Remembering Pope John Paul II

It is with deep regret that I must report that the Vatican has confirmed that Pope John Paul II, who in his historic twenty-six year leadership of the Roman Catholic Church was one of the leading figures in the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union along with the late-President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margret Thatcher, passed away late Saturday evening at the age of eighty-four.

The following quotations spoken by the holy pontiff himself are ones that I believe summed up his extensive leadership of the Catholic faith the best and demonstrate what will be missed in his absence ...

"I have a sweet tooth for song and music. This is my Polish sin"

"Once again, through myself, the Church, in the words of the well-known declaration Nostra Aetate, 'deplores the hatred, persecutions and displays of anti-Semitism directed against the Jews at any time and by anyone.' I repeat, 'By anyone'"

"The cemetery of the victims of human cruelty in our century is extended to include yet another vast cemetery, that of the unborn"



"Radical changes in world politics leave America with a heightened responsibility to be, for the world, an example of a genuinely free, democratic, just and humane society"

"From now on it is only through a conscious choice and through a deliberate policy that humanity can survive"



"When freedom does not have a purpose, when it does not wish to know anything about the rule of law engraved in the hearts of men and women, when it does not listen to the voice of conscience, it turns against humanity and society"

"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live"

"Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence"



Incline, O Lord,
Thine ear to our prayers,
in which we humbly beseech Thy mercy,
that Thou wouldst place the soul of Thy servant,
which Thou hast caused to depart from this world,
into the region of peace and light;
and unite in the fellowship of Thy Saints.

Through Christ our Lord,

Amen.