Early reports are that John Paul II has indeed passed on at the age of 84. Karol Wojtyla was appointed Pope in 1978 at 58, the youngest Pope of the last century and the first Pole. Even as a non-Catholic I am saddened, and a bit frightened, at this news. Saddened because he took a lot of the stands that needed to be taken (against communism, against the culture of death, against the invasion of Iraq) angering “left” and “right”. Frightened because whatever complaints orthodox Christians have had about him (and I have heard some from traditionalist Catholics for example), what comes next could be far worse. Lord have mercy on us who remain.

The Best of Stephen W. Carson