Wednesday, December 30, 2015

JPII and Billy Graham


Billy Graham identified himself as a good friend of Karol Wojtyla.  They corresponded regularly, and met in Rome several times.  Graham had a special respect for the Pope's emphasis on the suffering of the cross.  In an interview with Larry King, Graham the following of Wojtyla:

GRAHAM: I think it was his background in Poland. And I had finished preaching all over Poland, gotten to know many people, and I knew a little bit about where he came from.
"And he was a suffering pope, too. He suffered as much as anybody you could ever imagine. His mother died when he was young. And he had that terrible assassination attack. And through it all, he taught us how to suffer. And I think in recent days he's taught us how to die.
KING: There is no question in your mind that he is with God now?
GRAHAM: Oh, no. There may be a question about my own, but I don't think Cardinal Wojtyla, or the Pope -- I think he's with the Lord, because he believed. He believed in the Cross. That was his focus throughout his ministry, the Cross, no matter if you were talking to him from personal issue or an ethical problem, he felt that there was the answer to all of our problems, the cross and the resurrection. And he was a strong believer.

They also held in common a goal to wipe out Communism, and were both successful in their own lifetimes.  Here is a clip of Graham preaching against Marxism (min 7:40-8:15)):

 

No comments: