9 Days That Changed the World

On Monday 24 Oct 2011, Newt & Callista Gingrich were in DBQ. They were mainly here to promote her new book, Sweet Land of Liberty, as well as their new biographical documentary film about Blessed Pope John Paul II, 9 Days That Changed the World. Of course any appearance former Speaker Gingrich makes these days does have a campaign aspect because he is running for president.

At 7pm they were at Loras College to promote the documentary as well as sign their books. But before they did either of those there was a short Q&A session. On the subject of abortion & Planned Parenthood he made it clear that he was opposed to Planned Parenthood getting any federal money. He wants the money they are currently getting to go to adoption programs instead.

He was critical of the federal bureaucracy when it comes to education. He said the 3 key components were parents, children & teachers. He went on to make it clear that he supports a merit system that rewards good teachers. Talking about the bailouts he said the companies should not have been bailed out. He called the bailouts socialism.

But perhaps the most interesting question was 1 he was asked on the environment. Why do I say it was interesting? It was because of the term used by the person, "climate disruption". Apparently that is the latest term to use because people are seeing through "climate change" as being a desription of the normal way things operate, not something abnormal. Gingrich tried to give a straight answer but the questioner kept interupting him. It was clear to me that she didn't like his answer. He said that there may be some concerns but the facts aren't as settled as those pushing the whole immenant disaster if we don't do something scenerio, like the questioner. He quoted a recent study published in the Nature Journal of Science that showed more solar heat is escaping than originally thought. He also pointed out some facts oft ignored that showed the climate has been warmer before. 1 of those facts is the existance of dinosaur bones in the Antarctic. I will say that if I were Speaker Gingrich I would have told the questioner to quit interupting & please let me answer rather than letting her keep interupting. But as I said, she didn't like the answers she was getting that were able to answer her objections.

After about a half hour of signing books, Newt & Callista Gingrich gave a short introductory talk about the documentary. This was followed by a screening of the movie.

The title is a reference to Blessed John Paul's 1st visit to Poland after being elected Pope. But the film is much more than a look at that visit. The 1st part of the film looks at the early life of Karol Józef Wojtyła up to his being elected Pope. This part of the film laid the groundwork for understanding what that visit meant to the communist party in Poland & even moreso to the Soviet leadership in Moscow who were especially unhappy with the visit. The film then goes on to look at the 9 day vist. 1 of the interesting ironies of that visit is how it came about. Originally Blessed Pope John Paul had wanted a 2 day visit in May to celebrate the 900th Anniversary of the martyrdom of Stanislaus of Szczepanów. Fearing the political implications of that visit the Polish leadership offered a 9 day visit in June as an alternative. As I watched what happenned during that visit I couldn't help but think how big a mistake they made since the 9 day visit did more to bring about what they feared than the original 2 day visit ever would have.

The last part of the video looked at what happenned after the visit, including the assasination attempt on Blessed John Paul in 1981. It looked a bit at the relationship between Blessed John Paul & President Reagan. As a part of that relationship, it looked at Reagan's visit to Brandenburg Gate. It shared a part of the speech that has been ignored by the media. The focus has been the "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" line Reagan said about midway through the speech. But toward the end of the speech Reagan said something that repeated the theme of the Cross & faith that ran through what Blessed John Paul had shared in the 1st visit.

Reagan said: "Years ago, before the East Germans began rebuilding their churches, they erected a secular structure: the television tower at Alexander Platz. Virtually ever since, the authorities have been working to correct what they view as the tower's one major flaw: treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every kind. Yet even today when the sun strikes that sphere, that sphere that towers over all Berlin, the light makes the sign of the cross. There in Berlin, like the city itself, symbols of love, symbols of worship, cannot be suppressed.

As I looked out a moment ago from the Reichstag, that embodiment of German unity, I noticed words crudely spray-painted upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner (quote):

"This wall will fall. Beliefs become reality."

Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall, for it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom." They also showed a picture of the tower & yes, the cross was there.

The film also made the point that the message of the dangers of relativism wasn't simply originated by then Cardinal Ratzinger but was also a huge theme of Blessed John Paul's message.

The entire film runs for about 94 minutes & is definitely worth seeing. There were a couple times when it seemed the film reached a natural conclusion, but then it went on to add more. None of what was added was extraneous. It all served to support the central theme of the film, how the 9 Day visit "created a revolution of conscience that transformed Poland and fundamentally reshaped the spiritual and political landscape of the 20th Century."  While I have also pointed out a couple of the things I learned from the film that I didn't know before, there were other historical facts I didn't previously that I learned from seeing the film.
I highly recommend the film. It was well done. It had plenty of interviews of people who were a part of the events. & it also had some never before seen footage of film taken by the Polish Communist leadership during the visit. It is a documentary that shows how God worked through Blessed John Paul to bring about the downfall of communism in Eastern Europe & the Soviet Union. But it is also a challenge to us. It is a reminder that we must continue to spread the Gospel message in a world that is trying to exclude God. It is that message of the Cross that gave the Polish people hope & the courage to do what they had to do to bring about the changes in Poland. It is that same message that is needed today in a world that denies the existance of God & absolute truth, a world where darkness & dispair seems to be winning. It is that same message that will give hope in these times of darkness. It is that message that will encourage us to continue in our battles against evil. In our case that battle especially includes the evil of the "culture of death". Until the return of Christ we must continue that battle. & no matter how dark or hopeless things seem, the Cross is our assurance that in the end, we will win.