>> How many converts do you think he would make by denouncing the spiritual symbols of Islam directly? None. Perhaps he felt it better to remain pious while demonstrating the tolerance and love that Christianity has been known for spreading in the world<<
Wow! You are Catholic!! You can rationalize with the best of them!
JPII was reaching out but kissing the Quran was a terrible mistake as was allowing barebreasted woman in a native mass. He is human, this was not Dogma. I would rather think that he is now sorry than to think that all of this was planned.
Maybe if he gave as much attention to the Christians that are being persecuted in those non-Christian countries, he would be more of the spiritual leader we Catholics want him to be.
I want you each to remember how much pope John Paul II has done for freedom in the world. Ask a Pole if he knows how to fight oppression. Let the Pope fight for the west in his own way. He has a proven track record. Some of what he does may be difficult to understand, but he had his critics at the peak of the cold war, as well.
Who is fighting the biggest threat to western civilization today, namely our institution of marriage and the traditional family? He is. I give him my full support.