I see that the Pope died, a little over an hour ago. This was a great man, who did at least as much to end Communism as Ronald Reagan. I doubt they’ll be able to find anyone of his stature to replace him.
Rest in peace.
MORE: Blogosphere reacts: Glenn Reynolds, Kevin Aylward, Ann Althouse, The Anchoress.
MORE (04:05 p.m.): I just heard President Bush remember the Pope as “a humble, wise, and fearless priest.” Pretty fair description. And there’s a good picture of Karol J?zef Wojtyla as a young man here.
AND MORE: Aside from his important role in ending communism, the Pope will always be a towering figure in history for his complete overhaul of Catholic Church policy towards the Jews:
Another of the Pope’s major achievements was to bring the Catholic Church to an historic rapprochement with Jews after 2,000 years of hostility when the Vatican formally recognized the state of Israel in 1993.
That led to the realization of a third dream in March 2000 when he made a long-desired trip to the Holy Land, visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories and calling for peace at every stop along the way.
In a momentous gesture that brought tears to many eyes, he left a personal note in the cracks of Judaism’s sacred Western Wall in Jerusalem asking for forgiveness for the past sins of Christians against Jews.
Comments
7 responses to “Pope John Paul II, R.I.P.”
Is it sinful to hope to learn from his sense of discipline, self-sacrifice, endurance and … finally … suffering?
A great man, altho Hitchens rightly calls him out for having tea with murderous thug Tariq Aziz in the Iraq War run-up. A strange lapse for a man whelped on totalitarianism
I agree that this is an inexcusable lapse. Still, one can make a Machiavellian argument for the Pope meeting with Aziz, who, despite being a thug, was one of the few Christians holding power in the Mideast. The Pope might have been looking ahead — to a point when the war was over, and the Americans might consider “rehabilitating” Baathists willing to cooperate. (I’m not sure I’d count Aziz out, even now….)
Plus, the Vatican seems convinced that Aziz helped Christians in Iraq:
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=7243
This is only offered by way of explanation and not excuse. The Pope is not “supposed” to think like a Machiavellian. But then, he’s a head of state in addition to being a religious leader….
I pray that Pope John Paul II rests in peace and that the next Pope may be as commited as him. I thank him for doing his part the best I have ever seen and maybe some day he can become a Saint.
I am really going to miss the pope he was a good man. And he will Rest In Peace with GOD. I am going to pray for him. And I am also going to pray for the next pope and i hope that he will be like pope john 2. I Love You Pope John Paul 2!!!!
y
Around The Papal Sphere
Thoughts on the Pope, from all different perspectives, all on my blogroll, they all are worth reading. Thoughts, tributes and more from Jack, Eric, Kevin, Joe,
LaShawn, Jay, Ozguru, Michael, and from the kittycats, note they are not all Catholic.
…