Heeding the Pope
The Pope's Irish trip was stupendous. Even if nothing comes of it and Ireland resumes its ways unaffected by the experience, the memory will persist of an amazing expression of faith and love elicited from the Irish people by the Polish Pope. If there be such a property as charisma, then this Pope possesses it. The visit of any Pope to Ireland would have brought out great crowds and occasioned great Joy and been a great holiday, but this man is extraordinary, and Ireland has responded to him extraordinarily. Three out of every four men, women and children in the Republic of Ireland are thought to have seen him in the flesh, and over half of Ulster's Roman Catholics crossed the border to see him since he did not go to Armagh. It is a great pity that he did not visit the north. What he said in Drogheda was well said, but would have been better said in Armagh. He described his mission as pastoral and Ulster should not have been excluded, although it is understandable that it was. His own instinct must surely have been to include Armagh and the north in his visit, and those who advised him against doing so caused his mission to be blemished. Hut the blemish is slight when set against the magnitude of the triumph the Irish awarded the Pope. He was made Ireland's hero, as he had already become his native Poland's. Ireland in its history has been more loyal to Rome than Rome has been to Ireland and but for Irish Christians Poland might never have been Christian. The Polish Pope repaid a double debt in visiting Ireland, and it is to be hoped that some lasting good comes out of his trip. This will depend upon what serious note is taken of the Pope's messages. He warned the Irish — as he would do any Other community showing every sign of sliding away from the values upheld by the Church — against 'the moral Sickness that stalks your society today', and spoke firmly against abortion and divorce; but it is doubtful whether What he had to say on such topics will much affect the way the members of his huge Irish audiences behave once the Spiritual euphoria aroused by his presence has spent itself. It is the effect of what he said about violence which will determine whether his visit will ultimately prove to be barren or fruitful. Although his mission was pastoral, its failure or success will be political. His condemnation of violence could not have been stronger: 'On my knees, I beg you to turn away from the paths of violence and to return to the ways of peace. You may claim' he said, and he was, in truth, speaking directly to the men of the IRA and those who succour and shelter them, `to seek justice. I too believe in justice and seek justice. But violence only delays the day of justice. Violence destroys the work of justice. Further violence in Ireland will only drag down to ruin the land you claim to love and the values you claim to cherish. In the name of God, I beg you: return to Christ, who died so that men might live in forgiveness and peace.'
His words to the politicians were, in their way, no less strong, no less unequivocal. 'Those who resort to violence always claim that only violence brings about change . You politicians must prove them to be wrong . . . If politicians do not decide and act for just change then the field is left open to the men of violence.' In his way the Pope was proposing a bargain: let the violence be called off, in return for political action. 'Violence thrives best when there is political vacuum and refusal of political movement.' The Pope condemned the violence: but he also condemned the political inactivity which encourages its growth. Politicians should listen to his words; for this Pope is a very substantial man, a giant among pygmies, as his visits to Poland, Ireland and America demonstrate. He is right when 119 infers that the violence in Ireland is a consequence of political failure. He is right to 'urge you who are called to the noble vocation of politics to have the courage to face up to your responsibility, to be leaders in the cause of peace, reconciliation and justice.' He spoke these words in Drogheda, outside British territory. But he spoke them to the British Cabinet, with whom responsibility rests. We hope the IRA heed his words. But whether they do or not, it is imperative that Mrs Thatcher and her ministers do: theirs is the responsibility, theirs is the duty.
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