What did Pope John Paul II exemplify?

Answer 1

A:

Pope John Paul II was a good man and an excellent communicator, but more than anything, he exemplified pragmatism. Whereas John Paul I set out immediately to eliminate systemic corruption in the Vatican, possibly at the cost of his life, John Paul II seems to have turned a blind eye. Even when a group of Milanese shareholders in Banco Ambrosiano wrote a long letter to Pope John Paul II in his own native language, pleading with him to investigate the problem, he never responded, instead promoting one of the accused bishops to the position of president of the Pontifical Commission for the State of Vatican City.

It was the same with clerical paedophilia, which became public knowledge during his papacy. John Paul II has been criticised for not recognising the full severity of the sex abuse cases until they erupted in America in 2002. It is said that he hindered the investigation into the charges of sexual immorality levelled against Father Marcial Maciel Degollado and allowed bishops to transfer paedophile priests from one parish to another instead of reporting their crimes to the authorities. John Paul is also accused of hindering Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict, who allegedly was attempting to prevent sex abuse.