Pope Paul -- Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace.

Pontiff of Freedom -- Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Ben Johnson, FrontPageMagazine.com, April 4, 2005

For the record, this author is not a Roman Catholic, merely an admirer of the late pope’s stance on behalf of freedom.

Ben Johnson is Managing Editor of FrontPage Magazine and author of the book 57 Varieties of Radical Causes: Teresa Heinz Kerry's Charitable Giving.

Shortly after his consecration as Pope, John Paul II openly defied the Marxist government of Poland, telling his admirers during a 1979 Mass in Warsaw:

Do not be afraid to tell the truth. Do not be afraid of the system. People are created not to enmity but to solidarity. Let the Holy Spirit descend and renew the face of the land, this land.

Curiously, the Left did not second this exhortation to “speak truth to power.” [. . . . ]

Charles Krauthammer: Pope John Paul II townhall.com, Apr. 3, 05

This is excellent coverage of the historical events of Pope Paul's life, his impact, and particularly, how his life was "the ultimate refutation of 'realism.'"

[. . . . ] Under the benign and deeply humane vision of this pope, the power of faith led to the liberation of half a continent. Under the barbaric and nihilistic vision of Islam's jihadists, the power of faith has produced terror and chaos. That contrast alone, which has dawned upon us unmistakably ever since 9/11, should be reason enough to be grateful for John Paul II. But we mourn him for more than that. We mourn him for restoring strength to the Western idea of the free human spirit at a moment of deepest doubt and despair. And for seeing us through to today's great moment of possibility for both faith and freedom. [. . . . ]

Hero of the century John Podhoretz, Apr. 3, 05

[. . . . ] By taking a stand on behalf of the transcendent, John Paul II was offering a standing rebuke to the most evil idea of the 20th century — the idea that it is acceptable to enslave or dispose of human beings in mass numbers in order to achieve radical political aims.

A year after his elevation, he made his world-historical journey back home to Poland. He did not confront the Communist regime. He conducted Mass. He ministered to his suffering countrymen.

But by showing his fellow Poles that there was a force equal to, even superior to, the totalitarian government oppressing them, he gave them new hope. In a matter of months, [. . . . ]

In contrast, I am listening to CBC radio news--Toronto, I think--and this honourable man was damned by faint praise; at least the emphasis seemed to be on the decline of his church. Surely, in the face of death, CBC could be magnanimous, but, in the rush by our government to destroy the family and, I believe, the religious beliefs which prop up the family, the CBC is simply acting as the propaganda arm for the government. How sad. Why do Canadians have to pay for this? I am turning it off and going to a site with music which is uplifting -- anything to soothe at a time when all of us consider our mortality and how little we have accomplished, in comparison to the deceased Pope John Paul.