Tribute to Pope John Paul the Great

"Anything done for another is done for oneself."

"Today, for the first time in history, a Bishop of Rome sets foot on English soil. This fair land, once a distant outpost of the pagan world, has become, through the preaching of the Gospel, a beloved and gifted portion of Christ's vineyard."

"BE NOT AFRAID"

During his life, Pope John Paul the Great, now of happy memory, had many distinctions. He was the most recognized person on earth, the most well travelled pope in Church history, he recognized more saints than any pope in history by far. He was the first Polish pope in history, the first non-Italian pope in almost half a millenium and one of the longest reigning pontiffs the Church has ever had as well. Yet, his greatest achievements are in how he changed the world around him by touching people's lives. The world is better because of the life of Pope John Paul the Great, both for the good he accomplished and for the evils from which he diligently defended his flock.           Karol Jozef Wojtyla was born in Poland, in 1920, and endured great hardship in his earliest years, losing his mother, his brother and his sister before 1933. His father died later, during World War II. Young Karol turned to Holy Mother Church in his times of suffering, especially to the Blessed Virgin Mary, a fact which made him a very "Marian" Pope. Oppressed by the Nazis during World War II, used as forced labor and obliged to study for the priesthood in secret, he was ordained in 1946 when Poland had only begun to suffer from the tyranny of atheistic Communist rule. But, Karol Wojtyla perservered and rose to be a cardinal and Auxilliary Bishop of Krakow. In 1978, after the brief reign of Pope John Paul I, the world was surprised when Cardinal Wojtyla was elected to the Papal throne taking the name John Paul II.           It is impossible to categorize John Paul the Great as anything but a true servant of God. Liberals disliked his refusal to compromise Church teaching on issues like celibacy, abortion, contraception, gay marriage and opposition to Communism. Conservatives also tended to dislike his friendliness, informality, ecumenism, opposition to war and the death penalty and his criticism of the materialism in capitalist societies. Almost every Catholic community in the world received a papal visit, most of which were places no pope had ever visited before, such as England and Texas. He worked through peaceful means to bring about the fall of the Soviet Union and Communist rule of East Europe as well as opposing other tyrannical regimes around the world. He responded to immorality and hedonism by teaching the true meaning of love and devotion, he responded to secularism by stressing the Christian roots of our civilization and he responded to the "culture of death" by stressing the God-given dignity of every human life. He especially inspired the young, who came to World Youth Days by the millions chanting "John Paul 2 We Love You!". His inspiration has raised up a new generation of devout and faithful clergy known as "John Paul II priests". Through simple endurance, through the example of his life, the great wisdom of his teaching and the courage of his defense of Truth, Pope John Paul the Great will certainly go down in history as one of the greatest pontiffs the Church has ever known.