It seems no coincidence that the attacks on John Paul II occurred in parallel with the ongoing offensive against marriage, chastity and the identity of woman and man. As a philosopher, St. John Paul II very quickly noticed the threats coming from left-wing ideologies, whose waves in the form of the sexual revolution wreaked havoc in Western societies, and he opposed them with all his might. His defense of the dignity of a woman, the child’s right to life from conception, and the whole theology of the body put a stop to the attempts of ideologues and to this day they are an obstacle to reformatting human minds in a new left-wing fashion.
Poland is the country that resisted the sexual revolution relatively the most. In order to complete its work, left-liberal circles attack those authorities whose science has prevented the success of supporters of genderism and the civilization of death. Authorities that gave solid support for building a healthy social fabric. The most eminent of these authorities is St. John Paul II, and it is here that the root cause of the attacks on his memory and person should be sought. In this context, it is worth recalling what the Polish Pope taught.
“According to God’s plan, marriage is the foundation of the wider family community, because the very institution of marriage and conjugal love are directed towards the procreation and education of offspring, in which they find their culmination” – wrote John Paul II in the apostolic exhortation “Familiaris Consortio” clearly indicating the purpose of marriage, which is fertility and the upbringing of children. Meanwhile, contemporary ideologues argue that marriage is not a prerequisite for having children, while getting married does not imply the need to have children. Thus, they create chaos in which it is very easy for a modern man to get lost, and thus – to hurt emotionally and spiritually. This chaos also implies selfish attitudes in both men and women. Sometimes the former, relinquishing responsibility for the conceived life, persuade women to have an abortion, or leave them in single motherhood, which probably would not have happened if they had conceived a child in a sacramental relationship. Women, on the other hand – I’m talking about extremely selfish attitudes – in the name of misunderstood women’s rights, make an attack on the conceived life (abortion), their fertility (contraception), and finally on their dignity (staying in extramarital relationships). In such an arrangement, the meaning of marriage itself is also lost, and yet – as St. John Paul II – “having become parents, the spouses receive from God the gift of a new responsibility. Their parental love is to become for the children a visible sign of the same love of God, ‘from which all fatherhood in heaven and on earth takes its name'”. At the same time, St. John Paul II emphasizes the indissolubility of marriage, which did not come out of nowhere, but has its deep theological justification. “Rooted in the personal and total gift of the spouses and required for the good of their children, the indissolubility of marriage finds its ultimate truth in God’s plan expressed in Revelation: God wants the indissolubility of marriage and gives it as a fruit, as a sign and requirement of an absolutely faithful love, which he has for man and which Christ the Lord has for his Church” – we read in “Familiaris Consortio”.
The Polish Pope lamented that “the Christian message about the dignity of women is unfortunately contradicted by this persistent attitude that treats the human being not as a person, but as a thing, as an object of purchase and sale at the service of selfish interest and self-gratification”. “The first victim of this mentality is the woman” – he pointed out, warning that “this attitude bears very bitter fruits, such as contempt for men and women, slavery, the oppression of the weak, pornography, prostitution – especially in an organized form – and all the various discriminations encountered in the field of education, in the professional field, with remuneration for work, etc.”. It is therefore clear that, contrary to what ideologues are trying to say, it is Christianity, and not they, that most demands for women’s rights, and St. John Paul II was their devoted advocate.
“True conjugal love presupposes and demands that the man have a deep respect for the woman’s equal dignity: ‘You are not her master’, writes St. Ambrose, ‘but a husband, you received not a maidservant, but a wife… Repay kindness for kindness, reward love with love'” – St. John Paul II emphasized. At the same time, he pointed to the importance of the father’s presence in the family. “As experience teaches, the absence of the father causes psychological and moral imbalance and considerable difficulties in family relationships, just as, in the opposite circumstances, the overwhelming presence of the father, especially where the so-called “machizm”, i.e. abuse of the advantage of male powers, which humiliate a woman and do not allow the development of healthy family relationships” – he wrote. In this context, it is clear how big a trap the ideology of genderism is, promoting “families in many forms”. As a philosopher, Paul II quickly noticed the threat coming from the West in the form of a new left-wing ideology, which, with the sexual revolution of 1968, electrified societies by directing them towards sex drive, and it seems that this is why he is so sharply attacked by left-liberal circles. His teaching on the family, dignity of the human person or the theology of the body is an obstacle to leading to the degeneration of societies, their total atomization and objectification, and even annihilation. The right to life from conception to natural death is such a litmus test. This is how perceived it St. John Paul II, who wrote: “Caring for a child, even before its birth, from the first moment of conception, and then in childhood and adolescence, is the first and fundamental test of the relationship between man and man”. Thus, St. John Paul II sensitized to the need to reject the civilization of death, and warned against the consequences of its acceptance and promotion. At the same time, he acted not through criticism, but through very specific instructions, deeply justified.
The special concern of St. John Paul II surrounded children and youth. “Education in love as a gift of self is an indispensable prerequisite for parents who are called to give their children a clear and subtle sexual education. In the face of a culture that tends to “trivialize” human sexuality, interpreting and living it in a limited and impoverished way, referring it only to the body and selfish pleasure, the educational ministry of parents must focus decisively on the culture of sexual life, so that it is truly and fully personal: sexuality is in fact a richness of the whole person – body, feelings and soul – revealing its deep meaning in leading the person to give himself in love” – wrote the pope. “In this context, education in chastity is absolutely indispensable, as a virtue that brings a person to true maturity and enables him to respect and develop the “spousal meaning” of the body. St. John Paul II opposed the corporeal utilitarianism of left-wing ideologues to the theology of the body. He showed that instead of the path of sin, the objectification of the human person, and thus – powerful wounds, it is worth taking the path of purity of body, heart and soul, which is the only one able to ensure peace, love and fulfillment, and thus happiness.
Let’s not delude ourselves, attacks on St. John Paul II, other great spiritual thinkers and the Church itself will not stop at all and no marches can change that. They can help you rediscover the teachings of St. John Paul II, in passing it on to the young generation. The effect of the campaign against the person and memory of the Polish Pope will then be an even stronger exposure of his achievements, which is especially important now, when there is a fierce battle for the heart and soul of every human being.
Anna Wiejak