INDEPTH: POPE JOHN PAUL II
Reaction: In their own words
CBC News Online | April 2005
Reaction to the death of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square, Saturday. (AP photo)
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Pope John Paul II has touched millions of lives around the world. His influence extends far beyond the Roman Catholic Church. He has reached out to people of different faiths, becoming the first pope in history to enter a Muslim mosque.
He will be remembered for a unique connection he had with youth, for his progressive work to promote human rights, for his attempts to modernize and unify the Catholic Church, for his depth, his intensity and for his inspiring faith.
Pope John Paul II became the people's Pope, a widely loved and respected global figure. A crowd of about 60,000 kept vigil in St. Peter's Square outside the Vatican where the Pope was living his last moments.
When the Pope's aides told him that thousands of young people were in the crowd, he responded: "I have looked for you. Now you have come to me, and I thank you." A note written in a child's handwriting attached to flowers in the centre of the square said: "Stay with us John Paul, don't leave us."
Undersecretary of State Archbishop Leonardo after the death of the Pope:
"We all feel like orphans this evening."
"I'm not a believer, but I came here because I believe in him as a builder of freedom," said Gulio La Rosa, a 23-year-old student in Rome, crying.
Elisabetta Pomacalca, a 25-year-old who lives in Rome:
"My father died last year. For me, it feels the same."
Reaction from around the world:
Praying for the Pope, in the Church Queen of Peace, in Brasilia, Brazil, April 1, 2005. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres).
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Adnan Agca on his brother's reaction to news of the Pope's death (Mehmet Ali Agca made an attempt on the Pope's life in 1981 and is serving a prison sentence in Istanbul):
"He is extremely saddened, he is in grief. He loved the Pope. They developed a personal friendship."
Lech Walesa, former president of Poland, and Solidarity union leader:
"I think we shall keep discovering how much the Holy Father worked for us and struggled for us. He spoke to us through his illness and through his suffering served to the very end ... [Without him] there would be no end of communism or at least much later, and the end would have been bloody.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev:
"I think John Paul II had a huge impact on ending the Cold War. Today humanity has bid farewell to a great figure, an exceptional man."
Canada's Prime Minister Paul Martin:
"The Pope's global vision included Canada, and he repeatedly expressed his interest in our country. His empathy with the aspirations of our aboriginal groups, symbolized by his special trip to the North in 1987 to meet our aboriginal communities, was particularly noteworthy."
Former prime minister Jean Chrétien:
"He was the Pope for everybody. He was a man of incredible energy. He was courageous until the end."
Tony Blair, British prime minister:
"The world has lost a religious leader who was revered across people of all faiths and none. He was an inspiration, a man of extraordinary faith, dignity and courage."
Former U.S. president Bill Clinton:
"In speaking powerfully and eloquently for mercy and reconciliation to people divided by old hatreds and persecuted by abuse of power, the Holy Father was a beacon of light not just for Catholics, but for all people."
Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles:
"No Pope did more for the Jews."
U.S. President George W. Bush:
"We will always remember the humble, wise and fearless priest who became one of history's great moral leaders. We're grateful to God for sending such a man, a son of Poland who became the bishop of Rome and a hero for the ages."
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder:
"Pope John Paul II wrote history. By his efforts and through his impressive personality, he changed our world."
Edgar Bronfman, president of the World Jewish Congress:
Pope John Paul II fundamentally changed 2000 years of relations between the Church and the Jewish people. He reached across millennial divides to promote mutual respect and understanding. His lessons and accomplishments are a legacy for Catholics, Jews and all humanity. Our hope is that we all honour that legacy by building on it for future generations.
Paying tribute to the Pope at St. Michael's Cathedral in Toronto, April 3, 2005. (Dwight Friesen, CBC News Online)
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Reaction in Canada
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Primate of Canada:
"He was the moral authority of the world."
Marcel Gervais, Archbishop of Ottawa:
"I'm not the one to claim that he should be John Paul the Great, but I think everyone will start to say that. Very few popes have the title The Great."
Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte to reporters in Montreal:
"He wanted to show us that death can take place in serenity, in peace. It's a lesson to us."
"He was the Pope of human dignity," says Father Tom Rosica of Toronto's Salt and Light TV. "He brought the message of freedom to people." Wherever he went, unafraid to challenge oppressive governments, he brought the message of "hope and dignity," he said.
"He changed the face of the papacy in the way in which it relates to the world," said Mark McGowan, principal of St. Michael's College. "He was able to be present for people. One of his legacies is his ability to try to maintain that unity despite the diversity of Christianity around the globe. Most Catholics now are not Western Europeans."
"His departure will be a great loss to all the religious communities," said Gamal Solaiman, Imam of the Ottawa mosque. "He established a dialogue with Muslims and he used to send us a message of greeting at the end of Ramadan. So we appreciate what he was trying to do – to bring about better understanding between the different faiths."
"I feel sad and I feel happy because I know he's a holy man. He felt that he had this mission until he died," said Sister Corinne Chamberlain from Moncton.
Joyce MacLellan, worshipper outside St. Agnes Church in Halifax:
"I watched the news this morning, from Mexico to Krakow to Russia the churches are all full. He's been a wonderful man, and death is part of living, isn't it?"
Susanna Ferrera, a hospital worker in Toronto, outside St. Casimir’s Church in the city's west end. "He's a great person. He's a reminder of what humanity is, what people should strive to be."
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| PAPAL FACTS: |
Pope John Paul II led the world's Roman Catholics since he was the surprise choice of the College of Cardinals on Oct. 16, 1978.
Born in Poland on May 18, 1920, Karol Wojtyla (pronounced voy-TIH-wah) was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI, who died in 1523.
He was the 264th pope, and ranks among the three who have served longest, with St. Peter (32-67) and Blessed Pius IX (1846-78).
John Paul was the most travelled pope, having visited almost 130 countries and territories - including Canada, three times.
He was a conservative pope in terms of doctrine, rejecting the ordination of women, forbidding priests from marrying, backing an international campaign against same-sex unions and opposing birth control and abortion.
But he's also credited with helping end communist rule in Eastern Europe.
John Paul tried to reconcile Christians and Jews, and the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
He declared 476 new saints and beatified 1,320 people, many more than his predecessors.
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