Pope John Paul II

In his first speech to the cardinals, Pope John Paul II committed himself to ecumenism without any of the hedging restrictions his predecessor introduced. It is difficult for a Polish Catholic to find a partner in ecumenical dialogue - the Orthodox number 500,000 and move among themselves while the Protestants number only 200,000.

When, the next day, he emerged from the Vatican to visit Bishop Andre Deskur, the Polish head of the Vatican Commission for Social Communications, who is ill in a Rome hospital, their delight was even greater. The pope rode through the streets in an open car and was cheered along the route. Pope John Paul I also had tried to get out of the Vatican but had been advised against it for protocol reasons. Pope John Paul II evidently swept such reasoning aside. He will be his own man.

But past performance is not necessarily a sure guide to future actions. Pope John Paul II is a thinker. He already has shown he has great respect for the local churches. His pride in the ancient diocese of Krakow will enable him to respect the rights of other churches, including the newer ones. It is difficult to imagine, for example, that he would want to interfere with preparations for the deferred meeting of Latin American bishops, now that they have revised the documents in the light of the storm of criticism to which the previous draft was subjected.

True enough, but that glossed over the novelty of the event. Pope John Paul II himself in his speech to the cardinals in the Consistorial Hall on Oct. 18 recognized they had done something surprising that required explanation: "Venerable brothers, it was an act of trust and at the same time an act of great courage to have wished to elect a 'non-Italian' pope as bishop of Rome . I can't say more about this, other than to accept the decision of the College of Cardinals." Thus, from the most authoritative source, we learned that the departure from precedent required courage and that, therefore, it was not a step easily taken.

The pathos of the papacy was a theme Hume stressed the day after the election. Asked how he had reacted, he said: "I felt desperately sad for the man. But somebody has to carry this tremendous burden and be confined in this small area. There comes a time when all the clapping stops, when the pope ceases to be news, and that is when the truth dawns."

But he added that Pope John Paul II had the strength to cope. Few who have seen him in action will doubt that.

What was the meaning for the U.S. church of Pope John Paul II's visit? Archbishop John J. Roach of St. PaulMinneapolis, vice president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, was asked this question when he bravely faced the press in Chicago after the pope's 90-minute address to the bishops.

He prudently replied that it "had created a climate in which good things can happen," expressed the hope that they would not respond merely by setting up 95 new programs and that, for the rest, the bishops "would have to reflect on what this visit means." It was a confession of agnosticism. He didn't yet know what the visit meant. Yet the pope's address to the 350 bishops was the most important of the week. It has the greatest, and gravest, implications for the future. In this address, Pope John Paul II revealed clearly for the first time what the strategy of his pontificate will be.

Pope John Paul II packed his doctrinal message to Africans into the first days of his trip. The rest would be dancing and celebration. The adjectives - "exuberant, boisterous, vivacious" soon would be exhausted.