John Paul II and his place in history...

There are a lot of excellent tributes to the Pope today, but John Podhoretz in the NY Post does a good job summarizing the effect this man had on those enslaved behind the iron curtain at the end of this past century:

"By taking a stand on behalf of the transcendent, John Paul II was offering a standing rebuke to the most evil idea of the 20th century — the idea that it is acceptable to enslave or dispose of human beings in mass numbers in order to achieve radical political aims.

A year after his elevation, he made his world-historical journey back home to Poland. He did not confront the Communist regime. He conducted Mass. He ministered to his suffering countrymen.

But by showing his fellow Poles that there was a force equal to, even superior to, the totalitarian government oppressing them, he gave them new hope. In a matter of months, shipyard workers began a strike in the city of Gdansk — a strike that began the effort at peaceful revolution called Solidarity.

We now know that Communism began to unravel when Solidarity rose. Thus did this anti-political figure make his invaluable contribution to the most hopeful, most thrilling and humane political event of the 20th century. When, over the course of the third millennium, historians seek to take the full measure of the 20th century, they will linger happily over the transcendent role of Pope John Paul II."

God Bless the hero, Karol Wojtyla. Rest in peace.

Posted by: Gary at 02:18 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 266 words, total size 2 kb.