It would not surprise me in the least that the media would misquote (or intentionally misinterpret) JP2's words to suit their anti-Catholic agenda. Honesty and truth are not the hallmarks of modern journalists. They twisted his statement about evolution too. But none-the-less, Pope JPII was quite the liberal, and much of what he said tended to fly in the face of tradition, of which he certainly was no adherent.
Thankfully his successor, Pope Benedict, is starting to return to tradition, albeit in baby steps. JPII was a great man, but not a great Catholic leader. He was far too much a humanist/philosopher, and far too little a traditional pope. Though many want him sainted, in the end he will be remembered for the endless outrages that were allowed to happen in the Church, from destructive liturgical changes, to Hula Masses, to Clown Masses, to altar girls, to rock bands banging away during Holy Mass, to the liberal, (oft-times non Catholic), professors teaching heresy in "Catholic" Universities, to endless rock concerts for kids all over the world, to hosting Bob Dylan the heroin addicted, non-Catholic, anarchic, folk rebel to play at the Vatican, to kissing the Koran, to "apologizing" for the Crusades, to allowing the liberals and homosexuals to take control of the clergy and seminaries. No great Catholic leader was he.
I think you’re wrong about how he will be remembered. Things did happen on his watch that he might have been able to do more about but they will remember him as he great hearted man who suffered publically for Christ. And who publically loved the Lord incredibly deeply. And he will be sainted. The abuses go back to movement before he was pope and that would have been hard for any pope to stop, because the momentum was already there.