Pope John Paul the Great

Santo subito

"Sainthood now!"

Literally –
"[Declare Pope John Paul II to be] a saint at once!")

These banners were all over the place at Pope John Paul II's funeral : a groundswell to encourage the next Pope to waive the five-year waiting period (as was done for Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta) and to start the beatification and canonization process right away.

There have also been many voices calling for him to be called "Pope John Paul the Great" - or as it would be said in Latin,

Johannes Paulus Magnus

Only three Popes have been known as "Great:" Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope St. Gregory the Great, and Pope St. Nicholas the Great.

Some scholars do not even consider Pope Nicholas to have been truly worthy of the title "the Great." He was a good and holy pope, beloved by the people, but his accomplishments are not in the same league as those of Leo and Gregory.

So what makes a pope “Great”?

#1 - Sanctity - the sine qua non

Holiness is what the Church is all about. No successor of Saint Peter the Apostle, therefore, can be called great if that man is not holy. Official canonization is thus an absolute requirement. People may call a Pope “great” in the time immediately following his death, but if his cause for canonization falls short, then such a popular honorific will fade away and die.

Personally, I am quite confident that by the grace of God Pope John Paul II will be canonized. However, I feel it is a bad idea to short-circuit the process, especially for Popes. Furthermore, I believe that the rigorous examination of his life included in this process will be a fruitful endeavor for the Church. I also feel that the millions of devout people praying for his cause will provide a very fertile ground for supernatural signs and miracles, all of which will have a salutary effect for the Church.

#2 - A Pontificate that made a very, very big difference

This, of course, goes hand-in-hand with the very meaning of the word "great." When we look at previous Popes, we see three areas in which a "great" Pope makes a difference.

• Teaching - this is the most important area of the three, for teaching and proclaiming the Gospel is the most central to Christ's mandate to the Apostles. It also tends to have the most lasting impact.
  
  Both Leo the Great and Gregory the Great were tremendous teachers. They made classic expressions of doctrine as well as significant contributions to theology. Their amazing works are read to this day. (Pope Nicholas' efforts in this area, although respectable, were not as substantial - not even close.)
  
  The substantial nature of Pope John Paul II's work as teacher is hard to deny: not only in its sheer quantity (in the many encyclicals and other teaching vehicles of his pontificate) but also in its intellectual quality, as he expertly integrated contemporary philosophical insights with the immutable truths of Christian faith.
  
  
• Church life - Both Leo the Great and Gregory the Great affected Church life in lasting and substantial ways. Both instituted significant reforms in the "nuts and bolts" of Church life. For example, even today, the classic chants of the Western church are known as Gregorian.
  
  Pope John Paul II's contributions to Church life are many indeed. His revision of the Code of Canon Law certainly qualifies as a significant effort in the "nuts and bolts of Church life." He also nurtured and advanced popular reform movements. He solidified the role of the Bishop of Rome as a wordwide pilgrim and pastor. And let us not forget the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary! Or the Catechism! Or all those saints!
  
  
• The temporal order - Leo and Gregory were powerful forces for good not just in Church life, but in the secular world as well. Both pontiffs dramatically and quite effectively stood up and stood fast for the well-being of the people. The most epic example of this was Leo the Great's personally facing down and turning back Attila the Hun.
  
  It is not too great a stretch to compare Leo's confrontation with Attila the Hun with John Paul's "in your face" challenges to Marxist dictators or that his role in the fall of communism had an even greater impact than Leo's feats.
  

Other considerations

Longevity - While not a requirement for greatness per se, a long reign increases the opportunities for greatness. A Pope may do sometimes a great thing or two within a short pontificate, but it is difficult in that time to attain the "critical mass" that sets the "great" Popes apart. Both Leo and Gregory has pontificates that lasted more than a decade (Nicholas less than 8 years). John Paul II reigned for 26 years.

Immediate Acclaim - While the definitive judgement of greatness must be verified by the test of time, it must be initiated by popular acclaim immediately after the pontiff's death. The crowds acclaimed Leo, Gregory and Nicholas as "great" at their funerals and, as mentioned above, the same happened at Pope John Paul II's funeral.

Contrary voices - To be sure, while saintly and incredible effective, neither Leo nor Gregory were perfect. So too there are those who speak ill of Pope John II and his legacy. Among those are some who have been damaged by the evil of pedophilia and by what sometimes seemed to be harmful tolerance of serial offenders by some bishops. Likewise, theological dissidents castigate what they felt was the Pope's repressive approach. On closer analysis, with sincere respect for these objectors, I personally believe that neither objection to honoring Pope John Paul II is sufficiently supported by the facts or by the perennial realities of ecclesiology. (However, I also believe that such objections lend weight to the appropriateness of sticking to the strict processes for canonization.)

What now?

Ultimately, Pope John Paul II's inclusion among the "Great" Popes must be verified in the passage of the centuries (and with the prerequisite of canonization).

In the meantime, however, I personally think that it is right for people to speak and write of Pope John Paul II as "the Great."

By the grace of God, I believe these waves of sentiment will build, the facts will become apparent, and the signs will be irrefutable that he was indeed Pope John Paul the Great.