Reply #36: Who's perfect?

[SquireJons]

I didn't say I agreed with everything that John Paul did or said, but that doesn't change the fact that as popes go, he was a radical leftist. He was still a conservative on social issues and of course tried to uphold traditional church teachings on things like sexual relations and the role of women within the church. But in the area of international relations, I don't think that there was a more positive leader anywhere in the world for over a decade. He helped bring down a totalitarian system that dominated eastern europe, he worked hard to promote understanding and acceptance of other people and religions, and he strongly supported the causes of third world countries, even when that support was in direct confrontation with the Reagan administration.

To me, he was quite remarkable. I wish we could have another like him. These are dark days for the catholic church, both internationally and in the US. Now, instead of issuing papers from the council of american bishops condemning the nuclear arms race and immoral US foreign policy, we have the catholic church basically allying itself with the neocons and denying accepted science. That was my point; not that John Paul was perfect or even a lot like me. But as world leaders go, he was truly great.