I think it would be neat to have a separate thread for John Paul II outside of the gossip/news/slander realm which seems to have already taken over the other thread. If you so desire, simply just leave a quote, a message, a photo, a personal experience, etc. of the Pontiff that perhaps has inspired you. Perhaps we can all learn something from someone who has championed the global cause of social justice, love, ethical responsibility, care for the weak/poor/minority, and the list goes on. We don't have to be Catholics to understand the profound impact this man has had in our generation, nonetheless history. Just please, keep the politcal debates and jokes on the other thread. (One quick note, this could only be accepted by the will of this forum's mod, I hope you allow it to be, I'm sure many can appreciate it or be opened to a thing or two, thank you very much.) On that note, I'll get it started....
"Man receives the merciful love of God only as far as he transforms himself inwardly in the spirit of such love in relation to others"
"Our civilization -especially Western civilization, based upon the development of science and technology, attaches great significance to intellectual and physical effort, but the spiritual struggle of man to give shape to his human self is no longer seen as important. As a result, a man who lives within the confines of our civilization often loses his sense of proportion and the inward sense of his own humanity. Both the effort to achieve this humanity and the joy of fulfillment -the joy of finding and meeting himself -are alien to him." (Be careful with this one, don't take it out of proportion)
"Culture of Life" and "Culture of Death" - the originator of these two phrases which seem to be the buzzwords of 2004-2005 in the U.S.
"The historical experience of socialist countries has sadly demonstrated that collectivism does not do away with alienation but rather increases it, adding to it a lack of basic necessities and economic inefficiency". - Pope John Paul II "The cemetery of the victims of human cruelty in our century is extended to include yet another vast cemetery, that of the unborn". - Pope John Paul II
That's good Ben. Pope John Paul II was very vocal against anti-Semitism, NOT because it was the "good thing to do" or say, or to give himself credit, but because he himself suffered personally from the Polish Jewish Holocaust by the German Nazis, where many of his closest friends were persecuted Polish Jews. He knew the pain. Paul John II was the first Pope to attend a Synagogue since I don't know when. (Sorry for breaking the rules of the thread!) "Never again.. NEVER again." (PPJ II referring to the Jewish Holocaust) "The Jewish brethren are our elder brothers." - PPJ II (You're my elder brother, Ben )