Well, Donuel, many people thought John XXIII was more than just a "decent pope." He was pope from 1958 to 1963, and there were others before him who were pretty good people, too. John Paul I was elected in 1978, and I believe it was only 30 days or so after his election that he died. I'm sure there are conspiracy theorists who are certain that John Paul I was poisoned by people directed by John Paul II, a Pole who was outside the Vatican political structure, who was then elected by a 2/3 vote of all the cardinals from all over the world. I suppose all those cardinals were also involved in the conspiracy, huh?

You know, this really sounds like total, unmitigated bullshit. If it isn't that, then it must be the anti-Catholic bigotry the Ku Klux Klan was so famous for in the 1920's. Donuel, you should be ashamed of yourself for perpetuating such garbage.


Somebody above condemned John Paul II for not mentioning capital punishment when George W. Bush visited the Vatican. Bush wasn't in much of a position to affect the death penalty one way or another at the time, but it is patently unfair to imply that John Paul II supported the death penalty. He repeatedly stated that there is no justification whatsoever for capital punishment, except in a very few situations where the condemned person poses a grave threat to society (such as, perhaps, an Osama bin Laden or somebody whose followers might kill thousands to free an imprisoned leader). But the Pope said that even that one exception was well-nigh inconceivable in modern society. It's about as close to a complete condemnation of the death penalty as anybody could make. Conservative Catholics don't talk much about the Catholic Church's opposition to the death penalty because it makes them very uneasy, but it's official church doctrine that capital punishment is immoral.

It is a blatant falsehood to imply that John Paul II supported or even tolerated capital punishment.

I also want to emphasize that John Paul II strongly and repeatedly opposed George Bush and the United States and their war in Iraq. He also opposed the Likud government of Israel in its treatment of Palestinians, and he opposed Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines long before the United States did.

No, he didn't singlehandedly ride to Poland on a white horse and save his country and the world from godless Communism, but he certainly was a major factor in the fall of the Warsaw Pact.

Yes, I do wish John Paul II had been less conservative in internal church matters, and I strongly opposed him on many matters. Nonetheless, I firmly believe that he did very well in promoting social justice and humanitarism. In almost every instance, he sided with the poor and the oppressed. Maybe he wasn't completely right every single time, but he did his best. He may have been anti-Communist to the point where he was blind to the good aspects of Communism, but he was just as strongly opposed to capitalist imperialism.

Yes, I wish that John Paul II had done more to promote the equality of women. He actually did much to promote the dignity and rights of women, although he failed to put women in leadership positions in the Catholic Church. However, it shold be remembered that there are tens of millions of Catholics, particularly in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, who are not ready to accept the equality of women. How do you deal with that in a worldwide church? I have to say I don't know.

So, what's the bit about the shoes? As far as I can tell, John Paul II made some people uncomfortable because he alway wore plain, ugly, brown shoes. Maybe he should be condemned to hell for having no fashion sense.

-Joe Offer-