Heroes and Role Models

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May 7 , 2007

Pope John Paul II - A Summary

When we speak of heroes , the Justice League , Hercules , the X-men and even the Incredibles may come to mind because of their fight for truth and justice . However , these are all fictional characters . They do not have the experience to show their audience on how tough life can really be and how difficult it truly is to be a hero

Pope John Paul II 's real name is Karol Jozef Wojtyla . He was born

on May 18 , 1920 in a town called Wadowice , in Poland . He was named after his father and his mother is Emilia Kaczorowska . He had two siblings named Edmund and Olga who died before he was even born . His mother passed away in 1929 while his brother died three years after . His father who was a non-commissioned army officer who also passed away when he was just twenty one years old leaving him alone in the family

His originally enrolled himself in the theater arts of Krakow 's Jagiellonian University in 1938 but the Nazi closed it down in 1939 so he had to work for four years in a quarry . He also held a job at a factory so that he will not be deported to Germany

He realized that he wanted to become a priest so in 1942 , he studied in the underground seminary of Krakow while pioneering the Rhapsodic Theatre ' that was also held in secret

He was ordained into priesthood by November 1 , 1946 and by July 4 , 1958 he was appointed titular bishop of Ombi and auxiliary of Krakow by Pope Pius XII (Holy See Press Office 2005

He became the archbishop of Krakow and was made a cardinal on June 26 1967 . He was part of the Vatican Council II and was a major contributor to the encyclical , Gaudium Et Spes

His papacy began when he was elected on October 16 , 1978 . From then on Cardinal Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II . His papacy lasted for almost twenty-seven progressive years

Pope John Paul II is one of the most admired popes in the last centuries . In fact , people clamored for his beatification (the first step to becoming a saint ) as soon as he passed away on April 2 , 2005 So , on April 28 of the same year , his predecessor adhered to people 's wishes and waived the waiting period (5 years ) before beginning the study of a person 's legitimacy to beatification

The Roman Catholic Church 's members were not the only ones who mourned his demise . There were Muslims and Jews who shared the grief with the Christian world because of what the pope has done to bridge the gap between these religions

Pope John Paul II was no ordinary pope . Although his predecessor , Pope Paul VI had already initiated a better understanding of other religions he implemented it well . As Cardinal Walter Kasper , the Vatican 's chief ecumenical officer , has...