He did this in spite of attempted assassination and grievous, crippling injury from which he suffered in great pain for the rest of his life. His public forgiveness of the assassin was one of the more poignant events in recent history.  What more is needed to convey a title, a simple recognition of what God and all of us know already? Pope John Paul II is one of the great Christian leaders of all time. Whether or not he is a saint does not seem to me to be a reasonable question for debate, although we Presbyterians are somewhat ambivalent as to just what sainthood entails. There might be a reason to question whether or not he is the greatest pope in history, but I doubt that any reasonable Christian would question his sainthood.

        It has amused me that others have been quick to take credit for this wondrous event, especially politicians like Ronald Reagan who made a speech at the Berlin Wall that he didn't conceive or write himself.  But Karol Wojtyla, together with others such as Lec Walesa, risked their lives, daily, for years and years to achieve the miracle.  Thank God for giving them all to us, and for the miracle He allowed them to achieve.  Amen!

        I am not a Roman Catholic. I am a Presbyterian. And as such, I do not wish to presume to advise or instruct the Roman Catholic Church on their policies or beliefs. But regardless of denomination, we are all Christian and we all share a certain common perspective on many issues. One of those issues is the obvious sanctity of Pope John Paul II, a man of God whom we should all seek to emulate.

        We note the current discussion within the Roman Church as to the possible sainthood of Pope John Paul II and their search for a miracle to justify his canonization. This writer is not privy to Pope John Paul II’s personal, private history, or to knowledge of events which the Roman Church might consider as qualifying him for Sainthood.

        But I can personally testify to one great miracle which he performed, and to which the whole world was witness. That miracle was the fall of the Soviet Empire, the end of the Cold War, the freeing of Eastern Europe from tyranny, and all of that accomplished without violence or the threat of violence by a man who, throughout his life, demonstrated great courage and great love and compassion, not only for his own people, but also for his enemies.