ME and Ophelia

POPE JOHN PAUL II
God bless and farewell, we miss you already

Sadly, the greatest man alive on Earth today, Karol Wojtyla, clings to life.

"This evening or this night, Christ opens the door to the Pope" says Angelo Comastri, Vicar general of Vatican City.

If only a minority of people in this world were as decent, compassionate, caring, loving and kind as Karol Wojtyla was throughout his life, the world would be a much better place.

Pope John Paul II is a godly man who, when he dies, will be hugely missed by millions of people around the world, myself included.



Photo: The Pope on Mount Nebo, west of Amman, Jordan, where Christians believe Moses first glimpsed the Promised Land. It was part of a tour of religious sites in 2000 to mark the millennium.

In February he became the first pope to visit Egypt, a mainly Muslim country, where he called for harmony between different religions.

In March he expressed sympathy with the plight of the Palestinians, and spoke of the Church's sadness at the persecution and anti-Semitism directed at Jews by Christians.



Photo: The Pope has seen many political changes across the world including the fall of Communism in eastern Europe and the end of apartheid in South Africa. In September 1995 he visited South Africa and is pictured in Johannesburg with the country's first black President, Nelson Mandela.

Please click here to read the reactions of others.

[Photos: Courtesy BBC In pictures: Pope John Paul II]
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UPDATE Sat: The Pope died in his private apartment at the Vatican at 2137 local time (1937 GMT) on Saturday April 2, 2005. "Our Holy Father John Paul has returned to the house of the Father" said Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, Senior Vatican official.
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UPDATE Sun:

On the death of the Pope, British blogger Nik Rawlinson, Editor of MacUser magazine, writes:

It is two hours since the Pope died and the news channels are going mad. Most impressive of all, though, is the fact that his entry on the Wikipedia has already been updated with 706 words about his death, the process for the election of his replacement, the likely successors and reaction from around the world.

Why does anyone spend money on encyclopaedias any more?