Criticism of Pope John Paul II

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Pope John Paul II had many critics, both inside and outside the Church.

[edit] Political views

Many criticisms of Pope John Paul II center around actions resulting from his opposition to Communism. He was criticised for his support of anti-Marxist right-wing dictators, and his harsh condemnation of liberation theology, going so far as to suspend Leonardo Boff. John Paul II met with Chile's Augusto Pinochet and invited him to restore democracy, but critics claim he was more lenient than he had been toward Communist leaders. He allegedly endorsed Pío Cardinal Laghi, who critics say supported the "Dirty War" in Argentina and was on friendly terms with the Argentine generals of the military dictatorship, allegedly playing regular tennis matches with general Jorge Rafael Videla. The Pope also denied Óscar Romero's accusations regarding the human rights violations by the death squads allegedly supported by the Salvadoran regime. During his travels in Managua, Nicaragua, he harshly condemned what he dubbed the "Popular Church" (Basic ecclesial communitites) supported by the CELAM) and, against Nicaraguan clergy tendencies to support the Sandinistas, insisted on Vatican's sole and only authority.

When the Cold War ended some conservatives argued that the Pope moved too far left on foreign policy, and had pacifist views that were too extreme. His opposition to the 2003 Iraq War was criticized for this reason. Some also denounced the Pope's criticisms of certain types of capitalism, especially statements they saw as implying a moral equivalency between it and communism due to claims it was just as harmful.

Several of his canonisations and beatifications have been criticised because the people in question allegedly supported fascist political parties.

[edit] Relation with Opus Dei

John Paul II was criticised for his approval of Opus Dei, a controversial personal prelature of the Catholic Church, and for the canonization of its founder, Josemaría Escrivá.

[edit] Gender issues

John Paul's beliefs about gender roles and sexuality came under attack. Some feminists criticised his positions on the roles of women, and gay-rights activists disagreed with his holding to the Church position that homosexual desires are "objectively disordered", and particular opposition to homosexual practices and same-sex marriage.

[edit] Contraception and AIDS

His beliefs about artificial contraception were particularly controversial to many people. Many people disagreed with these beliefs, and even some who agreed suggested that it was impractical to condemn use of condoms when sexually transmitted AIDS is spreading. Another claim is that John Paul's administration spread an unproven belief that condoms do not block the spread of HIV. Between these two claims, many critics have blamed him for contributing to AIDS epidemics in Africa and elsewhere [1].

[edit] Administration of the Church

John Paul II was also sometimes criticised for the way he administered the Church. Critics charged that he failed to respond quickly enough to the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal. He was aso criticised for recentralizing power back to the Vatican following the earlier decentralisation of Pope John XXIII, making some regard him as a strict authoritarian who would accept no dissent from within the church. The excommunication of Father Tissa Balasuriya was seen as a prime example of this by his critics.

[edit] Criticism from traditional Catholics

Traditional Catholics were at times vehement in denouncing him from the Right, demanding a return to the Tridentine Mass and repudiation of the reforms instituted after the Second Vatican Council. Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of Society of St. Pius X in 1970, decried his policies as not conservative enough, but remained within John Paul's obedience until 1988 when he ordained four bishops without a Papal mandate, for which some believe that he automatically incurred an excommunication, though his supporters claim that it is invalid due to the state of necessity of the action.

Some traditional catholics denounce John Paul II for his oecumenism and of what they consider to be his belief in universal redemption.

Pope John Paul II
Biography | Health | Funeral | 1978 Conclave | 2005 Conclave | Teachings | Pastoral trips | Relations with Eastern Orthodox Church | Criticism