Be Not Afraid

Christ at the center of all things was a theme to which John Paul II returned until the very end of his life and which served as his unceasing prayer for the church and the world. On Oct. 22, 1978, only a few days after his election as pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II called upon the world: "Be not afraid. Open wide the doors to Christ. To his saving power upon the boundaries of states, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid.

An atheist's tribute to the good shepherd
I’m 60, a man who long ago stopped believing in God, the types of God fashioned by man, the type of God believed in by John Paul II. But, on this day of grief, April 3, 2005, I honor, in my own way the passing of this great man.

Even an atheist must honor a man like John Paul II. This man, this pope, lived the ideals that he professed, the ideals of Christianity, and did so aggressively. No sitting in Rome for John Paul II. He traveled the world with relentlessness; he movingly kissed the soil of each new land arrived at. He reached out to the sick, the poor, the dispossessed. He lectured the rich and powerful. He was conservative in the finest sense of that word, even for me a liberal, for he loved sinners and forgave them even while setting, through his agenda, very strict standards.

His conservatism never seemed ugly, punitive, unforgiving. What stunning leadership. He fought communism and I wonder if the full story of his leadership against that doctrine will ever be fully known? A son of Poland, perhaps her greatest, his life span had allowed him to see close up the evils of the 20th Century’s enslaving doctrines.

He used that insight wisely and relentlessly. Across the globe, wherever he went, the faithful would gather to catch a glimpse of this man who spoke of a better world. And so, even non-believers like me mourn his passing. We join the ranks of those who will miss him. And we smile with appreciation knowing that stubborn and skeptical though we may be, John Paul viewed people like us with love, tolerance and above all faith. He,through the experience of his decades, knew that ultimately faith is so much stronger than doubt. He was and will remain the good shepherd. —Peter Twomey, Marshfield, MA
(taken from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/)