III 

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 
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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 be-
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hind 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 firstever 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 
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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]’’; 
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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 nonCatholic 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 vis-
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its 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; 
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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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) notes with deep sorrow and solemn mourn3 ing the death of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II; 
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1 (2) extends its heartfelt sympathy to all people 

2 who have been touched by the passing of John Paul 

3 II; 

4 (3) commends Pope John Paul II for his ability 

5 to transcend the bounds of religion, race, and polit6 ical thought, becoming a formidable champion, 

7 uniter, and defender in humanity’s struggle for 

8 peace and basic human rights; and 

9 (4) calls on all the people of the United States 

10 to reflect on the life and legacy of Pope John Paul 

11 II during this international period of remembrance. 

Æ