by Brett Manero
October 11th is the optional feast day of St. John XXIII, who was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in 1881. As Bishop of Rome from 1958 until his death in 1963, he is perhaps most famous for his opening of the Second Vatican Council in 1962. Along with St. John Paul II (the Great), John was canonized by Pope Francis in 2014.
Along with his support of the Council, John was well-known for his writings about peace. Reigning as Pope during the height of the Cold War (indeed he was Pope during the Cuban Missile Crisis – often viewed as the apex of Cold War tensions), he rightly issued the encyclical Pacem in terris in 1963, a marvelous document about peace between nations.
He was also known for his simple goodness and kindness. “Good Pope John” was his nickname among the press. If only he could be Pope during our day and age, when appalling political division and cultural decay have led to a lack of basic kindness among people. This reminds me of the Prophet Hosea, who issues a covenant lawsuit against the Northern Kingdom of Israel in c. 740 BC:
“Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel; for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or kindness, and no knowledge of God in the land” (Hosea 4:1).
Just imagine this for a moment: Almighty God issues a riv, or a covenant lawsuit, against His own people for a lack of kindness in the land. We are all familiar with lawsuits, usually involving the accusation by one party that another party owes it money or property, etc. God has no use for money, but He has immense use for kindness among His creation. Let’s think of this more deeply: this lawsuit by God takes place in c. 740 BC, deep in the ancient world, and the ancient world was a particularly rough, violent, and immensely unkind place. This is exactly the genius of the Judeo-Christian faith: it is rooted in love because it is rooted in God, and it quite literally changes the world. The mention of the necessity of “kindness” in a religious Prophet in the eight century BC is, in a way, radical language, and language that alters the course of human history.
Good Pope John recognized the power of kindness. Indeed, kindness may be the most powerful force in our broken world. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Kindness can save a life by saving someone from despair. Kindness can remind someone of their innate dignity. Kindness can change history. Cruelty and toxicity are overrated. Kindness is good, and kindness matters.
Finally, Good Pope John was also a remarkable friend to the Jewish people. During the Second World War, Rev. Roncalli held diplomatic posts in which he was providentially able to save thousands of Jewish lives from the Nazis. He is widely recognized with having saved thousands of these lives. It is therefore no accident that he would devote his papacy to improving relations between the Church and the Jewish people. His efforts to save Jews, though not discussed enough, have not been entirely unrecognized: he has rightfully received support to be declared Righteous Among the Nations, the State of Israel’s highest honor for non-Jews who worked to save Jews from the Holocaust. (Source: Baruch Tenembaum: Remembering Pope John XXIII, a true friend of the Jews: The Jerusalem Post: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/remembering-pope-john-xxiii-a-true-friend-of-the-jews-opinion-650040
Good Pope John, pray for us!