Gilbert Gutknecht: “Abraham Lincoln was succeeded by Andrew Johnson. Johnson was impeached by his fellow Republicans. Teddy Roosevelt became…”

“Abraham Lincoln was succeeded by Andrew Johnson. Johnson was impeached by his fellow Republicans. Teddy Roosevelt became so frustrated with his successor, he came back to run against him. Great Presidents and great Popes are seldom succeeded by great Presidents and great Popes, which is why so many of us mourn the loss of Pope John Paul II so much. I never saw him in person. As a third-generation Lutheran boy marrying a Catholic girl, I take a more ecumenical view of the papacy. Until John Paul II, I saw the Pope as generally irrelevant to matters of personal faith and world events. Karol Wojtyla changed all that. He began his papacy with those simple words, 'Be not afraid.' He lived those words until his dying breath. History always finds a special place for the fearless. He understood something that many Western sophisticates do not. There is enormous persuasive power in communicating deeply held moral truths. President Victor Yushchenko reminded us today of something the Pope said. He said, 'The path of truth is often difficult, but never impossible.' He literally took up his cross daily and led charismatically his massive flock. He spoke with clarity to them and to the world. He led by example, and in the process, like St. Peter before him, he changed the world. He stared down the Soviets when they threatened to put down the Solidarity movement in his native Poland.”