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Sadly, the Pope has entered his last hours. Here are some of his many accomplishments over the past 26 years:

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The Accomplishments of John Paul II

"No other world figure has commanded the admiration he has enjoyed as the globe-trotting (over 1/2 million miles) Pope. His kindly smile and fatherly wave have made the 'Pope Mobile' a legend. Although they might disagree with his theology, both Catholics and Protestants have joined in the accolades of praise for this man. .Billy Graham has extolled Pope John Paul, 'as the conscience of the whole Christian world.'" [1]

The world is quite clearly being prepared for the death of the Pope. As the world gazes with fascination on this man and his endeavors, it is of paramount importance to know what the Pope believes, as his title and teachings have captivated the hearts of millions. In human terms of worldly success and acclaim it is hard to find an equal to John Paul II. During his twenty-five year reign as head of the Roman Catholic Church, he has traveled more, spoken more and published more than any of his predecessors.

"John Paul II has logged more than 1,126,541 kilometers from visits to 102 countries, which is like going around the earth close to 30 times.But perhaps the most lasting imprimatur he has left is his contribution to Christianity's growing list of saints..Vatican observers credit the Pope with being the single biggest influence in the collapse of Communism and the Berlin Wall, for instance his opposition to Poland's Communist regime early in his career showed him as a man who was not just part of the crowd. In 1980 in his address to the United Nations General Assembly he had hoped that there would be 'No more war, war never again!. In more recent times, in the wake of 9/11 he has appealed to the Christian world not to equate Islam with terrorism.

The Pope has not only sought collaboration between various churches but also preached reconciliation between the religions of the world. Witness his gift for the grand gesture of kissing the soil of a country on arrival, visiting a mosque, inserting a scroll into a crevice of Jerusalem's Western Wall, embracing the handicapped.Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, who heads the Vatican office responsible for saints' causes, came somewhere close to assessing 25 years of John Paul II's pontificate, when he said early this month: 'I think this pope will deservedly pass into history as the pope of sainthood. The pope often recalls that sanctity is part of the Church's nature, it is in its DNA.'" [3]

http://www.bereanbeacon.org/articles/accom...s_john_paul.htm


Truly one of the most influential men of the 20th century.

This post has been edited by Tidu-who on 2nd April 2005 07:25

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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

As much as I'm not a beacon for Catholic and Religious politics in general-
Pope John Paul II made some very moderate and sensible decisions in his papacy. Though Religion tends to ebb on the conservative side of the spectrum, things like not equating islam to terrorism really make me like him alot more. Idealogicly, I share a very different opinion on they way things should be done than him, but things like religious tolerance always bring about peace, and are always good in my book. Religious Tolerance would destroy the vast majorities of war in this world.

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If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

Despite being a former Christian and the son of Catholic parents, I am nevertheless agnostic, but I must agree that it is pretty amazing how the Catholic Church has changed from the schism-cursed foolishly conservative religious mess of centuries past to the modern-day advocate for political sensibility and moral judgement, and to note that Pope John Paul II was indeed part of that movement, despite his being the most recent part of it.

While there are definitely certain things I dislike about Christianity, there are other things that I like about it, and some of them are attitudes of respect toward fellow human beings and their cultures, attitudes which John Paul has definitely shown.

I'm nowhere near a source of information on this pope or on the Catholic Church in general, but I will say that I've admired a number of John Paul's actions relating to furthering peace in this world.

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current games (2024-02-19):
Fairy Fencer F ADF
Pokémon Perfect Crystal

finished so far this year:
Gato Roboto
drowning, drowning
New Super Mario Bros.
TMNT 3: Radical Rescue

tabled: Lost Ruins

John Paul II in my opinion was a great pope who did many positive things not just for the Catholic world but for the spiritial world as a whole. He recognized the mistakes the Catholic church made in the past and handled the whole priest-sex-with-boys problem very well.

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War is for the participants a test of character; it makes bad men worse and good men better. - Joshua Chamberlain

U sir R a n00b >:-( - Cactuar

Pope John Paul II has died. May he rest in peace.

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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

Edit: my mistake. Please remove this post.

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 2nd April 2005 20:17

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current games (2024-02-19):
Fairy Fencer F ADF
Pokémon Perfect Crystal

finished so far this year:
Gato Roboto
drowning, drowning
New Super Mario Bros.
TMNT 3: Radical Rescue

tabled: Lost Ruins

I've always said that John Paul II will be remembered as "John Paul the Great," a distinguishment made for very few persons throughout time, and only a handful of popes.

One of the first decisions of the new pope will probably be to open the cause for canonization of JPII.

Again, that's just always been my opinion.

Though I am not a Catholic, and I have sometimes been at odds with certain aspects of the Catholic theology, there is no denying that Pope John Paul II was an admirable man. Weathering countless difficult moral issues with poise and refinement, he was a fundamentally kind-hearted individual who - especially in later years - placed an emphasis on charity and virtue over mindless politics and needless argument.

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"I always have a quotation for everything - it saves original thinking."
~Dorothy L. Sayers

"The truly remarkable thing about television is that it allows several million people to laugh at the same joke and still feel lonely."
~T.S. Eliot

"Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as reality - in your own mind!"
~ Bruce Lee

The world has lost one of the great beacons of morality today. As you can see, even those who are not Catholic or even religious share in mourning.

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M777: lightweight 155mm howitzer
3/11 rules over all artillery!

It's going to be hard to find a Pope who can be almost as great a man as John Paul II was. He made a pilgrammage to the Holy Land in Jerusalem to pray for the Jewish families that had lost loved ones in the Holocaust. He made such an effort to make peace between religions, peoples, etc. At least now that he's in heaven, he can finally rest peacefully...

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Yunalesca: "Hope is...comforting. It allows us to accept fate, however tragic it might be. "

Yunalesca: "Poor creature. You would throw away hope. Well... I will free you before you can drown in your sorrow. It is better for you to die in hope than to live in despair. Let me be your liberator. "

Even though there are certain elements of my religion that disagree with my liberal minded politics, those were all in place before Pope John Paul II. For the most part, he helped to bring the church into the modern world while maintaining most of its traditional values. An obituary I read put it best: "the new pontiff signalled a new era in Catholic affairs. He was dynamic and approachable, an instantly recognisable leader for the world's largest Christian community. Above all, he travelled."

The importance of his travels and speeches really can't be underestimated. Travelling to Ireland to appeal for peace, delivering a speech in his Polish homeland while it was still a Soviet satellite, using the word "Holocaust" while in Israel, traveling to Communist and atheist Cuba after the Cold War. He also was never afraid to address politically charged issues like poverty in the developing world and the Iraq War.

There were issues where he could have made headway and didn't, but overall he was a great man and one of the pre-eminent figures of the 20th century, and he'll be missed.

Maybe Paul II was a rather humanistic pope, compared to his predecessors around history.

His (or the Catholic's world's) out-of-this-world thoughts about the use of condoms (promiscuous) and birth control (sinful) is, at least, not something I'd enjoy to be advocating.
Like a lot more of religionous ideas are not.

Neither is the role played in the second world war.

But yeah, it was an extraordinary guy. Just like Jesus. But not someone sent by God, if you ask me.

So, what's the fuss? Old men die. They just do.
Christendom will get a new pope. Don't worry.

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Horned - Morbid Thrash Metal
Murw - Doomy atmospheric black metal

Quote (DemonSeed @ 3rd April 2005 21:27)

But not someone sent by God, if you ask me.

Don't worry, no one thinks that anyways.

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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

I have never heard anything bad about the man. I've heard many stories about him, but the thing that pops out in my mind the most is the time he forgave the guy who shot him. That really takes alot. I've also heard that the late Pope and the would-be assassin became spiritual brothers, and the latter is seeking a way to attend the funeral.

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"I had to write four novels before they let me write comic books."
-Brad Meltzer

Wow... whata guy.... i didnt really follow up but i have been in a situion where i did forgive the person who hit me

it hurt him more then a thousand punches.....

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procastinate now, dont put it off