Twentieth Century Hero Essay

The 20th century historical figure that I admire the most would have to be the late Karol Josef Wojtyla or most known as Pope John Paul II . He was a man of few words yet everything that he speaks about is always deemed important by his constituents . Even though he nearly died due to an assassination plot staged before him , he willfully accepted the apology of his assassin and forgave him

John Paul met with Islamic leaders all over the world , preaching brotherhood and engaging in dialogue . He apologized for past misdeeds of

br the church , including the Crusades . In Syria in 2001 , just four months before the Sept . 11 attacks , he became the first pope to enter a mosque But his outreach to Islam and other religions worried many in his own church who felt that he was leading it into relativism , the belief that no religion is any more authentic than another . The Vatican 's own doctrinal office appeared to undermine his effort in 2000 with a document asserting the supremacy of Christian faith as a means to salvation (Bridging Philippines ' Islands of Faith . April 14 , 2005

He is also a humble person in all aspects . When he went to the Philippines , he even took a cab to reach the nearest church and when he was recognized as Pope , a priest accorded him of much attention but he refused to allow such since he does not want to cause any more trouble or panic to the people in the said church He was an instrument for the youth to gather and together celebrate the life of Jesus through the World Youth Day celebrations being staged in different countries annually . He was also compassionate about the feelings of others and is always willing to extend a hand to those who needs him . In all of the countries he went to , there is no time that children and their parents will approach him and ask for his blessing and he will give them his holy blessing

Although he was deprived of a decent education in priesthood , it did not deter him from fulfilling his dream of serving the community and change their lives forever . During his time on being a student and a newly-ordained priest , there was tremor all over Russia even so , he advocated human rights in a high-risk country such as Russia

o have a job . From 1940 to 1944 Wojty ?a variously worked as a messenger for a restaurant and a manual laborer in a limestone quarry , and then as a salesman for the Solvay chemical factory to avoid being deported to Germany .His father died of a heart attack in 1941 . B 'nai B 'rith and other authorities have said he helped Jews find refuge from the Nazis (Holy See Press Office "His Holiness John Paul II : Short Biography Holy See Press Office . Retrieved on 2007-01-14

Karol was able to survive the Nazi occupation in Poland and in spite of this he still successfully surpassed all those...