End of an era – World leaders remembers Pope, “a hero for the ages”

Vatican City – The passing away of the Pope John Paul II, whose 26–year papacy helped defeat Communism in Europe but left a Roman Catholic Church divided over his rigorous orthodoxy, has plunged the whole world in grief, with many describing him as “a hero for the ages” in remembrance of his humanity, courage and moral integrity.

"Our beloved Holy Father John Paul has returned to the house of the Father," said Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, the Vatican’s undersecretary of state, on April 2, announcing the death to a huge crowd that had gathered under the Pontiff's windows to pray for a miraculous recovery that never came. “We all feel like orphans this evening.”

“He died with the serenity of the saints,” said Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican City's Secretary of State, to a tearful crowd of 70,000 people in St. Peter's Square who held prayers for the beloved pontiff.

The Pope died in his bed at 9:37 pm (19:37 GMT), surrounded by the only family he had – his closest Polish aides.

As the news spread through Rome, thousands of faithful streamed to the Vatican to join those already there, paying homage to a man who revolutionized his office and took his uncompromising message far beyond the confines of the Vatican.

The slow mourning toll of one of the great bells of St Peter's Basilica was the only sound to break the silence.

The exact cause of death was not given but the Pope's health had deteriorated steadily over the past decade with the onset of Parkinson's disease and arthritis.

Early this February, he was operated on to ease serious breathing problems, but never regained his strength and last Thursday developed an infection and high fever that soon precipitated heart failure, kidney problems and ultimately death.

While in Bethlehem, bells chimed at the Church of the Nativity, the birthplace of Jesus, when the news of the death of the pontiff reached there, around the world, presidents and prime ministers offered words of praise for Pope John Paul II and his message of peace, his battle against communism in Eastern Europe and his efforts to build bridges between religions.

Whereas the Indian President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam remembered the pontiff as one who “tirelessly worked for peace on this planet and to establish an international order based on equality and justice," the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh condoled the death of Pope John Paul II, by calling him a "people's Pope" who especially endeared himself to Indians when he granted sainthood to Mother Teresa and an “iconic figure who led the Catholic Church for nearly three decades, in particular as a beacon of unflinching moral values, through a period historic changes.”

“He was a great reconciler to religion and a humanist,” Dr. Singh said.

"The Catholic Church has lost its shepherd. The world has lost a champion of human freedom and a good and faithful servant of God has been called home," US President George W. Bush said in a televised address from the White House. “We’re grateful to God for sending such a man.” Incidentally, President Bush had gone to war in Iraq despite the Pope’s opposition but who, as a Christian shared other views with him. According to news report, the US President ordered U.S. flags to fly at half–mast as a mark of respect.

Remembering the pontiff as one who was “extremely concerned about the world we lived in, and like me, he also felt that in war, all are losers,” United Nations Secretary–General Kofi Annan called the Pope, “a tireless advocate of peace, a true pioneer in interfaith dialogue and a strong force for critical self–evaluation by the church itself.”

In Germany, divided for decades by the Berlin Wall, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was quoted by the Reuters news agency saying, "Pope John Paul II wrote history. By his efforts and through his impressive personality, he changed our world."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, "Throughout a hard and often difficult life, he stood for social justice and on the side of the oppressed, whether as a young man facing the Nazi occupation in Poland or later in challenging the Communist regime. He never wavered, never flinched, in the struggle for what he thought was good and right," Blair was quoted by the Associated Press.

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said in a statement, "By combating the falsehoods of communism and proclaiming the true dignity of the individual, his was the moral force behind victory in the Cold War."

"It is with deep emotion that I have come to learn of the death of His Holiness, John Paul II," said French President Jacques Chirac. Chirac said the Pope, with his "numerous pastoral visits" to France, had "particularly honored our country."

"An enlightened and inspired priest, he devoted himself to responding to the search for sense and the thirst for justice that is expressed today on all continents. History will retain the imprint and the memory of this exceptional sovereign pontiff, whose charisma, conviction and compassion carried the evangelical message with unprecedented resonance on the international stage," he said.

“A good and faithful servant of God has been called home. The world has lost a champion of peace and freedom,” said Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. "We are all grateful for the tireless work and suffering that he bore incessantly against every form of totalitarianism, violence, oppression and moral degradation in the name of the values of the Catholic Church that are also the supreme values of human dignity and solidarity."

"I have very warm recollections of meetings with the Pope. He was wise, responsive, and open for dialogue," said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

John Paul’s “spiritual and political legacy have been deservedly valued by humanity,” he said.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said the Pope was ”humanitarian number one on the planet.”

"Our people receive the news of his death with a deep sense of grief and loss. He was a holy champion of the Filipino family and of profound Christian values that make everyone of us contemplate everyday, what is just, moral and sacred in life," said Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.

Lech Walesa, who led Poland’s Solidarity movement which won power after a decade of struggle and hastened the collapse of the whole Soviet bloc, said Polish–born John Paul inspired the drive to end communism in Eastern Europe.

“(Without him) there would be no end of communism or at least much later and the end would have been bloody,” Walesa said.

In the Middle East, John Paul II was remembered both for his efforts at improving ties between the Catholic church and the Jewish faith – under his papacy, Israel and the Vatican exchanged ambassadors for the first time – as well as for his advocacy of the rights of the Palestinians. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom called the pope's death "a great loss for all humanity," according to news agency reports from Jerusalem.

"He promoted inter–faith understanding and dialogue, with a willingness to address the past, and a profound determination to build a future of understanding and brotherhood between all faiths," Shalom said.

Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, USA, said, “No Pope did more for the Jews,” remembering that on his Holy Land visit in March 2000, the Pope prayed at Jerusalem’s Western Wall and asked forgiveness for Catholic sins against Jews after 2,000 years of Christian–Jewish hostility.

“There is a shattering difference between the Catholic church of 20 to 50 years ago to today,” said Bobby Brown, the World Jewish Congress’s Israel–based international director.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, was quoted calling John Paul II "a great religious figure who devoted his life to defending the values of peace, freedom, justice and equality for all races and religions, as well as our people's right to independence."

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said the Islamic Republic had learned with “extreme sadness” of John Paul’s death, saying he commanded “the three paths of religious learning, philosophical thought and poetical and artistic creativity.”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez praised the Pope’s opposition to the U.S.–led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“We should ... remember he preached world peace. When the United States invaded Iraq, for example, John Paul II said it was an illegal and immoral act,” said Chavez.

"As the largest Catholic country in the world, where people of several different beliefs live in harmony, Brazil feels sorrowful for the loss of one of the men who positively marked the course of contemporary history," said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

South Korean President Roh Moo–hyun expressing his deep sorrow over the death of Pope John Paul II, said, “Pope John Paul II will be remembered forever due to his commitment to religious and ideological reconciliation.”

“I, on behalf of the Korean government and the Korean people, express deep condolence at the Pope's death,” Roh said, recalling that the Pope's visits to South Korea in 1984 and 1989 had helped promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

“I also convey my deep condolences to the world's Catholic community for the passing of the great leader,” he said.

“Pope John Paul II was a man I held in high regard. His experience in Poland, then a communist country, and my own difficulties with communists, gave us a common ground,” said exiled Tibetan leader and Nobel Prize winner for Peace, Dalai Lama.

China, which does not allow its Catholics to recognize Vatican authority, had taken the unusual step of expressing sorrow over the Pope’s death. “China expresses its condolences on the passing away of Pope John Paul II due to his illness,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao in a statement. However, according to news reports, China's web portals have blocked prayers, blessings and other comment on the death of Pope John Paul II from being posted on the Internet, government officials have confirmed.

The Pope's death was also marked in Cuba, which was officially declared an atheist country after the 1959 revolution until the early 1990s. Church bells rang every half hour on Saturday for the Pope, and the government was planning to allow full coverage of his funeral, the Reuters news agency reported from Havana. John Paul II made a landmark visit to the island nation in January, 1998, in a visit that increased religious freedom for Cubans, including reinstating Christmas as a national holiday and allowing religious processions.

“Cubans will always see Pope John Paul II as a friend who was concerned about the poor, who fought neo–liberalism and struggled for peace,” said Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, as quoted by Reuters.

However, not everyone was saddened by the passing away of the pontiff, who made several enemies because of his anti–communist stand and his orthodox views on contraceptives.

Jerzy Urban, a spokesman of Poland’s past communist rulers, said, “I cannot say I will regret his passing. As a godless atheist I never cared much for the church or the papacy.”

“Historians will judge the Pope harshly. His opposition to the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV has condemned millions of people to die an agonising, needless death,” said Peter Tatchell, a British gay and human rights activist.