BY JULIE IRWIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
It is Pope John Paul II's positions on divorce, abortion and homosexuality that most often make headlines, but many Tristate Catholics think of other issues when they consider the pontiff's two decades on the job.
Eleven years ago, Harold Powell of North Avondale and his wife, Alveria, were two in a group of African-American Catholics and educators who met with the pope in New Orleans. He remembers being moved by the event for several reasons.
"It was a very spiritual event for my wife and me and we looked forward to seeing the pope, but I was definitely surprised at seeing all the black clergymen and nuns, because coming from Cincinnati, there was no visibility of black priests. It was definitely rejuvenating," said Mr. Powell.
Mr. Powell thinks John Paul's openness to the diversity of worldwide Catholicism has helped vocations among African Americans.
"I see more black priests now, and I think that's come about because of the pope's attitude and the attitude of the bishops around the country, since he's encouraged black males and females to see (religious vocations) as a possibility," he said.
For Nealy Mechley, John Paul II's devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been a highlight of his papacy.
"I think his devotion to her has created a worldwide devotion to Christ," said Mrs. Mechley, a staffer at Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center in Norwood.
Mrs. Mechley, who recently returned from a trip to Rome where she saw the pope pass by, believes his devotion to Mary has helped places such as the Norwood center. Formerly a seminary, the center now holds a prayer vigil every year on Aug. 31, which attracts tens of thousands of people hoping to see an apparition of Mary. It is also open throughout the year for prayer and contemplation and is part of a worldwide increase in interest in Mary.
"I've loved (John Paul II) since he first became pope because of his devotion to Mary, at a time when devotion to Mary had been waning," she said. "Some have said Mary has formed him since his youth." Jane Sansalone of St. Bernard praised John Paul II's dozens of trips abroad and his interest in ecumenical relations as highlights of his papacy.
"I think he's an excellent spokesman for the church," said the mother of eight. "These are difficult times and everybody is pulling in different directions, and I think he's held firm in a very good way."
Ms. Sansalone is also pleased by some of the new saints inducted during John Paul II's tenure. The current pope has roughly doubled the number of saints consecrated by all his predecessors in this century. Many of the people he has canonized or beatified -- the last step before canonization -- have been from developing countries. Ms. Sansalone is particularly pleased by two: Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Indian woman beatified in the Roman Catholic Church; and Blessed Edith Stein, a nun Jewish convert to Catholicism who was killed in Auschwitz in 1942. Also known as Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, she will become a saint later this month.
"She was a woman intellectual and a Jewish convert and I think it bridges those two streams of religion," Ms. Sansalone said. "The beatification of Kateri and the canonization of Edith Stein are both outstanding."
John Paul II has never visited Cincinnati as pope, although he was here on an unheralded visit in 1976, when he went by the name Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow. The pope is scheduled for another Midwest visit in January, when he will be in St. Louis.
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