DEATH OF JOHN PAUL II: Posthumous Nobel Peace Prize Ruled Out

A GUARDIAN of the Nobel Peace Prize has ruled out a posthumous award to Pope John Paul II, and a Nobel specialist said his conservative moral teachings had prevented him from winning it in his lifetime.

The Pope’s absence from the list of laureates is seen by many Roman Catholics as one the biggest gaps in the history of the prize, first awarded in 1901.

In Norway, the home of the prize, John Paul II’s work for peace and reconciliation among religions and a role in the fall of communism often received less attention than his opposition to contraception, abortion, married priests and women clergy.

“There are many people who wanted the Pope to receive the prize,” said Geir Lundestad, the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute. “Over the years we have received thousands of letters on his behalf. But it’s not possible to have posthumous awards. The statutes are very clear about that.”

The rules were changed in 1974 to ban posthumous awards for peace, literature, chemistry, physics, medicine and economics. The founder, Alfred Nobel, clearly wanted them to inspire the living.

Irwin Abrams, a professor emeritus at Antioch University in Ohio with specialist interest in the prize, said: “The Pope was conservative in his doctrines. I think that the Nobel committee would be very critical about that.” (Reuters)