Memory and Identity: Personal Reflections [Hardcover]

I can't imagine how Pope John Paul II could have left a better gift for Pope Benedict XVI than the one he left in this book. The first part of this book deals in great detail with one of the greatest problems facing the new Holy Father, that being challenges to Church teaching in light of the relativism so in vogue in Western Europe and the United States. The Holy Father in this section of the book takes on the ideas of good and evil which grew out of the Enlightenment. These ideas tend to give man some discretion in deciding what is good and what is evil. With mankind given this kind of power it becomes easy to ignore God's rules and to make up whatever rules are convenient at the time. In other words, the same philosophy that allows me to justify the occasional little white lie also allowed the murder of millions of people in the Third Reich and Soviet Union. This is tough talk from our former Pontiff but it sure has the ring of truth.

The rest of the book is a discussion of freedom, national identity and culture. Most of the time the Pope uses the example of his native Poland to make his points and it is clear that this is a man who loves his homeland very much. Despite his own patriotism however, the Holy Father warns against extreme nationalism, which he sees as a growing threat in the new millennium.

The final chapter deals with the 1981 assignation attempt in St. Peter's Square. Here his secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, joins him in the conversation. This is the first time that John Paul II has written about this event and the addition of the Archbishop adds greatly to the account since the Pope was unconscious much of the time. Within this chapter, the Pope ties this event to Fatima and is very clear in his belief that he was saved by the intervention of the Blessed Virgin.

The Holy Catholic Church and the world at large have lost a great man with the passing of John Paul II but thanks to his writings he will be with us forever. This, his last book, is deep but readable and offers us a last glimpse into the philosophy of this intellectual and spiritual giant.

As a young man, the Pope endured many hardships, losing both his parents, and enduring both Nazi and Soviet occupations of his beloved homeland. He talks about all of these events with vivid memory, and they are very important pieces of his identity. He is not free with terms such as 'evil' and 'destiny', but he does have strong convictions about what these things are, and shows how one must work to endure against the odds toward the greater identity and peace that God calls us to share.

Perhaps the most moving portion of this book for me is the record of the conversation Pope John Paul II had with his would-be assassin; it is an example of the character of the Pope that he should seek out this man and have not a confrontation, but a conversation, and ultimately an absolution offered.

The pope was a many of strong theological conviction - whether one agrees with him or not, it is hard to dispute that there is some integrity to his structure. Philosophically trained and pastorally guided, his theology strives to connect the ancient and the modern, the past and the future. If it doesn't always succeed to everyone's satisfaction, it isn't for want of effort. Some of that effort is seen in the sections of this book on how the Enlightenment philosophies that have so guided the modern world (the Declaration of Independence in America, for example, is a classic Enlightenment document) and the Gospel message can work together.

A remarkable book by a remarkable man, whose identity helped shape the world, and whose memory will live on.