Local residents reflect on charismatic pope

By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME-Lake Sherwood resident Anne Lockhart, an actress, meets Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. The photo was taken in 1985 when Lockhart was shooting a movie.

The passing of Pope John Paul II on April 2 moved billions of people, both believers and nonbelievers, to reflect on the life of an extraordinary human being.

"Pope John Paul II’s legacy will surely be the human face he gave to the world," said actress and Lake Sherwood resident Anne Lockhart, who met the pope in Rome in 1985.

Born in Poland in 1920, Karol Jozef Wojtyla became the longest-serving leader of the Catholic Church. Since the age of 58, when he was chosen to serve as pontiff, Pope John Paul II acted as a bridge between God and the faithful.

As he reached out to all religions and crossed generational boundaries, he stayed true to his convictions.

Lockhart, a Catholic, said her encounter with the pope was overwhelmingly emotional.

While she was shooting a film in Rome, she was invited to attend a papal audience in St. Peter’s Square with her mother, actress June Lockhart, and friend, actress Kay Lenz.

It was a very powerful experience, Lockhart recollected. "I was sure excited to be there, but wasn’t prepared for how his arrival affected me. My knees buckled and I burst into tears. He was so charismatic," Lockhart said.

At the end of the audience, the pope began making his way toward the women, extending his hand. "My heart was pounding as I couldn’t think of a single thing to say," said Lockhart.

"Holy Father, I am from America and I am so very happy to meet you," she managed to say.

The pope replied, "Ah . . . America."

  As the pope moved on, a man from New York took his hand and said, "Your Holiness, these three women are very famous actresses from Hollywood."

  The pope stopped, turned back, and with a great big grin on his face, raised both hands in the air and said loudly and with delight, "Ah! Hollywood!" Those were two words Lockhart never expected to hear the pope say.

This brief meeting and the pope’s twinkling eyes will stay with her forever, Lockhart said. John Paul II’s earlier work as a playwright and an actor also struck a chord with her.

"I believe it played a large part in his amazing communication skills. He had a delightful sense of humor as well," she said.

"I consider myself very lucky to have met him and received his blessing," she concluded.

Rabbi Richard Spiegel of Temple Etz Chaim in Thousand Oaks said that Pope John Paul II had a strong relationship with the Jewish community.

When Pope John Paul II visited Israel, he acknowledged and apologized for the Catholic Church’s apathy toward the plight of Jewish people during the Holocaust. Perhaps his empathy arose from growing up alongside Jews in Poland. The pope worked very hard to strengthen ties between Christians and Jews, Spiegel said.

"John Paul II demonstrated in his actions that anti-Semitism is wrong and he recognized Israel," Spiegel said.

He really did something very different; he himself visited a synagogue and the Wall, something popes had not done before.

"He called Jews ‘our elder brothers in faith’ and said the Jewish covenant with God is ‘irrevocable,’" the rabbi said. He did something about the relationship: he went to Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Memorial in Israel, and the Jewish world is going to remember him for these things, Spiegel said.

The whole world will also remember this pope for being a great leader, for peace and for healing, and for playing a role in ending Communism in his native country.

John Paul II was an active pope who took his position of leadership to heart, wanted to make changes, and did, said Spiegel. The rabbi was hopeful that the pope’s successor would continue the good works that John Paul II started.

Agoura Councilmember Denis Weber, a lifelong Catholic, also saw unique human qualities in John Paul II.

Previous popes always looked as though they were sad or upset, said Weber. That wasn’t the case with John Paul II.

"He was a happy man, and while the humility of his being was apparent to me, he relished his role and his mission as the leader of more than 1 billion Catholics," said Weber

Weber appreciated the pope’s willingness to teach and to listen to what was going on in the world while remaining steadfast in his beliefs.

"I love the fact that he knew what his faith meant to all of us and that he was proud of it and was not going to be swayed by the ‘fad of the day,’ but stayed the course throughout his term," Weber said.

  The pope’s ability to overcome a difficult life also impressed Weber. His parents died when he was young, he fought Nazis and Communists, and he was the victim of assassination attempts. Throughout all of this, John Paul II maintained his focus on God’s mission for him.

"I only wish I could be more like him in my faith and my direction in life. What an inspiration to me and to all people of the world," said Weber, confident that the pope will be blessed in heaven.