Pope John Paul II

I greatly admired your charisma, dynamism and strength. Although I wasn't in agreement with most of your teachings, I recognise the source of your views was love and compassion for your fellow man. I really admire and respect strong people full stop. I thought your final goodbye was very emotional and inspiring. To see, the people coming from all over the world, the millions of poles who endured a 35 hour train journey to get to rome just to be with you in those final hours was unforgettable.

My brother got married in rome a couple of years ago and they went to one of your audiences, and although they said it was so sad to see you struggle to mutter, they said there was an amazing atmosphere around you as the people mentally willed you on. I was always very annoyed at those commentators who said that you were a dribbling mess, and you should have stepped down in favour of somebody more able. Definitely not!

You practiced what you preached, and when the going got tough, you still defiantly perceviered even though it would have been very easy for you to retire, and live out the rest of your days in quiet pampered luxury. I was a bit mystified about the people in the square chanting "santo subito" or saint now. Its largely irrelevant whether its saint john paul, john paul or just plain karol wojytyla.

I can't be entirely uncritical though.Its very easy (indeed a luxury) to pontificate about issues when you're being treated like a god on earth, with people worshipping you and all your needs being catered for instantly. How could you go to all these third world countries, with your entrenched and iron fisted policies, where you overlooked the poverty and desperation brought about by the church's stance on contraception and birth control. Now I do admit, that there has to be more of a thought out approach to overpopulation than saturating them with condoms, but there has to be options and we know that the earth cannot withstand all of us indefinitely.

I am also very pro women having complete control over reproduction. One saying that has stuck in my mind, and I remember seeing the slogan at a pro abortion rally on t.v was, " if men could have babies, abortion would be a sacrament". Who wants abortion, it certainly is murder, and I dont think it does any favours to try and talk abjectly about the foetus just being a disposable collection of premature cells. In my view, this is wrong as ultimately thats all the rest of us are, just organs and cells that have been around longer. But I value the origins of your views about the "culture of death" that now seems to exist. There surely has to be a better more thought out approach to say the issue of over population than just to swamp them with condoms. But people have sex (apparently an awful lot) and if its so bad, why did your god make it feel so good?

Sometimes its very hard to be a thinking person and to claim to be a catholic. I was reading during the week that many of the girls who used to scream your name, and go into ardent fan worship at one of your audiences, more than likely had the pill in their back pocket.So admiration for you was on a personal level, for you as a strong charismatic person rather than an enforcer of a moral code which is fast losing its grip.

On a lighter note, I am now a big admirer of the polish people. When I saw so many of the poles enduring a 35 hour train journey, to get to rome in time for the pope's funeral, I thought it was incredible, and I am happy that one of my brother's has just got engaged to a pole. Over christmas, she cooked a lot of traditional polish fish dishes, and filled me in on polish history. I'd love to go there sometime.

Am reading a great book at the moment "John Paul the Great:Remembering a Spiritual father" by peggy noonan. Instead of just a biography of the pope and his writings (which have been extensively covered by others, and also as the man was a super intellectual/mystic, some of his writings are just mentally draining for us mere mortals) the book is interwoven with her own spiritual journey, which makes it much more of an enjoyable read !

I really didn't realise that he was such a mystic, with the encounters with padre pio, and the prophecies of sr faustina etc, and it is said that his death will prepare the world for the second coming. Well, we've been waiting on this second coming for quite some time now, and depending where he lands poor old jesus is quite likely to be shot at, mugged or raped. This preparation for the second coming is like the proverbial sword of damacles, whose aim is to keep us mentally chained methinks. Anyway what about all the people, who muddle through whatever crap and turmoil day in day out, I'm sure an end to all of that would be very welcomed.

It seems to me sometimes, that one of the cornerstones of religion is fear, fear of eternal damnation, or fear of what others will think of you. I have a hard time believing that it could be love, as essentially your priority and motivation behind every good act, is ultimately to procure your own place in the heavenly waiting line.

John Paul was a very gifted person, who used those gifts to the utmost, and was certainly not concerned by money, indeed in his will he left nothing, but during the course of his long life, must have generated a serious amount of money for others and the vatican, through all the books, cd's, dvd's, encyclicals, biographies that he himself wrote, or had written about him. You were a distinct product of your times, having lived through tyranny, war and upheaval, but sometimes I wonder, is it possible to think too much?

I think its easy to lose touch with the world when you are such an intellectual, and bookworm that you become so book based, and introspective. I am concerned with pulling my pants up in the morning, and it often feels that spending your life thinking about these metaphysical issues is an absolute luxury.

John paul's first miracle, seems to be on his successor. Who would have thought that gods rottweiler, would have become such a crowd pleassing german shepherd!That this oldguard intellectual who had twice tried to retire would become such a crowd pleaser. I must admit I feared for the worst when they first announced his name, but he seems to be steering quite well. They were impossibly big shoes to fill, but I don't think benedict is doomed to live in his predecessors shadow. The heavy german accent may be offputing to some, but can actually smile, and he seems to have te reserves to keep going for quite some time.

This woman is traditional (nothing wrong with that) but she is also very witty. This quote made me laugh " A nun in a veil probably prays: a nun in a two piece suit with nothing on her head but a silver crewcut, is somewhat more likely to be thinking of spirit winds, and new ways to refer to jesus as "she"" I love it!