preview

Pope Saint John III Research Paper

Better Essays
Open Document

Pope Saint John XXIII

Pope Saint John XXIII was born as Angelo Guiseppe Roncalli on the 25th November 1881. He was the eighth child in his family and his parents were poor sharecroppers that lived in a small Italian town. He was ordained as a priest in 1904. Pope Pius IX, who was pope up until 1903, had made a command that all Catholic priests were to be entirely separated from the political world. His successor, Pope Pius X, the pope during Roncalli’s ordination, took this a step further and attempted to remove all forms of modernism from the church.
When the world entered WW1 in 1914 Roncalli was drafted into the Italian army as a medic. Post war he returned home briefly but was then sent off to Bulgaria to become a missionary. He …show more content…

What do they seek? What do they implore of you? Not these new monstrous instruments of war which our times have produced and which can annihilate us all -- not these, but peace.” Pope Saint John XXIII also released an encyclical titled “Pacem in Terris” (Peace on Earth) which was a document, not just addressed to Catholics, but to all people. It called for greater interfaith Dialog between Religious Traditions and that all people have “a natural right to be respected”, “A right to freedom” and a right “To his good name”. Pope Saint John XXIII concludes with “…may Christ inflame the desires of all men to break through the barriers which divide them, to strengthen the bonds of mutual love, to learn to understand one another, and to pardon those who have done them wrong.” Pope Saint John XXIII’s goals of peace have changed the secular and non-Christians worlds view of Christianity. His involvement in politics paved the way for future popes to get involved in political issues, such as Pope Francis’ involvement in the Palestine/Israel peace talks last year. Another encyclical composed by Pope Saint John XXIII was “Mater et Magistra” (Mother and Teacher). It called for Christians to take up social justice work as to allow “all nations at last enjoy true prosperity, happiness and

Get Access