You are not the only one. Because I am of 50% Polish heritage, and have always loved and admired JPII, when he had passed it was hard for me. When B16 got elected I was not too confortable because of all those rumors about him being like a “rotweiller” when it came to Church doctrine and that I was afraid he was going to be very much a hardliner as a Pope. But when I first heard after he was installed as Pope that he loves cats and also has a pet/animal companion friend living with neighbors of his back home in Germany, then I started to warm up to him. Now I have great love and support for this Pope.
Not me. I’m also half Polish but thought that JPII was a very spiritual man but was a disaster for the Catholic Church.
We need a leader, not a traveler. While he was wonderful in guiding humanity, he forgot his own flock.
B16 is exactly what we needed. A father who will pray for the rest of the world but worry about his own church and not make us into something we are not.
I pray they wait a WHOLE lot of years before considering Sainthood for JPII. By his fruits he shall be known. All his fruits, not just the feel good ones.