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Location:
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REMEMBERING
POPE JOHN PAUL
II During
nearly three decades as the leader of
the Roman Catholic Church, he brought
the gospel's message of hope and love
and freedom to the far corners of the
Earth. The
call to freedom that defined John
Paul's papacy was forged in the
experiences of his own life. He came to
manhood during the Nazi occupation of
his beloved Poland, when he eluded the
Gestapo to attend an underground
seminary. Later,
when he was named Poland's youngest
bishop, he came face to face with the
other great totalitarianism of the 20th
century: Communism. And soon he taught
the communist rulers in Warsaw and
Moscow that moral truth had legions of
its own and a force greater than their
armies and secret police. That
moral conviction gave the man from
Krakow a confidence that inspired
millions. In 1978, when he looked out
at the crowd in front of St. Peter's as
their new Pope, the square rang with
his words "Be Not Afraid." Everywhere
John Paul went, he preached that the
call of freedom is for every member of
the human family because the Author of
Life wrote it into our common human
nature. Many
in the West underestimated the Pope's
influence. But those behind the Iron
Curtain knew better, and ultimately
even the Berlin Wall could not
withstand the gale force of this Polish
Pope. The
Pope held a special affection for
America. During his many visits to our
country, he spoke of our providential
Constitution, the self-evident truths
about human dignity enshrined in our
Declaration, and the blessings of
liberty that followed from
them. It is
these timeless truths about man,
enshrined in our founding, the Pope
said, that have led freedom-loving
people around the world to look to
America with hope and respect. And he
challenged America always to live up to
its lofty calling. The
Pope taught us that the foundation for
human freedom is a universal respect
for human dignity. On all his travels,
John Paul preached that even the least
among us bears the image of our
Creator, so we must work for a society
where the most vulnerable among us have
the greatest claim on our protection.
By
his own courageous example in the face
of illness and suffering, he showed us
the path to a culture of life where the
dignity of every human person is
respected, and human life at all its
stages is revered and
treasured.
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
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From
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Today
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SPRING
2005
'He
showed us the path
to a culture of life'
The
funeral ceremonies for Pope John Paul
II served as a powerful and moving
reminder of the profound impact this
Pope had on our world.
Pope John Paul II in
2004
The
foundation for human
freedom
This
column was adapted from President
Bush's
April 9, 2005 radio
address.