Reviews : N.Y. Times, Oliver North, William Donohue

Force Moral Debate Award

The New York Times says, of the election of  Pope John Paul II the first non-Italian Pope in over 450 years and the first ever Slavic Pope, that " here was a different kind of Pope:  complex, schooled in confrontation, theologically intransigent but deftly politic, full of wit and daring, energy and physically expressive love.  More than outgoing, he was all-embracing.  A bear hugging, larger-than-life man of action who had climbed mountains, performed in plays, had written books and seen war.  He transcended geographical and ideological boundaries and saw it as his mission to deliver a clear set of ideas to foster peace and human dignity.  He also saw it as his duty to issue a daring, unprecedented apology for the errors of his church and individual Catholics over the last 2000 years."

"Over the quarter century of his papacy, he traveled to 129 countries on 104 trips abroad. Not content to wave from a passing limousine, he would jump out and plunge into the crowds, hugging, kissing, grasping and talking to people; singing, smiling, winking and reaching out with his quarry-worker hands."

" The Pope played a major role in the collapse of Soviet and European Communism, instilling the adversaries of Communist governments in Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe with confidence that their cause would outlast the repression of their rulers."

Oliver North, nationally syndicated columnist, author and founder  of www.freedomalliance.org tells us, "...' Be Not Afraid' ... This simple statement made by Pope John Paul II  resonated from the halls of the Kremlin, to the streets of Eastern Europe, from the jungles of Central America to the oppressed tending rice paddies in Communist China.  These words even touched hearts here in secular America.   

" Loved? Certainly!  Viewed? No Doubt.  More than 100 million people can claim to have seen him, not on a screen, but in person.  Feared? Yes... by despots and dictators, the cruel and those who would deny the sanctity of human life that he espoused in every sermon and in all of his writings.  His faith, strength of character and devotion to the dignity of every person informed everything he did!  Those virtues are terrifying to tyrants and can change hearts in ways that military force and economic might never can. Though his message was spiritual, not political, the demise of the evil empire can be traced to his tenure as Archbishop of Krakow." His return as Pope, to his to his native Poland in 1979, with his message...'Be Not Afraid'...ignited the citizens of Gdansk resulting in the rise of 'Solidarnosc'- - Lech Walesa's famous ' Solidarity ' labor union. 

William Donohue, president of the Catholic League (see www.news@catholicleague.org) tells us," John Paul II's unyielding commitment to speaking the truth will surely prove to be one of his most enduring legacies.  In a world where moral relativism runs rampant, and the lies of postmodernist thought are trumpeted, nothing could be more countercultural than the Pope's speeches and writings on the existence of an objective moral order."

Comment:

It is fair to say that history already shows that Pope John Paul II was the singular personality, supported by three other world leaders, most responsible for the end of the Cold War, the collapse of Soviet Communism, and the on-going eradication from the earth of all the "isms" that imprison man both physically and spiritually.

Pope John Paul II gave hope to a hopeless world thru a campaign of non-violence aimed at the recognition of the dignity of every individual.

For the actions sighted above, and for the ten's of millions worldwide who were touched by his message we give this   Force Moral Debate Award  to Karol Wojtyla.