Where to begin...What has John Paul II's impact on the world been?

A Profuse Blesser

"To understand this Pope, you must go back to his Polish roots."

During his 26 years as Pope, John Paul II, has had an influence in many areas of life (both religious and non-religious alike).

What is your opinion of this man? And please share any personal rememberances...use the 'Comment' link below...

For a good blog link to the life and times of the Pope, click here.

A link to NYT (Pope's obit)

"Whatever you set your mind to do, you always should make the road before you wide open, so that all people may traverse it. This is the concern of a great man." ~Zhang River Annals

UPDATE [4/4/05]: According to The Global Language Monitor, Record 35,000 news reports on Pope -- "More than 3.5 Million Internet Citations & 35,000 Major New Stories in First 24 Hours; Words most frequently associated: Historic, Conservative, and Beloved"

"The growth of the Internet in recent years provides an unprecedented opportunity for expanding the Church's missionary outreach, since it has become a primary source of information and communication for so many of our contemporaries, especially the young" ~Pope JPII (February 21, 2003)

Comment

It's been extraordinary, a flood of wonderful memories from people all over the world about how the Pope has personally touched them. I have been listening to quite a few reports via internet and listening to personal tributes. I don't know if it's only me but I have noticed a common thread among most of the non-clergy regarding the Pope. People look at the Pope through their own particular faith or non-faith filters and so, for example, an atheist will present the Pope as a great humanist (sans any mention of God). I heard a Muslim man characterize the Pope as a man of peace -- no mention of the profound Christian faith at the core of the Pope's being. Is this normal - I mean to reduce the Pope to a non-threatening caricature (albeit wonderful) that fits nicely into our faith filters? What about taking a moment to reflect on and confront the fact that what made the Pope such a great humanist, or man of peace was in fact the God whom he worshipped? Are we secularizing the Pope?

In Poland especially, there is a temptation (and rightly so) to take ownership of the Pope as a great Pole. Poland should recall that there are over 1 billion Catholics around the world, the Pope belongs to all of us (to humanity in general). My gripe isn't with this tendency, it happens in all countries fortunate enough to produce from their ranks a truly exemplary person. The lesson that is under threat of being lost is that the Pope was God's instrument, and it is God who deserves the glory. The Pope's faith facilitated God's work through him, and credit belongs to the Pope as a man of great, and steadfast faith. But let's not forget that the warm and inspiring light that came from this Pope to millions of people, originated from somewhere -- and the Pope would be the first one to tell you it wasn't from himself. And that it is available to and for all of us. "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." (Mark 10:26-28)

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