The spiritual fatherhood of John Paul II

As Father's Day approaches, it is appropriate to look at one man's incredible ability to reflect the meaning of fatherhood to the world. When Pope John Paul II died, many remarked that they felt that their own father or grandfather had passed away. Millions of people mourned his death with tears, and yet most of them had never met him, never hugged him, never had a private meeting with him.

George Weigel recently addressed a group of men on a pilgrimage in Poland with remarks concerning Pope John Paul II's spiritual fatherhood:
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During the many years this son of Poland walked the world's stage, he became a spiritual father to tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions, of people. He became a father in a world looking for fatherhood, and often failing to find it. He became a spiritual father to men and women who do not share our Christian faith, as he had been a father to his archdiocese of Cracow during his years as its bishop. How did he do this? How does it happen that so many millions of people, in very different situations, come to experience one man as a father? And what does that tell us about our own responsibilities and opportunities as fathers?
Perhaps the answer will begin to come into focus if I tell you a bit about my experience in writing the biography of John Paul II.

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