Spotlight

The death of Pope John Paul II

Kevin Eckstrom

(RNS49-APR01) Pope John Paul II, in an undated photo. See RNS-POPE-OBIT, transmitted April 1, 2005. Photo courtesy Universal Press Syndicate.

(RNS46-APR01) Pope John Paul II comforts a sick woman during a visit in 1992. See RNS- POPE, transmitted April 1, 2005. Photo courtesy Universal Press Syndicate.

(RNS50-APR01) Pope John Paul II, begs pardon for sins committed against Jews, women and others in an unprecedented show of apology during a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on March 12, 2000. See RNS-POPE-JEWS, and RNS-POPE-LEGACY, transmitted April 1, 2005. Photo courtesy Universal Press Syndicate.

(RNS18-APR01) Pope John Paul II joins in the fun as he shields his ears from the deafening cheers of school children during a general audience on Dec. 6, 1978, a month after he was elected pope. See RNS-POPE, transmitted April 1, 2005. RNS file photo.

(RNS52-APR01) Pope John Paul II meets at the Vatican with evangelist Billy Graham in 1993. See RNS-POPE-PROTESTANTS, transmitted April 1, 2005. Photo courtesy of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

(RNS4) Pope John Paul II meets with the late Mother Teresa in 1987. RNS file photo courtesy Universal Press Syndicate.

(RNS20-APR01) Karol Wojtyla, age 9, after receiving his First Communion in 1929 in Krakow, Poland. See RNS-POPE-TIMELINE, transmitted April 1, 2005. RNS file photo.

Pope John Paul II was the longest-serving pope of the 20th century and the third-longest in history after St. Peter and Pope Pius IX. In his 26 years in office, John Paul touched the lives of lepers and heads of state, and hundreds of millions of people in between who saw in this stoop-shouldered leader the vision of a better humankind. When he died in April 2005, Religion News Service examined his life and legacy in a series of articles and analyses.

COMMENTARY: Pope’s Influence on World Stage Was Unprecedented

RNS Blog Editor | Apr 5, 2005

c. 2005 Newhouse News Service (UNDATED) It is no exaggeration to say of Pope John Paul II that he was the most significant Catholic pontiff since Peter 2,000 years ago. His impact on Catholicism, for good or ill, will be debated in the days to come by religious conservatives who revered his co...
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COMMENTARY: A Holy Man _ With Accents on Holy and Man

RNS Blog Editor | Apr 8, 2005

c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Words failed me this past week. The ocean of others' words that followed Pope John Paul II's death _ I drank in as many as I could, and loved so many, but none did full justice to Karol Wojtyla, and I came to believe none could. And my own words _ they fai...
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NEWS FEATURE: First Pope of the Internet Age Mourned in Cyberspace

RNS Blog Editor | Apr 5, 2005

c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Pope John Paul II traveled the world, reaching out to people of different faiths. Now, he is the first pontiff to have his death mourned on the Internet by the millions he touched. All over the world, people of many faiths have been lighting candles for...
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COMMENTARY: A Voice for the Poor Is Stilled, but Heard

RNS Blog Editor | Apr 5, 2005

c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) This week, the world remembers a figure who warned, ``It is manifestly unjust that a privileged few should continue to accumulate excess goods, squandering available resources, while masses of people are living in conditions of misery at the very lowest le...
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NEWS ANALYSIS: To Understand This Historic Pope, Look From the Outside and the Inside

RNS Blog Editor | Apr 3, 2005

c. 2005 Beliefnet (UNDATED) How is one to reckon a balance sheet of the reign of John Paul II, who died Saturday (April 2)? His outreach to Judaism, his battles with communism, his championing of the poor, his stand against women priests, his promotion of interfaith dialogue, his hard line on Ca...
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