Pope's fragility belies his resolve, inner strength

VATICAN CITY — As he approaches the 25th anniversary of his papacy, Pope John Paul II is a picture of extreme fragility and sheer determination, of surprising resilience and severe physical limitations.

A hero to conservative Roman Catholics who see him as a fixed star shining on a world in moral flux, a disappointment to liberals who dared hope he would move the church their way, the pope is unquestionably among the most important religious figures of the last century.

Yet, in what even he calls his "twilight years," John Paul's reign has largely been about a painful, personal struggle with declining health while his legacy suffers from the effects of clergy sex abuse scandals, mainly in the United States and Europe.

It all makes for a bittersweet moment as the church prepares to mark the anniversary of John Paul's election on Oct. 16, 1978.

The Vatican has invited the entire College of Cardinals to Rome for nearly weeklong celebrations, along with the president of each national bishops' conference and a delegation of prelates from John Paul's native Poland. There will be an anniversary day Mass that is expected to attract tens of thousands of Romans to St. Peter's Square.

The festivities continue with the Oct. 19 beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta — the tiny nun who devoted her life to the poor. John Paul was so impressed with her work that he put the nun, who died only six years ago, on the fast track to sainthood.

Events conclude two days later with the installation of 30 new cardinals, whose nomination last month was a sign of the pope's intent to influence the choice of a successor.

Indeed, there is much to celebrate. This is a pope who will be remembered for helping end communist rule in eastern Europe by sparking what amounted to a peaceful revolution in his homeland; for seeking to heal divisions between Christians and Jews; and for traveling around the globe to greet his 1-billion-member flock.

He has been a constant voice for peace. In 1984, he stepped in and mediated a territorial dispute between Chile and Argentina when the two mainly Catholic South American neighbors were on the brink of war.

John Paul was more successful there than in opposing both the 1991 Gulf War and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq this year. Still, he has been persistent: In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the pope has repeatedly denounced violence committed in the name of religion.