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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 94 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 94

                      Honoring Pope John Paul II.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 4, 2005

Mr. Brownback (for himself, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Burns, Mr. Chambliss, Mrs. 
Clinton, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. DeMint, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Grassley, 
   Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Thune, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. 
   Nelson of Nebraska) submitted the following resolution; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
                      Honoring Pope John Paul II.

Whereas His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, was born Karol Jozef Wojtyla in 
        Wadowice, Poland, on May 18, 1920, the youngest of 3 children, born to 
        Karol Wojtyla and Emilia Kaczorowska;
Whereas Pope John Paul II personally suffered and experienced deprivation from 
        an early age, losing his mother, eldest brother, and father before 
        turning age 21;
Whereas Pope John Paul II found comfort and strength in the example of his 
        father's faith, of whom he observed ``after my mother's death, his life 
        became one of constant prayer. Sometimes I would wake up during the 
        night and find my father on his knees . . . his example was in a way my 
        first seminary'';
Whereas, in 1939, Pope John Paul II was enrolled in Jagiellonian University in 
        Cracow, which was closed by the Nazis during their occupation of Poland;
Whereas Pope John Paul II experienced the brutality of a godless totalitarian 
        regime, which sought to eradicate the history and culture of a proud 
        people and sent many of his professors, friends, and millions of Polish 
        Jews to camps where they were systematically murdered;
Whereas, in 1942, Pope John Paul II was himself arrested by Nazi occupation 
        forces, but his life was spared because of his employment at a limestone 
        quarry, work deemed essential to the war effort;
Whereas Pope John Paul II courageously defied the Nazi occupation forces, 
        risking his own life to protect Polish Jews from persecution, helping to 
        organize the underground ``Rhapsodic Theatre'', which he intended to be 
        ``a theatre . . . where the national spirit will burn'', writing two 
        religious plays considered subversive to the Nazi regime, and enrolling 
        in the clandestine seminary of Archbishop Sapieha of Cracow, where he 
        studied religion, theology, and philosophy;
Whereas the Nazi occupation of Poland was ended only by the imposition of a 
        Communist era of occupation that sought to subjugate Polish citizens, 
        extinguish Polish nationalism, and subjected the exercise of individual 
        religious liberty to the control of godless Stalinist rulers;
Whereas, in 1946, Pope John Paul II was ordained, later becoming a Professor of 
        Ethics and Chaplain at the Catholic University of Lublin, the only 
        Catholic university behind the Iron Curtain, where he, again at great 
        personal risk, initiated activities that helped to preserve the 
        intellectual, cultural, and historical richness of his homeland and 
        protected the integrity and independence of the Catholic Church in 
        Poland;
Whereas Pope John Paul II was an articulate and outspoken advocate for religious 
        freedom and Christian humanism at Vatican Council II, asserting that the 
        Church could not claim religious liberty for itself unless it was 
        willing to concede it to others;
Whereas Pope John Paul II, upon returning to his homeland, frequently cited the 
        Council's declaration that religious freedom was ``the first of human 
        rights'', a phrase embraced by Polish Catholics in their struggle 
        against the hegemony of the Communist regime;
Whereas, on October 16, 1978, Pope John Paul II was elected the 264th Pope, 
        making history by becoming the first-ever Slavic Pope and the first non-
        Italian Pope in more than 400 years;
Whereas Pope John Paul II served for over 26 years as Bishop of Rome and Supreme 
        Pastor of the Catholic Church, and as the spiritual leader of more than 
        1,000,000,000 Catholic Christians around the world, including more than 
        66,000,000 Catholic Christians in the United States;
Whereas Pope John Paul II served the third-longest pontificate, behind only 
        Saint Peter, who served as Pope for over 34 years, and Blessed Pius IX, 
        who served for over 31 years;
Whereas Pope John Paul II was a unique, substantial, and historic catalyst in 
        the demise of Soviet communism and the emancipation of hundreds of 
        millions of people from totalitarian rule;
Whereas Pope John Paul II, in his inaugural sermon, boldly offered hope to 
        oppressed peoples around the world while causing authoritarian rulers to 
        brace by proclaiming ``open the boundaries of states, economic and 
        political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization, and 
        development. Do not be afraid.'';
Whereas, in June 1979, Pope John Paul II returned to his native Poland for 9 
        days, unleashing patriotic and religious forces that would ultimately 
        lead to the peaceful toppling of the Communist regime in Poland and the 
        dramatic demise of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union;
Whereas Pope John Paul II, before visiting his native Poland in 1987, met with 
        President Ronald Reagan, who recognized the fruits of His Holiness' 
        labors by stating ``be assured that the hearts of the American people 
        are with you. Our prayers will go with you in profound hope that the 
        terrible burden of brave people everywhere who yearn for freedom, even 
        as all men and women yearn for the freedom that God gave us all. . . . 
        We see the power of the spiritual force in that troubled land, uniting a 
        people in hope, just as we see the powerful stirrings in the East of a 
        belief that will not die despite generations of oppression. . . . For 
        despite all the attempts to extinguish it, the people's faith burns with 
        a passionate heat: once allowed to breathe free, that faith will burn so 
        brightly it will light the world.'';
Whereas Pope John Paul II was recognized by Lady Margaret Thatcher to have 
        ``provided the main impetus for the revival of Solidarity and the 
        pressure for reform [in his native Poland]'';
Whereas Pope John Paul II was acknowledged by Mikhail Gorbachev to have played 
        an essential role in the liberation of those who lived under European 
        communism when he stated ``everything that happened in Eastern Europe . 
        . . would have been impossible without this Pope'';
Whereas Pope John Paul II carried on an active correspondence with world leaders 
        during the 1980s, involving the Church in efforts to promote peace by 
        reducing tensions, and exerting his moral authority to persuade the 
        superpowers to engage in a ``dialogue'' that succeeded in reducing 
        conventional and nuclear weapons and helped to avert a nuclear war;
Whereas Pope John Paul II used public and private diplomacy and the power of 
        moral persuasion to encourage world leaders to respect the inalienable 
        rights of the human person;
Whereas, on May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II, was shot by a would-be assassin, 
        and nevertheless provided a remarkable example of the power of grace, 
        later visiting his attacker in prison, and stating afterwards ``I spoke 
        to him as I would speak to a brother whom I have forgiven and who enjoys 
        my confidence'';
Whereas Pope John Paul II ministered to Catholic and non-Catholic alike, 
        providing a personal example of grace, endurance, compassion, courage, 
        sacrifice, and foresight;
Whereas Pope John Paul II sought to heal divisions between the Catholic Church 
        and other Christian faiths, the Jewish faith, and Islam, expressing 
        sadness and regret for the individual acts of present and former 
        Catholics who persecuted members of other faiths and promoting 
        reconciliation and dialogue through the first-ever Papal visits to 
        synagogues and mosques, as well as visits to areas of historic conflict, 
        including Ireland and the Holy Land;
Whereas, in 1995, Pope John Paul II wrote of ``the incomparable worth of the 
        human person,'' noting that: ``Even in the midst of difficulties and 
        uncertainties, every person sincerely open to truth and goodness can, by 
        the light of reason and the hidden action of grace, come to recognize . 
        . . the sacred value of human life . . . and can affirm the right of 
        every human being to have this primary good respected to the highest 
        degree'';
Whereas, in 1998, Pope John Paul II visited Cuba to speak directly to the Cuban 
        people and their Communist rulers, calling for political and religious 
        freedom, the release of political prisoners, a recognition of the right 
        to express one's faith ``in the context of public life'', and the 
        importance of fundamental human dignities, including that ``each person 
        enjoying freedom of expression, being free to undertake initiatives and 
        make proposals within civil society, and enjoying appropriate freedom of 
        association'' is a necessity;
Whereas Pope John Paul II traveled farther than any other Pope in history, 
        traversing approximately \3/4\ of a million miles, visiting 130 
        countries, including African nations never before visited by a Pope, 
        being seen by more people than anyone in human history, and evangelizing 
        to more than 6,000,000 people in the closing mass of World Youth Day '95 
        in the Philippines;
Whereas Pope John Paul II changed the course of history, leading the Catholic 
        Church through a dramatic and remarkable period, and into Christianity's 
        third millennium;
Whereas Pope John Paul II devoted his life to the amelioration of the human cost 
        of terror and oppression through his dedication to truth, forgiveness, 
        and the development of a vibrant public moral culture;
Whereas Pope John Paul II articulated the importance of individual liberty being 
        undergirded by a ``moral order'', embraced the poor and oppressed masses 
        of the world, and encouraged governments and the faithful to attend to 
        the needs of those who are less fortunate;
Whereas Pope John Paul II brought hope and inspiration to hundreds of millions 
        of people around the world oppressed by tyranny, hunger, disease, and 
        despair;
Whereas Pope John Paul II worked tirelessly to bring peace to regions of the 
        world that have been driven by strife, intolerance, hatred, and violence 
        for far too long;
Whereas Pope John Paul II changed the lives of billions of people across the 
        globe;
Whereas Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, after heroically proclaiming 
        the value and dignity of human life through his long physical illness 
        and suffering;
Whereas the passing of Pope John Paul II is mourned by billions of people around 
        the world; and
Whereas Pope John Paul II is already being referred to as Pope John Paul the 
        Great: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) notes with deep sorrow and solemn mourning the death of 
        His Holiness, Pope John Paul II;
            (2) extends its heartfelt sympathy to all people who have 
        been touched by the passing of John Paul II;
            (3) commends Pope John Paul II for his ability to transcend 
        the bounds of religion, race, and political thought, becoming a 
        formidable champion, uniter, and defender in humanity's 
        struggle for peace and basic human rights; and
            (4) calls on all the people of the United States to reflect 
        on the life and legacy of Pope John Paul II during this 
        international period of remembrance.
                                 <all>
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