JOHN
PAUL II, 'THE GREAT' IS DEAD. He will
be remembered as one of the most popular
popes in modern history, and one of the most
influential leaders during the past 500
years. All of Poland will deeply mourn
their favorite son, and miss him dearly.
He alone was responsible for freeing
millions of people from the strangling yoke
of atheist communism. He will be
thought of kindly for many generations to
come, but at the same time he held the
Church back, after the progress of Vatican
II. I heard both nuns and priests
complain that he was too
"old-fashioned," while doing
research for my book. Most in the
Church called him a
"traditionalist."
I was
brought up with Polish traditions and the
Roman Catholic Church is deeply rooted in
many homes as the glue that cemented
families together during difficult times
when the Communists strangled Poland. It was
their Catholic faith that was the nucleus that held them together during WWII,
and afterwards when Poland was partitioned
and given away freely by Roosevelt,
Churchill and Stalin at the Yalta
Conference.
One has to admire the tenacity of a highly
intelligent man, named Karol Woytyla,
who despite many odds was able to stand up
to tyranny and win. He did it with
faith and love, not violence. I, for
one, as many other Catholics, would wish to
see the Church modernize, but cannot help
being sad at the passing of a good man,
who was one of ours. May he rest in
peace and serve as an example to all.
Alinka
Zyrmont
