In Memoriam: Pope John Paul II

"His leadership of the Catholic Church for more than a quarter of a century impacted the whole world; and the world now mourns the loss of this man of God whose spirit and devotion, even in the face of frail health, exemplified Jesus Christ’s own love for the Church." - Francis Cardinal George

I was rereading a couple of books that were written back in 1978 when John Paul I and John Paul II were selected. It mentioned that an estimated 250,000 people viewed Paul VI as he lay in state. Something like 20 times as many will have viewed John Paul II by the time they shut down the viewing lines.

I was thinking about the same thing. There was just something special about Pope John Paul II.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day...04-07-05...Some of the Words of Pope John Paul II [JohnHuang2 Tribute to John Paul II]

Tribute -- SpiritDaily

FAREWELL, JOHN PAUL, YOU WERE THE BEST, A GREAT PAPA WHO WE KNOW WILL ONE DAY BE A GREAT SAINT AS WELL

By Michael H. Brown

He was always there, in the anteroom of our thoughts and prayers and in our homes and in Catholic churches, somewhere behind the quicksilver of stained glass in every parish as if to stand in guard of the Blessed Sacrament.

That's what it seemed like, at any rate, what it felt like with Joannes Paulus II, who stood as a Pope of popes, our rock, bulwark against society and the comfort in times of true Catholic tragedy -- a spiritual and yet also a world leader who will hover somewhere, some day, above names like Roosevelt and Kennedy and Churchill when history has its say and we see more clearly the way this man lived his vocation (to the hilt) and affected all of history.

He was always there, John Paul, rock of Peter, as if to guide and guard through unsettlement: for more than a quarter of a century, the one to whom we could look when the rest of the Church did not look so very good when we looked at it.

Were it not for John Paul the Great, the Catholic Church may well have collapsed under the weight of scandal; many would have lost faith.

How many vocations were solely because of John Paul, how many entered the priesthood due to his radiance? How many kept a favorable view of priests solely because he was there? And could anyone except John Paul have torn down the Berlin Wall, all but converted Gorbachev to Catholicism, and ended the tyranny of Communism (at least for the moment) -- which was the most dangerous threat to mankind in recorded history, greater even than the threat of Hitler?

Really, that's enough said. One has only to look at Pope John Paul II to see the radiance of the Holy Spirit. A vocation to the hilt! We don't need to review all the encyclicals and proclamations and declarations; there will be other times, intellectual times, for that. For now, we rejoice simply in his spirit, for this was a man who was the equal not only of any pope on record (save for Peter) but of the most devout saints, a man who will join Mother Teresa and Padre Pio and Sister Faustina -- and Lucia of Fatima -- and join them on an equal footing.

Watch the miracles that spring from his intercession!

And yet, this was also an "ordinary" man, a man who was legitimately humble, who didn't consider himself as anything special and did not exhibit the ego of the power he held. I have a good friend named William Gallagher who was once acting mayor of Niagara Falls, N.Y., and back in the 1970s, when the Pope, as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, of Kracow, was making a tour of the U.S., Bill was given the duty of escorting this cardinal around for an entire day. I remember Bill telling me about that incredible memory of spending so much time with the future Pope, alone, even sipping wine with him -- and feeling like he was with a holy man, to be sure, but also a regular guy at the end of the day.

Years later, when he saw the list of papal candidates, Gallagher (now an outstanding television reporter in Detroit) was the only one who put his money on the Polish cardinal simply because he had met and loved and appreciated Cardinal Wojtyla -- this man who would rise not just to the Throne of Peter but to the heights of history, a martyr without succumbing.

Oh, John Paul: you did it! You succeeded like no one else! You ended it with happiness and dignity and your final word in life was "Amen"!

It doesn't get better than that and it is hard to cry for someone who dies the way John Paul II, who is in Heaven -- completely succeeding in his earthly mission, telling us to rejoice in his death (because he did).

But it is easy to cry for ourselves. It is easy to fall into the nostalgia.

He was with us. He was always with us. He showed us how we are supposed to live (and die) and now he -- papa, in the truest sense of the word papa -- is gone, at least to earthly eyes.

Ollie North

Oliver North: "Be Not Afraid"

April 7, 2005

Washington, D.C. -- "Be not afraid!" No better eulogy can be written for Pope John Paul II than this exhortation from his inaugural Mass on October 22, 1978. His simple statement resonated from the halls of the Kremlin to the streets of Eastern Europe, from the jungles of Central America to the oppressed tending rice paddies in Communist China. These words even touched hearts here in secular America.

Those three words -- "Be not afraid" -- from Matthew, quoting Christ's command to a group of fearful men in peril on a dark and dangerous sea -- defined who he was and what he did. At every opportunity, this man who would become the most loved, viewed, and likely one of the most feared men on earth, urged fearlessness in the face of all that life offers -- right up to death itself.

Loved? Certainly. Viewed? No doubt. More than 100 million people in 129 countries can claim to have seen him -- not on a screen -- but in person. But feared? Yes, John Paul was indeed feared by despots and dictators, the cruel and those who would deny the sanctity of human life that he espoused in every sermon and in all of his writings. His faith, strength of character, and devotion to the dignity of every person informed everything he did. Those virtues are terrifying to tyrants and can change hearts in ways that military force and economic might never can.

Best of all, his life will continue to inspire. Few know the given name of any of this pope's predecessors. But almost everyone who has ever heard of John Paul II know that he was once a parish priest, Karol Wojtyla. And because of all that has been said and written of him, hundreds of millions of people know that his courage and steadfastness were forged in the crucible of adversity -- first under the boot of Nazi oppression -- and ultimately beneath the Soviet proxies who ruled Poland after World War II.

In the early 1950s, the communist regime constructed Nowa Huta, a "model city" on the outskirts of Krakow. When Archbishop Karol Wojtyla discovered that this new "worker's paradise" wouldn't have a church, he set out to change their minds. He lobbied the apparatchiks. They ignored him. He went to the Communist Party authorities. They threatened him. So he went to the people -- and began badgering the bureaucracy for a permit to construct a place of worship. Increasingly vexed, officials vowed to restrict the annual Corpus Christi procession through Krakow to a single walk around the cathedral. The threat prompted a wonderful example of the future pope's courage and wit: "I am inclined to think that such actions do not favor the process of normalization between the Church and the State." In 1967 when the permit to build a church in Nowa Huta was finally granted, it was Archbishop Wojtyla who swung a pickaxe to break ground.

Though his message was spiritual -- not political -- the demise of the Evil Empire can be traced to his tenure as Archbishop of Krakow. Karol Wojtyla had braved threats of arrest to preach, "We are citizens of our country, the citizens of our city, but we are also a people of God which has its own Christian sensibility. ... We will continue to demand our rights. They are obvious, just as our presence here is obvious. We will demand!"

In 1979, as Pope John Paul II, he took that message back to his native Poland and inspired millions of his countrymen who ignored government intimidation to hear and see him. His message, "Be not afraid," resonated in Gdansk, with the rise of "Solidarnosc" -- Lech Walesa's famous "Solidarity" labor union. On New Year's Day 1982, less than a month after the communists in Poland declared martial law and arrested thousands of Solidarity activists, John Paul denounced the "false peace of totalitarian regimes." There was no moral equivocation. The message was clear and the result was certain: truth was superior to falsehood; the light of hope would dispel the darkness of despair; and the freedom inborn in every human being could not be crushed by all the theories, laws, and chains devised by man.

John Paul II didn't just admonish others to "Be not afraid," he lived that way himself. Though he'd nearly been killed by an assassin's bullet in 1981, he insisted on traveling again as soon as he was able. Some were critical of his decision to do so, but he was never rash or unresponsive to good advice. In 1983 while the pope was enroute to visit El Salvador, our government intercepted a communication between two FMLN terrorist cells, discussing where the Marxist guerrillas would ambush his motorcade. I was dispatched to the Papal Nuncio with the raw intercept to urge that he advise the pope to use an alternative route. He did so and the ambush was averted. As I was leaving, the Cardinal sought to reassure my concerns about sending a message to the papal aircraft by telling me, "Don't be concerned, we sent it in code. No one has ever broken the Vatican code."

By the time he left us, Pope John Paul II had faced the hectoring of Sandinista mobs in Managua, told Castro to free his people, and delivered the same message to Mikhail Gorbachev. Through it all, his life was a witness to his faith. We are poorer for his departure, but eminently better for his life. In a world that increasingly devalues human life and exalts "choice" at the altar of the self, the selfless service of Karol Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II, inspired billions and shook the foundations of the world. "Be not afraid," indeed.

Radio Address by the President to the Nation, 04-09-05 [About Pope John Paul II]

For Immediate Release
April 9, 2005

President's Radio Address

Audio

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week I have been in Rome to attend the funeral mass of Pope John Paul II. The ceremonies were a powerful and moving reminder of the profound impact this Pope had on our world. And on behalf of America, Laura and I were honored to pay tribute to this good and holy man.

During nearly three decades on the Chair of St. Peter, this Pope brought the gospel's message of hope and love and freedom to the far corners of the Earth. And over this past week, millions of people across the world returned the Pope's gift with a tremendous outpouring of affection that transcended differences of nationality, language and religion.

Radio Address

Radio Interviews

2004

The call to freedom that defined his papacy was forged in the experiences of Pope John Paul's own life. He came to manhood during the Nazi occupation of his beloved Poland, when he eluded the Gestapo to attend an underground seminary. Later, when he was named Poland's youngest bishop, he came face to face with the other great totalitarianism of the 20th century: Communism. And soon he taught the communist rulers in Warsaw and Moscow that moral truth had legions of its own and a force greater than their armies and secret police.

That moral conviction gave the man from Krakow a confidence that inspired millions. In 1978, when he looked out at the crowd in front of St. Peter's as their new Pope, the square rang with his words "Be Not Afraid."

Everywhere he went, the Pope preached that the call of freedom is for every member of the human family because the Author of Life wrote it into our common human nature.

Many in the West underestimated the Pope's influence. But those behind the Iron Curtain knew better, and ultimately even the Berlin Wall could not withstand the gale force of this Polish Pope.

The Pope held a special affection for America. During his many visits to our country, he spoke of our providential Constitution, the self-evident truths about human dignity enshrined in our Declaration, and the blessings of liberty that followed from them. It is these timeless truths about man, enshrined in our founding, the Pope said, that have led freedom-loving people around the world to look to America with hope and respect. And he challenged America always to live up to its lofty calling. The Pope taught us that the foundation for human freedom is a universal respect for human dignity. On all his travels, John Paul preached that even the least among us bears the image of our Creator, so we must work for a society where the most vulnerable among us have the greatest claim on our protection.

And by his own courageous example in the face of illness and suffering, he showed us the path to a culture of life where the dignity of every human person is respected, and human life at all its stages is revered and treasured.

As the Pope grew physically weaker, his spiritual bond with young people grew stronger. They flocked to him in his final moments, gathering outside his window to pray and sing hymns and light candles. With them, we honor this son of Poland who became the Bishop of Rome, and a hero for the ages.

Thank you for listening.

INTERVIEW OF THE PRESIDENT (regarding the funeral of Pope John Paul II)

Bush extols pontiff's 'clarity' (Pope stood strong against the tides of moral relativism)

Moments — Private and Public — With the Pope

George Weigel, author of the Pope's biography, Witness to Hope

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....04-12-05...."He's Free" (Pippin's tribute to Pope John Paul II)

"The Pope has created a wealth of precedents. Without the Pope the history of Poland would have been quite different; Solidarnosc, worker struggles, the fall of communist dictatorship served as the gateway for the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The Pope gave Polish popular dissent a moral dignity which were crucial to the course of later events.
- Maurizio Gasparri, Italian Communications Minister

" The Queen remembers the untiring efforts of Pope John Paul II in promoting peace and good will throughout the world. Her majesty also remembers well the work of Pope John Paul II for Christian unity including closer ties between the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches and, in particular his Holiness’s visit to Britain in 1982 – the first ever Papal visit.” - Buckingham Palace, Great Britain

The Pope had "influenced the peaceful integration of Europe in many ways. By his efforts and through his impressive personality, he changed our world." - Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Germany

"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." - US President George W Bush, President

"The world has lost a religious leader who was revered across people of all faiths and none. He was an inspiration, a man of extraordinary faith, dignity and courage." - Prime Minister Tony Blair, Great Britain

"We have lost a very important religious figure who dedicated his life to peace and justice for all. We will not forget his visit to our land and his position towards Jerusalem." - Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority

"God has called home a great and saintly man. Our sorrow at John Paul II's leaving us should be tempered by the realization that he is finally at peace with the Father. I am sure he is praying for us even now, as we are praying for him." - US Representative Henry Hyde, United States

"At the time when communism was breaking down, finally, and needed strong people who were prepared to push those boulders aside, and to make it possible for tyranny to end in Europe, the pope was ... one of the most important actors in that great (drama). If you look at what happened in 1989 and 1990 and 1991 you cannot but help recognize the tremendous contribution of Pope John Paul II to those dramatic events and, therefore, to freedom, and he didn't stop there. He has continued to be a voice for those who are oppressed, for those who are seeking freedom." - US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice

"He was a man of peace and he has been a great supporter of the United Nations. I recall very fondly my meetings with him, particularly sitting with him in his private quarters discussing the question of war and peace when we were thinking about what to do in Kosovo. He...(was) extremely concerned about the world we lived in, and like me, he also felt that in war, all are losers." - Secretary General Kofi Annan , United Nations

"The outpouring of love across the world is a testimony to the greatness of the pope. The pope is an inspiration to millions of Americans and people all over the world for his great moral leadership." - Scott McClellan, US White House Spokesman

"Today we lost a hero of our age. Karol Wojtyla lived and died a warrior-saint, and we remember with joy and gratitude his service to mankind. At the news of his death, we mourn, we pray, and we bow our heads in thanks that such men ever live. He was more than a good and holy man: he was a lion." - House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas.

"Pope John Paul II was a healer and a beacon of light around the world advocating for the poor, the oppressed and the unborn. He was and continues to be an inspiration to not only the 1 billion members of the Catholic Church but also to all other people of faith around the world. From the Middle East to the former Soviet Union and beyond, he will be remembered for his respect for life and liberty and his message of peace. No one in recent times has worked harder for the greater good of his fellow man than Pope John Paul II. Because of his work, the world is a better place." - US Speaker of the House of Representatives Dennis Hastert

"The death of Pope John Paul II brings to an end one of the epic stories of our time, even as it reminds us of life eternal. Both an upholder of tradition, and a breaker of tradition, Pope John Paul II did as much as anyone to liberate the victims of Communism. He was loved by all, even those who did not belong to his church. He will be mourned by the entire human family." - Former US President Ford.

"Pope John Paul II ... touched the hearts of young and old, bringing tears to the eyes of those inspired by his very presence. He provided unparalleled leadership to his church and gave hope to those who had none." - Former US First Lady Nancy Reagan

"We know what the pope has achieved. Fifty percent of the collapse of communism is his doing. After his first visit as pope to Poland, he ended Mass with a prayer for the Holy Spirit to "renew the face of the Earth," words that became a rallying cry. After that we were able to organize 10 million people for strikes, protests and negotiations. Earlier we tried and couldn't do it. These are facts. Of course, communism would have fallen, but much later and in a bloody way. He was a gift from the heavens to us." - Lech Walesa, founder of Solidarity Movement

"John Paul II was a profound spiritual leader and formidable role model for the teachings of Christ. Much will be written over the years about his outreach to people of various world religions and cultures. I just hope the observations center around the undeniable truth that His Holiness not only loved God with his whole heart and soul ... but, loved his neighbor as himself. " - Mary K. Shanahan, Catholic musician

"I am continually amazed each day how his gifts seem to effect us even after his death. It struck me the other night as I watched CNN what a gift this coverage could be for us. I think that certainly without even realizing it, we have been given this unbelievable witness to the sanctity and beauty of life. Every part of both his life and death have seem to bring us to prayer - to God. The conversations that have taken place with people - avenues to bring people closer to God. Questions that we may never have the opportunity to answer or ask of people....because when else do we discuss matters of faith in the secular world? Yes, even in his death, John Paul is calling us to value our own lives spiritual and human…. - Trish Foti Genco, Catholic musician

John Paul II, pray for us.

***************

Yes.

Thank you for sharing your memories with us.

Thank you for the ping. This is a very moving tribute to Pope John Paul II.

Thanks to all who posted photos of the Pope.

http://www.catholicexchange.com/vm/index.asp?vm_id=1&art_id=28169

by J. Fraser Field

Other Articles by J. Fraser Field

The Face of Catholicism

04/14/05

We have had over a week now to watch the media reflect — and in many cases reflect quite movingly — on the greatness of the Holy Father. We have heard a review of his immense accomplishments as a leader of intelligence, principle, and unwavering determination, as a man of remarkable moral courage and conviction.


Yet in so many ways they missed the most impressive facts about the life and witness that was Pope John Paul II. He became the great man he was because he lived each day for the Crucified One. He was what he was because he was in intimate communion — through the sacraments of the Church and through a deep mystical prayer life — with the immeasurable love of his Savior. He was what he was because he practiced each day, to an extraordinary degree, the death to self that all Christians are called to in order to become vessels for the divine. And as a consequence the divine shone magnificently in him. There was no gap in him between the Christianity he preached and the life he lived. The real source of his strength and influence was neither his character nor his personality, nor was it his acting ability; it was the Pascal mystery. Even those who had no religion found a Christ presence in him, something they would never have expected and couldn't name or define, something immeasurably beyond the greatness of this great man. Those who encountered him saw it, felt it, though not all could afford to accept what was implied by it. When the newly minted pope dramatically appeared before millions of his fellow Poles for the first time in 1979 and told them “Be not afraid,” the communist leadership — the cultural elites of that time and place — were terrified. The pope’s presence signaled the beginning of the end for their hold on power and for communism in Europe. North American elites have worked long and hard to establish a secular hegemony in the United States and Canada. Along the way they have managed to make Christian voices largely irrelevant to our cultural discussions and have entrenched stereotypes to depict the Catholic Church as a rigid, authoritarian, medieval institution dying of its own calcification and quite unable to speak to the modern experience. Those stereotypes were this past week undone. John Paul II is the bright face of modern Catholicism, a face beautiful to behold, and a face no face of secularism can begin to compete with. Perish the thought, but could this beautiful human face, the face of radical Christianity, be the future? A good friend of mine, a discerning media watcher and Catholic priest, in reflecting on the remarkably positive coverage the pope has received, predicts that the knives for John Paul and the Church will be unsheathed again within mere weeks. Of course, it isn't the respect and love shown John Paul II that is so intolerable to the secular elites, any more than it was for Poland’s communist overlords in 1979. It is the counter-cultural message he preached so boldly and embodied so magnificently. Behind the face and presence of John Paul was another face and presence. And it is that face which may yet bring an end to the cold and selfish consumerism, the degraded and dehumanizing Culture of Death which the Holy Father so despised in the West. What the media can’t afford to talk about, but what it is plain to anyone with eyes to see, is that John Paul’s so-called “charisma” didn’t belong to him. He was a radical disciple of Jesus Christ. His mystical prayer life and deep understanding of the truths of the Catholic faith allowed Christ’s own love and “charisma” to become manifest through him. And this is the source and reason for the perplexing phenomenon before us, the tear-filled adulation of millions of people — young and old, of all races and religions — for this 84-year-old pontiff of what we have been told for decades is a dying institution. John Paul’s project, Christ’s own project, did not end with the fall of Soviet communism. With that great fall the real enemy simply came into view and the rest of the Holy Father’s life was dedicated to diagnosing and uprooting it. This has been the real project, a project he is surely still actively involved with from beyond this world. The secular elites have a problem and, after this past week, it will be hard to put the cat back in the bag. Who will now believe that the face of Catholicism is the face of the Mafia, or some version of al Qaeda or the Taliban as the slander goes? We can no longer believe that the face of modern Catholicism is the face of a fading past; it has been seen by millions; it is full of light and love and grace. It was seen in the face of Pope John Paul II in life and in the faces of the thousands upon thousands from Poland and around the world who attended his funeral in Rome and attended funeral services in his honor around the world. It was a face wondrous to behold. J. Fraser Field is Executive Officer of the Catholic Educator’s Resource Center and the principle author of the CERC Blog. He publishes a free bi-weekly email newsletter on faith and culture and is active with the Catholic Civil Rights League.

Code: ZE05040901

Date: 2005-04-09

What World Leaders Say About John Paul II

"A Good Father to All of Us"

ROME, APRIL 9, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Throughout the week, praise for the person of John Paul II came from many corners, including the political realm. Below is a sampling of what world leader said about the late Pope.

* * *

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, president of Italy

"He has transmitted hope and fidelity to all of us. He has sculpted consciences with values that give meaning and dignity to people's lives and to human society. John Paul II believed in the force of the spirit and has witnessed, with his indomitable courage and serenity in suffering, the fortitude that enables us to affront any obstacle, to work for good in every circumstance. He will continue to live in our hearts, in our acknowledgment of his testimony and of his example. He has been a true apostle for peace in the whole world. Italy, Rome -- his diocese that is congregating in St Peter's Square -- cry for the loss of a father, for a loved person."

--- --- ---

Aleksander Kwasniewski, president of Poland

"A great Pope -- our most outstanding fellow countryman, the Holy Father, a good father to all of us, believers and nonbelievers, followers of different religions -- is no more."

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Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister of Italy

"We are grateful to him for the tireless and difficult work he carried out unstintingly against all forms of totalitarianism, violence, oppression and moral degradation, all in the name of the values of the Catholic Church, which are the supreme values of human dignity and solidarity."

--- --- ---

George W. Bush, president of the United States

"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."

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Gerhard Schröder, German chancellor

The Pope had "influenced the peaceful integration of Europe in many ways. By his efforts and through his impressive personality, he changed our world."

--- --- ---

Lech Walesa, former Polish president and Solidarity leader

"I think we shall keep discovering how much the Holy Father worked for us and struggled for us. He spoke to us through his illness and through his suffering served to the very end.

"Without him there would be no end of communism or at least -- it would have come -- much later and the end would have been bloody."

--- --- ---

Shimon Peres, vice premier of Israel

The Pope "embodied the best that is within all mankind as well as the commonness of humanity. ... His actions and statements transformed relations between the Catholic and Jewish faiths, and made a fundamental impact on the struggle against anti-Semitism."

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Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian leader

"We will miss him as a distinguished religious figure, who devoted his life to defending the values of peace, freedom and equality."

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Fidel Castro, president of Cuba

"Humanity will preserve an emotional memory of the tireless work of His Holiness John Paul II in favor of peace, justice and solidarity among all people."

--- --- ---

Mohammad Khatami, Iranian president

"It is with extreme sadness that we hear of the passing of the leader of the world's Catholics, His Holiness Pope John Paul II, who commanded the three paths of religious learning, philosophical thought and poetical and artistic creativity."

--- --- ---

Kofi Annan, U.N. secretary-general

"Quite apart from his role as a spiritual guide to more than a billion men, women and children, he was a tireless advocate of peace, a true pioneer in interfaith dialogue and a strong force for critical self-evaluation by the Church itself."

--- --- ---

Gloria Arroyo, president of the Philippines

"He was a holy champion of the Filipino family and of profound Christian values that make everyone of us contemplate ... what is just, moral and sacred in life."

--- --- ---

Vicente Fox, president of Mexico

"John Paul II was an exceptional man, his legacy will transcend generations."

--- --- ---

Jacques Chirac, president of France

[History] "will retain the imprint and the memory of this exceptional sovereign pontiff, whose charisma, conviction and compassion carried the evangelical message with unprecedented resonance on the international stage."

--- --- ---

Tony Blair, prime minister of the United Kingdom

"The world has lost a religious leader who was revered across people of all faiths and none. He was an inspiration, a man of extraordinary faith, dignity and courage."

--- --- ---

Mary McAleese, president of Ireland

"His trust in the future, his never-wavering commitment to the worth of each human life and his witness under the burden of personal suffering constituted a sign of great value in the modern age."

--- --- ---

Levy Mwanawasa, president of Zambia

"To the departed Holy Father, I say we believe that it is not your wish to mourn you in our grief but to celebrate the achievements you humbly made to realize and emulate your life. But if you see tears rolling in our eyes, it is because we cannot bear saying farewell dear father."

--- --- ---

Armando Guebuza, president of Mozambique

Mozambican President Armando Guebuza described the death of John Paul II as an "irreplaceable loss" for the Mozambican people, because of the Pope's "tireless collaboration and dedication to the promotion of human and social development."

--- --- ---

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, president of India

"The demise of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II was received with deep shock and profound sorrow, by the people of India who considered him a champion of world peace and harmony. His was an endearing voice of reason against all forms of intolerance, inhumanity and injustice. His ceaseless efforts to advocate the cause of human values will always be remembered as the beacon of hope against the daunting challenges of today's world."

--- --- ---

Álvaro Uribe, president of Colombia

The new generations that have only known one Pontiff, who today experience his loss, have in His Holiness a model of democracy, solidarity, of fighting without giving in. A model of peace and love, without exception or hate.

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John Howard, prime minister of Australia

"The Pope was an inspirational leader not only to 1 billion Catholics around the world but he was an exemplar of the Christian life for all Christians."

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Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil

"The death of Pope John Paul II profoundly saddens the Brazilian people. His three visits to Brazil are still remembered with vivid emotion. ... Brazil feels sorrowful for the loss of one of the men who positively marked the course of contemporary history."

--- --- ---

Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet president

"I mourn his loss. We knew it was coming to this. What can I say -- it must have been the will of God. He acted really courageously. His devotion to his followers is a remarkable example to all of us."

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José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission

"Europeans will never forget his fight for peace and human dignity."

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General Musharraf, president of Pakistan

"The Pope had rendered incredible services for peace, had brought people closer belonging to different faiths."

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Olusegun Obasanjo, president of Nigeria

"Pope John Paul II was not only the leader of Catholics around the world, including Nigeria, but also showed commitment and courage in his quest for mutual tolerance, harmony and unity among the world's religions."

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Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic

"I consider John Paul II to be one of the most outstanding personalities of the whole 20th century. He was a wise and sensitive man, who dedicated his entire life to the ideals of love to man, ideals of human kindness, humility, helping the weak ones, peace, human freedom, dignity, and responsibility. In a fundamental way he influenced the struggle for democracy in the countries of the Communist bloc and it was also his merit that these countries live in freedom again."