The Rhetoric of Pope John Paul II: The Pastoral Visit As a New Vocabulary of the Sacred

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John Paul II's frequent use of international pastoral visits to communicate directly with local church members and the society in which they live has become a distinctive mark of his papacy. While media coverage of these visits is extensive, most commentators are perplexed by the Pope's style. This text explains this ambiguity by examining John Paul II's rhetorical strategy and analyzing his purposeful choices in planning, arranging themes, managing form and imagery, and performing the visit. Using the 1987 visit to the United States as a prototype for rhetorical study, the author treats the visit's discourse and symbols, and their contexts and arrangements, as observable data that can be interpreted using the accommodation-resistance dialectic to locate religious vocabularies in relation to a church and society deeply affected by secularization and pluralism, and as a way of speaking about the sacred.

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The Rhetoric of Pope John Paul II is a unique and inspiring study of Karol Wojtyla's commitment to faithfully and effectively preach the truth of Christ.-Fairfield County Catholic
"The Rhetoric of Pope John Paul II is a unique and inspiring study of Karol Wojtyla's commitment to faithfully and effectively preach the truth of Christ."-Fairfield County Catholic

Author Bio

MARGARET B. MELADY is the President of the American University of Rome, Italy./e She has a rich background in university administration and teaching, corporate management, and global communications. She is the author of studies in international culture and communication, and has been a consultant to domestic and foreign clients for a Washington-based public affairs firm.