Pope John Paul II Research Paper

Pope John Paul II was a man that made many changes to defining how the Catholic Church sees many controversial topics today. The Pope was a very faith-based individual that had strong morals and values that he stuck by his whole life. Pope John Paul II was considered a traditionalist, or old-fashioned by some due to the ways he viewed some more recent issues that came to be later in his papacy. John Paul had many achievements in his years of papacy. He had an ordinary childhood, leading to an extraordinary life with many achievements. Karol Józef Wojtyla was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Republic of Poland, to Karol Wojtyla Sr. and Emilia Kaczorowska. Karol was a well-educated man. He attended Jagiellonian University in 1938, he …show more content…
A year into his papacy, John Paul II made the courageous decision to celebrate Mass for a million people in Poland even thought the Communists prohibited religious worship and public assembly. John Paul II inspired the crowd by calling for religious freedom for all. He gave them the faith and strength to push for change. Even though the road to religious freedom for the Poles was long, years later he was credited for his part in the fall of communism. Former Polish Senator Andrzej Szczypiorski said, “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that his pontificate was responsible for the downfall of Communist rule worldwide. Poland in a way set the pace. It was the little stone that started an …show more content…
Pope John Paul II’s biggest strength in my mind is that he was a very involved leader. He was one to travel to various places for speaking engagements. According to Christianity Today, “He made 146 trips inside Italy and 104 abroad. In his papacy, he issued 14 encyclical letters, 11 apostolic constitutions, 42 apostolic letters and 18 “motu proprio” letters. He also beatified 1,345 candidates for sainthood and proclaimed a record of 483 saints.” These accomplishments show that John Paul II was a man who wanted to make the world a better place and hope his words affected others in a positive

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