POPE IS DEAD

Vatican Says Pope John Paul II Dies at 84

2 minutes ago Europe - AP


By VICTOR L. SIMPSON, Associated Press Writer

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II, the Polish pontiff who led the Roman Catholic Church for more than a quarter century and became history's most-traveled pope, died Saturday night in his Vatican apartment. He was 84.

the announcement came from papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls and was distributed to journalists via e-mail.


"The Holy Father died this evening at 9:37 p.m. (2:37 p.m. EST) in his private apartment. All the procedures outlined in the apostolic Constitution `Universi Dominici Gregis' that was written by John Paul II on Feb. 22, 1996, have been put in motion."

A Mass was scheduled for St. Peter's Square for Sunday morning.

The pope died after suffering heart and kidney failure following two hospitalizations in as many months. Just hours earlier, the Vatican said he was in "very serious" condition but had responded to members of the papal household.

Since his surprise election in 1978, John Paul traveled the world, inspiring a revolt against communism in his native Poland and across the Soviet bloc, but also preaching against consumerism, contraception and abortion.

John Paul was a robust 58 when the cardinals stunned the world and elected the cardinal from Krakow, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.

In his later years, however, John Paul was the picture of frailty, weighed down by ailments that included Parkinson's disease. Although he kept up his travels, he was no longer able to kiss the ground.



well im not a catholic but im sorry for him..

thats all for now,
melissa

Well
this was known that he would not last long from his ongoing illness so now he is in peace and free from pain he will be sadly missed

well he wasnt young,he was 84..but thats better..im sure he was suffering alot and now he is in peace..

I share many of ColinB's outlooks on religion, but a billion Catholics think otherwise.

Indeed very much a man as well as being Pope, he seemed determined to do his job in the face of an illness which would normally stop most if not all others from doing.

He now experiences one of the things he strove to try and impress upon the world: Everlasting peace.

The Pope is dead. Long Live the Pope.


- John Paul will be missed, he was a good man.
a righteous, pious, clean-hearted, clean-minded man.


I hope the next Pope will also be a righteous, pious, clean-hearted, clean-minded man.


God forbid that corrupt sinister child-molesting pervert Cardinal Law ever become Pope.
That old dude is safely tucked away somewhere in Rome, doing something inconspicuous for the Vatican.
They won't get rid of the evil ones - they protect them; they promote them, and have them come even closer to the Holy See.

Scary.

While it's sad to see JPII pass away, we're curious as to who becomes NEXT POPE.

Last edited by Graceland Gardener on Sun Apr 03, 2005 9:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

RIP

I remeber he said one time when he was meeting young people in US, at Madison Square Garden:

"John Paul loves you all"

and he loved us, no matter if you loved him.

RIP

May the Holy Father rest in peace... a man of great historical significance... he will be remembered fondly.

RIP.....

He was a very good man and this is a very sad occasion for millions of people. No matter what your religion is, remember that there are may people who are grieving today. Let us have respect for them and may John Paul II rest in eternal peace.

A sad time, a great person had passed away.Pope John Paul II will be missed.

May Pope John Paul ll be in the presence of the Lord in eternity. An extarordinary man who had an extardinary life!