Political Quotes

“I add my voice to the millions of people throughout the world as we try to put in perspective the passing of Pope John Paul II. As has been said many times in many ways, probably more than anything what struck me the most about the Holy Father was his ability to understand what could be when other people only saw what couldn't be. He understood that communism was an oppressive system. He lived under Nazi rule, and as he had the power to bring about change, he used that power for the good. He went back to his home country of Poland and challenged his people to expect better and to demand better. That is what he did for the world. He tried to challenge his church, to stick to the principles of the church as he saw those principles to be. He challenged the world to do better when it came to the less fortunate. He was consistent. He saw war as a bad thing. He understood that life was sacred and that the state should not take life. He was in opposition to the death penalty. There I may disagree, an honest disagreement. But he had a consistency about him. When we try to put his beliefs in secular terms of being liberal or conservative, we totally miss the mark of understanding the Pope. He understood the past, he changed the present, and the future will be better because of his time on Earth. His passing has left a void in a great religion. The Catholic faith has lost a great leader.”