In response to the news of the death of Benedict XVI, many statements and memories of the senior pope have emerged. Often these are reflections characterised by a personal reference to him, his thoughts and his activities. The Centre for the Documentation and Research of the Pontificate of John Paul II also has a special reason to make such a statement, as Benedict XVI, during his pontificate, emphasised the role that our institution can and should play in perpetuating, studying and disseminating the legacy of John Paul II. I will briefly recall these indications.
In his address on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the John Paul II Foundation (23.10.2006), Pope Ratzinger emphasised that the Centre’s library and archive collection is the basis for “detailed and in-depth research on the spiritual legacy of John Paul II”. He added that carrying out research for the Foundation should be of “paramount importance” and is an important task that he, the successor of the Polish Pope, has assigned to the Vatican Foundation. What is the purpose of this activity? Is it merely the cultivation of memory? No. Benedict XVI pointed out that, through this legacy, it is necessary to reach out to the methods by which the Gospel of Christ must be spread in the new millennium. This is a very Christian outlook, because the saints or great thinkers in the Church do not keep the attention on themselves, but point to Christ and to salvation.
Five years later, on a similar occasion of a meeting with the John Paul II Foundation (24.10.2011), Benedict XVI said a few sentences about the work of the Centre, expressing his confidence that the daily research work would contribute to making our institution “an increasingly important point of reference” for researchers. Pope Ratzinger’s scientific experience can be seen in this statement. The prestige of an institution such as ours grows with scientific work. This, in turn, depends on many factors, such as the number of suitable staff, or the premises and financial resources, but the passion for research is the leading factor, and this proves itself in diligent and daily scientific work.
I am particularly grateful to Pope Benedict XVI for his letter on the occasion of the international symposium organised in October 2008 by our Centre (that is also by the JPII Foundation) together with the Franciscan Pontifical Faculty of Theology “Seraphicum”. The event coincided with the 800th anniversary of the approval of the Rule of St Francis and the 30th anniversary of the election of Karol Wojtyla as Pope. The theme of the symposium was ‘The Second Vatican Council in the Pontificate of John Paul II’. Pope Ratzinger’s letter was an honour for the organisers and participants, but it captivated me above all with its content and the logical and at the same time artful linking of the themes raised. Benedict XVI added the 50th anniversary of the election of John XXIII, the figure of St Bonaventure and the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God (2008) to these themes mentioned above. All these elements contributed to the letter’s eloquence, like the musical composition of a work that delights with a symphony of sounds.
I must admit that I return to one sentence from this letter often. Benedict XVI wrote: “John Paul II as Pope took up, in practically every one of his documents and even more in his choices and actions, the fundamental indications of the Ecumenical Second Vatican Council, becoming its authoritative and authentic witness”. I found it particularly revealing to emphasise that it is not only the number of writings or references and quotations from the Council, but also the actions and decisions that need to be taken into account when examining the role of Vatican II in the pontificate of John Paul II.
The close and substantive cooperation and the succession of pontificates unite the Polish Pope and the German Pope. The magisterium of Benedict XVI is the closest context to the teaching of John Paul II, which is also reflected in the book collection of our Centre’s library. Among the volumes is a small booklet entitled ‘La Figlia di Sion’ with a handwritten dedication in Italian: “To His Holiness Pope John Paul II, I offer with deep reverence, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Roma, 21 June 1995”. This publication is a testimony to the intellectual bond linking these two men of the Church, about which much has already been written and said, and probably more than one point still awaits study and elaboration in the future.
Besides, the study of the teaching of the popes and the history of their pontificates in an integrative perspective seems to be a much-needed thing. The sequence of pontificates seen in its doctrinal, historical and pastoral aspects is an area for learning the hermeneutics of continuity that should characterise thinking about the Church.
It is significant that Pope Francis has entrusted precisely such a task to Vatican foundations. He has asked the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Foundation to animate such activity. He said at the last edition of the ‘Premio Ratzinger’: “I also take this opportunity to encourage collaboration with the Vatican Foundations bearing the name of Blessed John Paul I and Saint John Paul II, so that the memory and vitality of the message of these three Popes may be promoted with unity of intent in the ecclesial community” (1 December 2022). It is worth responding to this call by Pope Francis, as there is a danger of an ecclesially and theologically flawed understanding of the pontificates, in which emphasising differences and articulating opposites leads to a blurring of the continuity of the papal mission and a weakening of papal authority.
Rev. Andrzej Dobrzyński