Content provided in partnership with
Farewell to...Pope John Paul II: God's representative departs,
Independent on Sunday, The, Jan 1, 2006 by Peter Stanford
For 24 years Pope John Paul II had played a macabre game with the obituary writers. From the day in May 1981 when Turkish assassin Mehmet Ali Agca attempted to shoot Karol Wojtyla in St Peter's Square, there were continual reports that the Polish pontiff was near to death. Yet not only did the first ever Slav pope endure for 27 years despite the bullets, cancer and latterly Parkinson's, outliving in the process many of those who wrote and recorded tributes to him, he also left a lasting impression on the world stage without precedent among leaders of the Catholic church in modern times.
- Most Popular Articles in News
- The Ten Best Laptop bags
- Tata plans cheapest-ever car for Indian market
- GLOBALIZATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT OF THE THIRD WORLD
- Corn is good for you; Corn is not only a tasty treat, but also a cereal that ...
- THE 50 BEST STYLISH HANDBAGS TO CARRY
- More »
The youngest holder of the office for 130 years, his papacy was one of firsts. He was the first non-Italian to sit on St Peter's throne for 455 years, the first pope to visit a synagogue, the first to travel the world kissing airport Tarmac, and the first in living memory to enjoy real and sustained popularity outside his Catholic constituency. Yet for all that he was a spectacular breaker of tradition in some respects, John Paul II was also a deeply conservative man on issues such as contraception, abortion, IVF, homosexuality and female priests. This universal shepherd's refusal to update teaching in these areas alienated many of his 1.3 billion global flock.
At the same time, though, they were drawn to his championing of the Third World, his condemnation of war and his role in igniting the revolution in his native Poland that eventually brought down the Iron Curtain. Paradoxical in life, he remains a divisive figure since his death at the age of 84 on 2 April, with some clergy anxious to declare him a saint while other Catholics label him a relic of a bygone age.
Copyright 2006 Independent Newspapers UK Limited
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
Find Research Guides for:
Find Featured Titles for: Health
- AAACN Viewpoint
- ABNF Journal, The
- AIDS Treatment News
- AMAA Journal
- Aboriginal Nurse, The
- Adolescence
- Adolescent Psychiatry
- Advances in Skin & Wound Care
- Age and Ageing
- Alabama Nurse
- Alberta RN
- Alcohol Research & Health
- Alternative Medicine Review
- American Family Physician
- American Fitness
- Men's Fitness
- Psychology Today
- Shape