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. . .Hugh Hewitt has the historical context of the late Pope's achievements:
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.
With Reagan and Solzhenitsyn, John Paul II represents the three forces of opposition to communism that shattered the evil empire, the Soviet Union --the American-led West, the Eastern European resistance, and the Russian dissident movement. They also represented the three spheres of opposition: political, artistic and spiritual. Each man came into the field of his greatness later in life, and each has endured hard circumstances in their later years.And Thomas Hibbs is pithier: "John Paul embodied the splendor of truth."
I extend my heart to the faithful in their grief.
More:
Excellent piece in Turkish web-paper Zaman on the Pope's contribution to the EU, by Selcuk Gultasi:
The Pope accelerated the downfall of communism in central and eastern Europe through the people he incited, at the same time, he strengthened ties of Europe, which is moving from an economic union towards a political union, through the constitution that is expected to be adopted, with institutional religion.
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