Religious leaders in Indiana respond
to the death of Pope John Paul II

By Sean Gallagher

Pope John Paul II was not only the spiritual leader of a billion Catholics. He also reached out to other Christians and people of other faiths around the globe.

A number of Christian leaders and representatives of other religious traditions in the Indianapolis area reacted to the pope’s death with sadness but also spoke of appreciation for his efforts to build unity among all peoples.

Some of their reactions were strong because the pope’s desire for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue reached here, with a number of religious leaders from Indianapolis having traveled in the past to the Vatican to speak with the Pope and other curial officials.

Rev. Dr. William Chris Hobgood, general minister and president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), based in Indianapolis, met with the pope last year as a part of the over two-decade-old ecumenical dialogue between the Disciples and the Catholic Church.

In a prepared statement after the pope’s death, Rev. Dr. Hobgood said, “… I know of no other person in our time, except for Martin Luther King Jr., who so passionately called out the very best in human beings, in the name of God. This was at the heart of his public spirituality, in a time when principles of peace and justice are in great peril.”

Rev. Dr. Richard Hamm, a past general minister and president of the Disciples of Christ, also traveled to the Vatican on several occasions in the 1990s and finally at the end of the Jubilee at the start of 2001 for ecumenical meetings.

On a couple of occasions, he also met the pope. When Rev. Dr. Hamm and the leaders of 17 other Christian communions met with the pope at St. Paul Outside the Walls Basilica in Rome, he said he was invited to meet with him privately and “words of blessing were exchanged.”

Reflecting on the pope’s fostering of ecumenical dialogue, Rev. Dr. Hamm saw him as a role model for himself and others in his denomination.

“We as Disciples pride ourselves on our ecumenical spirit and one of our founding principles is the reuniting of all Christians,” he said. “But I’d have to say that the pope set an excellent example of that kind of ecumenical fervor by the fact that he was so open to be in dialogue with others.”

Rabbi Jonathan Adland, the rabbi of the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, praised the Holy Father’s deep respect for the Jewish people, a respect rooted in the experience of his youth in Poland.

“The fact that this pope, at this period in time in the world,” he said, “was willing to step forward and say to the world that the Jews are authentic and valued as partners in God’s creation, I think has meant a great deal to any Jew who paid attention to this anywhere in the world.”

Rabbi Adland spoke of the special significance of the pope’s visit to Jerusalem and the Western Wall in 2000.

“Then the fact that he was willing to go to Israel and go to the holiest site within the Jewish world and offer a prayer there, I think is an image that Jews will hold onto forever,” he said.

Being a native of Poland not only served as a basis for John Paul’s esteem for the Jewish people, but for Orthodox Christians as well. Geographically, Poland lies at the eastern border of Catholicism in Europe and borders countries where Orthodox Christians are dominant.

More than once, the Holy Father spoke of his deep desire for reconciliation between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches so that all of Christendom could once again “breathe with both lungs.”

Father Anastasios Gounaris, presbyter of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Indianapolis, was in Rome last June for the feast of SS. Peter and Paul, an occasion when the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople traditionally visits the pope.

He was moved by the “tenderness” that the two religious showed for each other and described as a “historic occasion” the Vatican’s giving of a church in Rome to the Greek Orthodox community there, which he witnessed during the trip.

Nearly a year later, the pope with whom he had prayed now deceased, Father Gounaris reflected upon the importance John Paul had for Orthodox Christians.

“Orthodox all over the world appreciate his very sincere efforts toward reconciliation between the two Churches,” Father Gounaris said. “I think we feel a great sense of loss in addition to all the other reasons that the whole world feels, but we feel a great sense of loss because we know we’ve lost a great friend.”

Friendship among Catholics and other Christians in central Indiana was advanced late last year when Father John Beitans, pastor of St. Lawrence Parish in Indianapolis, was named the first Catholic president of the Church Federation of Greater Indianapolis in its 93-yeaer history.

The Church Federation is sponsoring an ecumenical prayer service at which Pope John Paul will be remembered at 3 p.m. on April 10 at St. Monica Church in Indianapolis.

Pope John Paul constantly sought to foster understanding among people of all faiths, despite the conflicts—often tinged with religious motivations—that plagued the world throughout his pontificate.

In particular, he often reached out to Muslims, becoming the first pope to visit a mosque and accepting the invitation of the King of Morocco to speak before 20,000 Muslim youth in a soccer stadium in his country.

Dr. Sayyid Muhammed Sayeed, secretary general of the Plainfield-based Islamic Society of North America, spoke of his appreciation for the pope’s efforts to promote mutual respect between Christians and Muslims.

“The Muslim community in North America and Muslims in general all over the world really found a friend in him,” Dr. Sayeed said. “He built bridges. He helped to heal the wounds.

“It has helped us to alleviate so much pain, so much suffering, so much ill will throughout the world. We certainly attribute a lot of this to his initiative.”

It was the pope’s initiative that led Dr. Sayeed to the Vatican in 2000 to participate in a dialogue among Christian and Muslim leaders from around the world.

“It was a kind of assembly where we had to discuss and deliberate on how we could provide leadership to build peace in the world,” he said. “It was really overwhelming.”

Some of the highest praise for Pope John Paul was spoken by K.P. Singh, a founding member of the Indianapolis Sikh community and a self-described advocate of interfaith and intercultural activities.

Describing the Holy Father as a “teacher for the ages,” Singh went on to say that he “brought joy not only to one billion Catholics, but brought incredible joy and inspiration to people of all faiths.”

Singh also appreciated John Paul’s concern with the poor and oppressed of the world.

“He asks each and every one of us to expand the circle of God’s light and love to one another,” Singh said, “especially included in this [are] those who are dispossessed, disenfranchised, and those who need a special hand in prayer to uplift their lives and their spirit and their human dignity.”

Dr. Edward Wheeler, president of Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, also praised the pope for advocacy for those who seem unimportant in the eyes of the world.

“He was a voice for marginalized people in a way that brought encouragement to those of us who want a more just world,” Dr. Wheeler said. “His voice will be missed.”

The fact that so many religious leaders in central Indiana alone not only praised Pope John Paul II for his ecumenical and interreligious initiatives but were also participants in them suggests that those efforts, at least in part, have met with success. †