Pope John Paul II

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Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II), born Karol J?zef Wojty?a (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005), reigned as pope of the Catholic Church for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his death, making his the third-longest reign in the history of the Papacy according to the Roman Catholic tradition. On 13 May 2005, Pope Benedict XVI, John Paul II's successor, waived the five year waiting period for a cause for beatification to be opened. The official process for beatification began in the Diocese of Rome on June 28, 2005. http://opportunities.typepad.com/news/2005/06/pope_john_paul_.html

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He was the first non-Italian to reign since the 16th century. His early reign was marked by his opposition to communism, and he is often credited as one of the forces which brought about the fall of the Soviet Union. In other domains, he refused to alter the long-standing doctrine that abortion, homosexual sex, and contraception were always evil. He upheld the consistent tradition of ordaining only men to the priesthood, while teaching that men and women are of equal dignity yet are very different (masculine and feminine) by divine design. Likewise, he did not alter the long-standing teaching that divorced persons could not take a second spouse, and retained the teaching that legitimate sacramental marriage could only exist between one man joined with one woman. He emphasized the benefits of retaining the discipline of mandatory priestly celibacy. He opposed secularism and emphasized that fides (faith) and ratio (reason) are by necessity inextricably intertwined. His emphasis on concern for the poor, the weak and those who suffer, and his stands on warfare, capital punishment, and world debt forgiveness were considered by some to be proof that he was "progressive", but others considered some of those same views (e.g. concern for the weak unborn or those weakened by severe disabilities), as evidence that he was "conservative," showing that political labels are not easily assigned to this pope. During his reign, the pope travelled extensively, visiting over 100 countries, more than any of his predecessors. He canonized more people than all popes before him put together. During his reign Catholicism's influence declined in developed countries but expanded in the Third World. Pope John Paul II was extremely popular worldwide, attracting the largest crowds in history (at times attracting crowds of over one million people in one venue), and being respected by many even outside of the Catholic Church, despite strident criticism from some quarters. John Paul II was fluent in Polish, Italian, French, German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin.

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Although he was known at first as "God's athlete" due to his sportsmanlike attitude and athletic bent, the 1981 attempt on his life had a lasting impact on his vigour. He never fully recovered, and the years afterward were marked by slow decline. In the late 1990s, he was diagnosed as having Parkinson's disease. On 2 April 2005 at 9:37 pm Vatican Time, Pope John Paul II died. The last years of his reign had been marked by his fight against the various diseases ailing him, provoking some concerns that he should abdicate, but in retrospect his determination was widely seen as an exemplary display of courage.

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