By Erin Conway-Smith
It only takes a few mumbled words and a palsied wave of the hand for an ailing Pope John Paul to make headlines around the world.
The man can really work a crowd.
The Pope was in the spotlight again last month when he celebrated the 25th anniversary of his papacy. In recent weeks, there’s been a frenzy of speculative stories and concern about the 83-year-old’s poor health.
The Pope is undeniably a celebrity — the most famous man in the world. Instantly recognizable, the kind of guy who makes people cry when they see him in the flesh.
He’s a former theatre buff and downhill skier who has been photographed with U2’s Bono. Last year, an Italian newspaper reported the Pope lost weight after going on the Zone diet — popular among celebrities, including Madonna.
A “Catholic Idol.”
About a billion people worldwide would identify themselves as Catholic, says Deacon Bill Kokesch, spokesman for the Ottawa-based Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
While other religions have similar numbers of followers, their leaders don’t have the same celebrity-like status as the Pope. Kokesch cites the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, as another religious leader who is recognized worldwide, but was hard-pressed to think of anyone else.
The man has stage presence and is media savvy.
“He’s someone who as a young person was trained in theatre and knows how to approach an audience through words and gestures,” Kokesch says.
He points to the Pope’s hectic travel schedule and an ability to personalize his messages for different parts of the world as other reasons for his popularity.
Pope John Paul has travelled to more places than any of his predecessors — though previous pontiffs didn’t have airplanes to jet around the globe. As a multi-linguist, fluently speaking eight languages, he can reach out to many people in their own tongue.
“He is very conscious of using the tools of the media to get his message seen,” notes Kokesch.
But in Canada, it’s the pontiff’s messages that are causing problems. The social policies the Pope continues to tout — he is against birth control, abortion, euthanasia, gay activity, and married and women priests — run contrary to the values espoused by many Canadians.
Meanwhile, Statistics Canada surveys show the number of people who identify themselves as Catholic — and other religions — has declined over the years. The ongoing debate about gay marriage rights has pitted the church against the state.
“There’s a contradiction here,” says Tom Sherwood, an ecumenical chaplain at Carleton University, who studies the sociology of religion.
“The Pope is a seemingly extremely popular figure whose policies are extremely unpopular in certain quarters.”
The Pope cultivated his popularity in developing countries through frequent visits. He champions social justice issues, and goes after wealthy nations in his speeches for the continuing divisions between rich and poor.
But for most devotees in North America, the celebrity of the Pope has nothing to do with the views he espouses — it’s just celebrity for celebrity’s sake.
“I think there’s a lot of media hype,” says Saundra Glynn, who has acted as spokeswoman for Ottawa groups advocating reform to Catholic policy.
“What does it really mean?” she asks of the Pope’s popularity. “Is it bolstering church attendance locally? I always wonder, some of the people who get so rah-rah about the Pope — but do they know the name of their own bishop?”
Sherwood says the tension between the Pope as a charismatic figure and the Pope’s social policies is framed within the stodgy, authoritarian structure of the Vatican, creating “a tension between tradition and modernity.”
He adds that while Pope John Paul is a media darling, this “pop-figure pope” isn’t something new, as other popes have also attracted mass attention.
It is, however, a modern phenomenon to have a popular critique of the Pope’s policies — which in previous years might not even have been known to followers. It’s because of extensive media coverage and technology that people know where Pope John Paul stands on issues. Still, Sherwood says the pope remains untouchable because of the old, pyramidal structure of the Catholic Church, in which there is a disconnect between Catholics at the bottom and the Pope at the top.
“The Pope is a lot like a Caesar or an emperor,” he says.
Kokesch, who represents Catholic bishops, agrees the current Pope is in a unique position compared with his predecessors.
“On the one hand, he has people’s respect, on the other hand, he says things people don’t agree with.”
Yet no matter how unpopular his views, the Pope remains untouchable — the Teflon pontiff.
For Kokesch, the fact the Pope continues to garner adoration from people who don’t agree with his views offers proof to people’s belief in the his love and his holiness.
The Pope may be popular, but his views aren’t beyond reproach from his followers.
“We live in a different age,” says Kokesch.
One in which the Pope, whatever he advocates, remains a shining Catholic Idol.