Madam, - John Paul II took up the challenge of Christ to deny himself, take up his cross and follow Him. He imitated Christ in his love and compassion for sinners, murderers, assassins, adulterers, thieves and the many other forms of human weakness, but he did not condone the sin. That is why he was deeply loved and admired by young and old who long for an authentic witness to Christ and what it is to be truly human.
John Paul was not a reed shaken in the wind, adjusting his teaching and pandering to the weaknesses of human nature by elevating them to the level of socially or legally acceptable norms. He refused to degrade the dignity of human nature by detaching human freedom from personal responsibility.
As with Christ, some found this great moral leader's teaching too hard to follow and left him. But in their heart of hearts many of them appreciate what he represented and what, hopefully, they might aspire to at another time.
Thank God for the witness John Paul II gave up by following so closely in the steps of Christ. This indeed was a man who showed us how to live and die with Christian courage and dignity. - Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL HEFFERNAN, Whitehall, Dublin 9.
Madam, - We have lived in the lifetime of a truly great man, and it is a gift for which I am grateful. Often I didn't appreciate the length and breadth, the height or depth of this extraordinary, this fully human man. Millions of people from every country and every religion and every stratum of society travelled to Rome simply to be present in tribute
There will be time enough to reflect on this astonishing, unique, happening. There will be commentary galore as we try to scale this man and his life's work down to our own size, so we can accept or reject its worth, rationalise it, evaluate it, and even (heaven help us!) judge it.
Now it is enough to stop, look and see what is before our eyes, and maybe share some of the hope towards which this man pointed and guided those who would follow as he lived out to the full his response to God's beckoning.
May God be praised for such a living and dying by his chosen representative, John Paul II. - Yours, etc.,
JAMES I. SEXTON, Ferndale, Ennis Road, Limerick.
Madam, - The death of John Paul II is indeed a very significant event. However, much of the fawning hyperbole (e.g. Fr Patrick McCafferty, April 6th), does a great disservice to such a complex and human figure. It is reminiscent of the sentimental rubbish that was spouted after the death of Princess Diana.
Pope John Paul achieved much (for example, in his stand against communism), but he was also very very blind to serious defects in the church.
Thankfully, some of your writers, such as Fintan O'Toole, have presented a more balanced view. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN O'CONNOR, Moira, Co Down.
Madam, - Amid the mountains of sentimental, congratulatory articles and letters praising the late John Paul II, I feel it is necessary to remove the rose-tinted glasses and analyse his legacy he has left.
Although he was a politically astute, intelligent and personable man, as well as a competent and compassionate leader, some of his views were bigoted and intolerant, like some of those of the Catholic Church in general.
In particular, the Pope's outrageous condemnation of contraception has had disastrous consequences. The ever-worsening Aids epidemic in Africa was claiming hundreds of thousands of lives annually when the Pope was elected, and the continues to do so today.
Catholic missionaries and charities perform fantastic feats in Africa in providing food, shelter and education. If the Church were to change its ignorant and old-fashioned way of thinking, who knows how many more lives might have been saved?
- Yours, etc.,
DARREN HENRY, Iveragh Road, Whitehall, Dublin 9.
Madam, - I want to offer my compliments to everyone involved in the very respectful and comprehensive coverage of the life and death of our saintly Holy Father.
May God's blessings and the prayers of this great man surround them all - and may the good generated by the provision of such coverage be unto God's honour and glory. - Yours, etc.,
MAURA E. FENNELLY, Griffith Lawns, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9.