HONORING THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II AND EXPRESSING PROFOUND SORROW ON HIS DEATH -- (House of Representatives - April 06, 2005)
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Mr. FITZPATRICK of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues and the millions, if not billions, of people throughout the world in celebrating the life of His Holiness Pope John Paul II, and support the resolution and thank the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) for presenting it.
Mr. Speaker, no one at the time in 1978 expected Cardinal Wojtyla to be elected the Keeper of the Keys to the Church. In his election as Pope, John Paul II became the first non-Italian Pope in 405 years of Papal history.
John Paul II was truly the People's Pope. Throughout his Pontificate, John Paul II traveled the world, visiting over 115 countries on 170 trips. It was with the people that Pope John Paul II connected the most. He called upon the world to embrace freedom and human dignity. In doing so, the Pope will be remembered for his role as peacemaker, instrumental in the fall of communism in Europe and the liberation of his own native Poland.
But the Pope also called on the world's religions to open their doors to each other. Drawing from his own experiences in Nazi-occupied Poland, the Pope advocated interfaith dialogue. He became the first Pope to enter a synagogue and embraced the leaders in Islam. His work to expand communication between the faiths has brought together a generation of the devoted, and our world is a better place for it.
During an open-air mass in St. Peter's Square in 1998, the Pope asked of himself, Have you been a diligent and vigilant master of the Church? Have you tried to satisfy the expectations of the faithful of the Church and also the hunger for truth that we feel in the world outside the Church?
Although he did not answer then, we can answer for him today. Yes, yes, you have.
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