Pope John Paul II

It’s hard to describe how I feel about the death of Pope John Paul II.

It’s not an everyday event, that’s for sure. I’ve only known three Popes in my lifetime and I can’t recollect anything about Paul VI, except his photograph hanging in classrooms. I was in grade six when both John Pauls came to the Vatican.

Faith is an individual experience and I can’t say I’ve paid much attention to church politics or the Pope’s wanderings.

I remember him being fit and active when he started out; in stark contrast to the frail old man we’ve seen for the past few years.

I think history will judge him kindly. He stamped his authority on the office and impressed as a man of great principles. He spoke out against materialism and was the world’s conscience on many issues.

He mended bridges with the Jewish people and tried likewise with the Orthodox churches. He was socially conservative and politically liberal.

I don’t think he ever claimed credit for the collapse of Communism, as some have tried to bestow upon him, but he was certainly a key figure in his native Poland and probably acted as a unifying force in that country when it was undergoing great upheaval.

He was genuinely a good man, which can’t be said of all Popes!