The Last Pope

It is sad to write about the passing of such a great man, so this will be brief. 

Pope John Paul II was an inspiration to millions.  He was the best-traveled pope in history, and he was known for being as kind a soul outside of the public eye as he was when he was in it. 

As for his legacy, he began very conservatively until his power base was established.  Then he proceeded to morph into the most liberal pope ever.  Among his more radical pronouncements (by catholic standards, anyway) were that christians should not persecute Jews.  Also he stated that he felt that Darwin's theory of evolution "held some merit."  While these may seem pretty ordinary things to say, keep in mind that John Paul II was at the top of one of the world oldest, most enduring organizations -- one which relied upon maintaining a very consistent dogma and set of beliefs as its main tool for survival.  Thus, these proclamations hold almost a revolutionary significance.

Obviously, the pope's stance on homosexuality, birth control and admitting females into the priesthood remained the same as official church doctrine.  But again, there is only so much one pope can do to change an organization that makes a point of not changing. 

Perhaps lost in all the latest news is the fact that the last pope was one badass dude.  He was an accomplished soccer goalie, skiier and skater, as well as a screen writer; in fact, one of his screenplays was made into a film and released in Europe.   Even before he rose to the level of pope, John Paul II was a cut above the rest (think Tom without the 1600 but as Pope). 

I for one am sad to see such a progressive pope go.  We can only hope the nexst pope makes further strides towards bringing the catholic church into the 21st century.

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