Paean to the Papcy.

• Author: Douglas, Susan
• Position: John Paul II as Time's 'Man of the Year' - Column

His appearances generate an electricity unmatched by anyone else on Earth," gushed Time. He is "a superstar in almost perpetual motion," a man loaded with "charisma," who prompted this "dazed reaction of a young woman" cheering wildly with others in a sports arena: "What is it that he has?"

Mick Jagger? Prince? Nelson Mandela? Nope, it's the Pope, Time's "Man of the Year." Now let's put aside, for a minute, a debunking of the entire "Man of the Year" concept, with its repulsive celebration of narcissistic individualism and pecking-order, missionary-position patriarchy. Let's even ignore the preposterous conflation of the realms of entertainment and religion in this overblown paean to the papacy. Let's just take the thing on its own terms, and consider what Time is saying to every woman in the world - and to every child who goes to bed at night hungry, sick, filthy, or mistreated - by choosing this guy as the most exemplary, morally righteous human on the planet.

Here are some of the virtues of the "Man of the Year." He opposes the use of condoms under any circumstances. (So what if people's lives are at stake?) He opposes the ordination of women. He opposes all forms of birth control except abstinence. His views on abortion are, of course, common knowledge. He denies priests the permission to marry. He denounces homosexuality. In June 1990, he asserted that Catholic theologians have no right to dissent publicly from official church teachings. And in 1993, sounding a lot like Pat Robertson, he urged U.S. bishops to combat "bitter, ideological feminism" among Catholic women which, he suggested, led to "nature worship" (read: witchcraft).

Here's a deeply intolerant autocrat who, if he were, say, a prominent Muslim cleric, would be denounced in the very same pages of Time. The "Man of the Year" story does not ignore these reactionary positions but, by emphasizing his jet-setting papal style, his multilingual skills, and his visits to the poor in Africa, seems to say, "Picky, picky, picky."

The reasons he was chosen? He is "consistent," praises Time. He embodies moral "rectitude." He's the "conscience of the whole Christian world." At a time when public and private morality seems "adrift," "John Paul knows where he stands."

Just a few days ago, we had a "deeply religious" man make headlines in my state, a man who also knows exactly where he stands. He walked into two abortion clinics and killed two women, aged twenty-five and thirty-eight, and...