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Nov 2003----Dec 2003-Jan 2004----Feb 2004----Mar 2004----Apr 2004----May 2004----Jun 2004----Jul 2004----Aug 2004----Sep 2004----Oct 2004----Nov 2004----Dec 2004----Jan 2005----Feb 2005----Mar
2005
People (April
2005)
Pope
John Paul II, who led more than one billion Catholics for
26 years, died on April 1, 2005 in his Vatican apartment
after a prolonged struggle with ill health. "We will
always remember the humble, wise and fearless priest who
became one of history's great moral leaders," said
President Bush, who singled out John Paul's praise for the
U.S. Constitution. "All popes belong to the world,
but Americans had special reasons to love the man from Krakow."
He also said the Roman Catholic Church "has lost its
shepherd, the world has lost a champion of human freedom
and a good and faithful servant of God has been called home."
Far beyond the Vatican walls, John Paul's death triggered
a rare outpouring of global grief, with people of all faiths
and none praising his humanity, courage and moral integrity.
Source:
Vatican City Official site
(Source:
CNN) Born in Wadowice, Poland, on May 18, 1920, Karol Josef
Wojtyla was the son of a retired army officer and a school
teacher. He studied literature and philosophy and later
was a playwright and poet. Wojtyla secretly studied theology
during the Nazi occupation of Poland. By the age of 36,
he had two doctorate degreess and was a professor of ethics.
He became a cardinal at age 47 and led the only moral and
social force in Poland that could counter communism. In
October 1978, Wojtyla became the first Slavic pope ever
and the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. He took the
name John Paul II.
The
Wojtylas were strict Catholics, but did not share the anti-Semitic
views of many Poles. One of his playmates was Jerzy Kluger,
a Jew who many years later would play a key role as a go-between
for John Paul II and Israeli officials when the Vatican
extended long-overdue diplomatic recognition to Israel.
Within
months of his election, the pope went home to Poland for
a June 1979 papal visit that some historians say helped
end the Cold War. He gave his blessing to an underground
labor movement called Solidarity that would later emerge
to reshape Poland. While Pope John Paul II was circling
St. Peter's Square before his Wednesday general audience
at the Vatican in May 1981, a Turkish gunman named Mehmet
Ali Agca opened fire on the pontiff. The pope spent more
than two months recovering in a Rome hospital. The gunman
had also stalked John Paul during a visit to Turkey in 1979.
By the 1980s, Pope John Paul II had reaffirmed the church's
position on controversial issues such as abortion, birth
control and the ordination of women. He could communicate
his message in eight languages, and traveled widely throughout
his papacy. While the pope championed better relations with
Jews — Christianity's "older brothers," as
he put it — the Vatican formally recognized Israel
in 1993. He also met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
and urged the Holy Land's warring neighbors to reconcile.
John Paul was intent on improving relations with Muslims.
On a trip to Damascus, Syria, in May 2001, he became the
first pope to step into a mosque.
The
264th pope also battled what he called a "culture of
death" in modern society. It made him a hero to those
who saw him as their rock in a degenerating world, and a
foe to those who felt he was holding back social enlightenment.
"He
was a message of hope: that peace can conquer war; that
joy can conquer sadness; that love can conquer hate. He
reached out to all people across all boundaries, all beliefs
and all cultures. He encouraged, inspired, and moved us.
We are stronger because of him. ... We had lost a remarkable
and unique friend; a pastor to the world. A man of peace.
But we have gained a vision, and ideals that energize us
to respect each other above all else." - Pope
John Paul II Culture Center
For
his biography, please visit the following websites:
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