology when I was a kid. I’d recite the arrangement of the planets instead of counting sheep, and memorize the names of stars. I thought there was magic in the words.

Towards the end of a star’s life, they say, the heat at its core grows so intense that it expands into what they call a Red Giant. From the size of the sun, it swells to the size of Venus’ orbit. The star eventually collapses, and its loss leaves a gaping hole in the sky. But for a brief moment in time it shines, brighter than other stars in galaxy.

Pope John Paul II’s death is one that has saddened millions the world over, and his kindly smile is one that so many will miss. He was a giant among men, an extraordinary man who left the world infinitely different and far better than before he came.

His star has set, but the light is not yet gone. May God bless him.

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The author sends her thanks to Mrs. Lirio Mapa and Mrs. Anali Drilon for the material (and inspiration) behind this piece. Send mail to pat.evangelista@gmail.com and apologies for late replies.