Congressional Gold Medal Recipient

Pope John Paul II Significant comments from the papacy of Pope John Paul II


On April 2, 2005,


Pope John Paul II passed away. He was in his 27th year as pope, one of the longest reigning popes in history. Despite illness and infirmity, he tirelessly preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He defended life in all its forms, wrote prolifically on Catholic topics such as the Eucharist and the rosary, pleaded for peace in the world and created more Roman Catholic saints than any other pope. It is said that he was the most recognized man in the world and he is by far the most widely-travelled pope in history.


Remarks on the Death of His Holiness Pope John Paul II April 2, 2005




Some comments by Pope John Paul II: __ "Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power ... Open wide the doors for Christ. To his saving power open the boundaries of states, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development." Mass homily during installation as pope, Oct. 22, 1978. __ "On my knees I beg you to turn away from the paths of violence and return to the ways of peace. You may claim to seek justice. I too believe in justice and seek justice. But violence only delays the day of justice. Violence destroys the work of justice." Addressing "all men and women engaged in violence," Drogheda, Ireland, Sept. 29, 1979. __ "Never lose your trust, do not be defeated, do not be discouraged, do not cut yourselves off from the roots from which we had our origins." Farewell Mass, Krakow, Poland, June 10, 1979. __ "It is sometimes claimed that dissent from the magisterium (church teaching) is totally compatible with being a 'good Catholic' and poses no obstacle to the reception of the sacraments. This is a grave error." Speech to U.S. bishops in Los Angeles, Sept. 16, 1987. __ "War is an adventure without return." Christmas Day speech in 1990 on eve of Gulf War I. __ "A demonstration of readiness on your part cannot fail to bring you honor before your beloved country, the region and the whole world. In these dramatic hours, I pray that God will enlighten you and grant you the strength to make a generous gesture that will avoid war." Letter to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in January 1991 urging peaceful end to Kuwait crisis. __ "What human institution, what parliament, has the right to legalize the killing of an innocent and defenseless human being? What parliament has the right to say 'You are free to kill,' or even 'killing is in order,' where the greatest efforts should be made to protect and help life in the first place?" Mass at Radom, Poland, June 4, 1991. __ "It is no longer a matter of limited and occasional dissent, but of an overall and systematic calling into question of traditional moral doctrine on the basis of anthropological and ethical presuppositions." From encyclical Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of the Truth), Oct. 5, 1993. __ The church "has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the church's faithful." Letter to bishops, May 30, 1994. __ "I remember, above all, the Wadowice elementary school, where at least a fourth of the pupils in my class were Jewish. I should mention my friendship at school with one of them, Jerzy Kluger a friendship that has lasted from my school days to the present. I can vividly remember the Jews who gathered every Saturday at the synagogue behind our school. Both religious groups, Catholics and Jews, were united, I presume, by the awareness that they prayed to the same God." From his book Crossing the Threshold of Hope, published Oct. 19, 1994. __ "The abuse which has caused this crisis is by every standard wrong and rightly considered a crime by society; it is also an appalling sin in the eyes of God." To American cardinals summoned to Vatican during church sex abuse scandal, April 23, 2002. __ "War cannot be decided upon, even when it is a matter of ensuring the common good, except as the very last option and in accordance with very strict conditions, without ignoring the consequences for the civilian population both during and after the military operations." Annual speech to Vatican diplomatic corps as the Iraq war loomed, Jan. 13, 2003. __ "When war, as in these days in Iraq, threatens the fate of humanity, it is ever more urgent to proclaim, with a strong and decisive voice, that only peace is the road to follow to construct a more just and united society. Violence and arms can never resolve the problems of men." Address to television broadcaster Telepace in first public remarks following start of Iraq war, March 22, 2003.


Pope John Paul II: 25th Anniversary


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