Via FoxNews: Pope John Paul II Dies at 84.
I know. We've been expecting it. But still...
I am not Catholic, nor do I agree with all the theology taught by the Roman Catholic Church. However, I would like to take this opportunity to say some good things about a man who stood against the tide of the evil of communism.
Pope John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla in 19020 in Poland. He had a hard life, dodging Nazis and communists while he grew up and finally followed a call to the church. He was elected Pope in 1978, the first non-Italian in many centuries to be voted into this office.
Together with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, he stood against the communism of the USSR, and brought down the Berlin Wall's backers. As Captain Ed puts it,
John Paul II commanded no armies and had no weapons on hand except for his love of God and compassion for humanity. Many disagree with the Pope's positions on the issues of the day, but no one can deny the essential goodness and humility that he exemplified. He did not distance himself from his flock, even when he became so ill and so disabled that we wondered if his calling would end his life. He loved his Church so much that he could not keep himself from celebrating Mass on his regular schedule until finally his health simply would not permit it.
The Pope was also a staunch defender of traditional values, vehemently condemning abortion, suicide, euthanasia, and experimentation on human embryos. He cherished life and fought for it, even when his own health became so precarious.
The athletic ability he showed in his youth transferred to his physical resiliance during his long bout with Parkinson's disease as well as to his recovery from the attempted assassination in 1981. He refused to back down, and constantly lived up to the very limits of his abilities.
But perhaps his greatest legacy was his calm courage, and in his confidence that there was no need for fear. The Anchoress puts it beautifully:
He told us many great things, and he teaches us, even now - voiceless, in his suffering...but there are two great messages which always resonate in my mind. John Paul II told us that we must be always aware of the Culture of Death that is encroaching upon us and - more importantly - he told us, endlessly, endlessly, DO NOT BE AFRAID.
I can hear him, saying it in his big, deep voice, booming out among the hundreds of thousands of people: DO NOT BE AFRAID.
He said it everywhere he went, over and over again, and whenever he said it, he was quoting the Angels: DO NOT BE AFRAID.
We live in strange and unsettling times. As a nation we face unprecedented challenges at home and abroad, in our policies and in our private lives. The message needs to be taken in and internalized: DO NOT BE AFRAID.
JPII was never afraid. He trusted in the Lord and went about doing His work. It is a great lesson for all of us.
He was not afraid to go back out after an assassin's bullet laid him low.
He was not afraid to travel the world and show us the face of suffering and infirmity, demonstrating - over and over again - that age and infirmity and a compromised physicality does NOTHING to devalue the worth of the human person.
A gentle man, an honorable man, full of faith and conviction, and courage. A man I did not know, but who protected the cause of freedom and democracy, and therefore protected my life. A gallant warrior for his Lord, and a faithful servant.
Godspeed, John Paul. God bless.
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