The Universalistic Conception of The Civilization in The Social and Philosophical Thought of Pope John Paul II

Karol Wojtyla (1920–2005), later to become Pope John Paul II (since 1978), was one of the greatest contemporary thinkers. He was a Christian philosopher and Catholic theologian. His thought exerted an in! uence on diverse generations and representatives of many cultures, religions and nations. He was an authority not only for Catholics but also for many infidels and even atheists. He often made controversies because of His firm opinions. He was an aim of liberal as well as conservative critique. The liberals criticized Him due to His uncompromising and conservative attitude to female priesthood, homosexuality, contraception and abortion. The conservatives accused Him of apologizing and conciliatory tone of His voice in relationships with other religions, especially with Jews and Muslims. Because these parts of His thought became most controversial, they were and usually are commented on and analysed by world mass media. But few people found Him a leading contemporary theoretician of civilization despite the fact that He constructed a coherent theory of civilization that is unfortunately distracted in His numerous papers. And my article is dedicated to this theory. I would like to present the core of His civilization’s conception.