John Wilkins, editor of Britain's most prestigious Catholic journal, The Tablet, looks at the papacy of John Paul II with its strengths and weaknesses, its achievements and failures. How far has John Paul II fulfilled the vision of an open Church outlined at the Second Vatican Council? Are there ways in which he has rolled back that vision? Wilkins then discusses the qualities of mind and person needed in the next pope, as the Church looks for leadership through the challenges of the next millennium.
John Willkins, Editor, The Tablet
Widely recognised in Great Britain as an authority on the Catholic Church, John Wilkins has been the editor of England's most important Catholic journal, The Tablet, since 1982. Besides editing this weekly journal, he has published two volumes on Catholicism: How I Pray (1993) and Understanding Veritatis Splendor (1994). Educated at Clare College, Cambridge, he returned there as a visiting scholar in 1996. In that same year he won the John Harriott Memorial Prize. He has also served as a writer for BBC External Services and been a Producer for Britain's Radio 4. In 1973 he won the Ondas Radio Prize. He has recently been made a Member of the British Empire for his work in journalism and Catholic intellectual life.