Pope John Paul Dies

Reuters reports that Pope John Paul II, who headed the Roman Catholic Church for 26 years and played a crucial role in the fall of communism in Europe, died on Saturday evening. He was 84:

The news was immediately announced to thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, many of whom wept openly for the charismatic leader of world's 1.1 billion Catholics.

"Our Holy Father John Paul has returned to the house of the Father," Archbishop Leonardo Sandri told the packed square.

[. . .]

A Vatican statement said the Pontiff died at 9.37 p.m (1437 EST) in his private apartment at the Vatican.

Pope John Paul II was a great man:

"John Paul II was one of the greatest men of the last century. Perhaps the greatest," said Henry Kissinger, former U.S. secretary of state.

"His life was a long struggle against the lies employed to excuse evil," former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher said in a statement.

The BBC published these reactions to the announcement of the pontiff's death:

We all feel like orphans this evening.

Vatican Undersecretary of State Archbishop Leonardo Sandri

A good and faithful servant of God has been called home.

The world has lost a champion of peace and freedom.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan

The world has lost a religious leader who was "revered across people of all faiths and none."

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair

This mourning deeply marks France as well as every French person, who identifies with the message of the Catholic Church.

French President Jacques Chirac

History will... record that John Paul II made a vital contribution to the democratic transformation of central and eastern Europe, and to the end of the Cold War.

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin

The angels welcome you.

Vatican TV

Israel, the Jewish people and the entire world, lost today a great champion of reconciliation and brotherhood between the faiths.

This is a great loss, first and foremost for the Catholic Church and its hundreds of millions of believers, but also for humanity as a whole.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom

President Bush issued the following statement:

Laura and I join people across the Earth in mourning the passing of Pope John Paul II. The Catholic Church has lost its shepherd, the world has lost a champion of human freedom, and a good and faithful servant of God has been called home.

Pope John Paul II left the throne of St. Peter in the same way he ascended to it -- as a witness to the dignity of human life. In his native Poland, that witness launched a democratic revolution that swept Eastern Europe and changed the course of history. Throughout the West, John Paul's witness reminded us of our obligation to build a culture of life in which the strong protect the weak. And during the Pope's final years, his witness was made even more powerful by his daily courage in the face of illness and great suffering.

All Popes belong to the world, but Americans had special reason to love the man from Krakow. In his visits to our country, the Pope spoke of our "providential" Constitution, the self-evident truths about human dignity in our Declaration, and the "blessings of liberty" that follow from them. It is these truths, he said, that have led people all over the world to look to America with hope and respect.

Pope John Paul II was, himself, an inspiration to millions of Americans, and to so many more throughout the world. We will always remember the humble, wise and fearless priest who became one of history's great moral leaders. We're grateful to God for sending such a man, a son of Poland, who became the Bishop of Rome, and a hero for the ages.

Comments

[Walter E. Wallis]

Sorry, but he was way behind Reagan, and if he had his way Saddam would still be in power.