The omnipresent papacy : Pope John Paul II on feminism, the youth, and Africa : religion

On April 2, 2005 Pope John Paul II died and, thereafter, the world witnessed an extraordinary outpouring of prayers, love and testimony about the saintliness of a simple Polish priest who became the first Slavic Pope and the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years. Born on May 18, 1920, Karol Jsef Wojtyla came from a working-class family, growing up in Nazi-occupied Poland. Becoming a priest in 1946, a meteoric rise made him in 1978 Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Thereafter, bestriding the latter one-third of the Twentieth Century stage like a spiritual colossus, he made the Church the global moral conscience, restoring it to its early New Testament evangelical roots through his many travels to far-flung corners of the world. The multi-layered legacy of his twenty-six year pontificate will for centuries engage the interest of the world for he impacted every vital area of modern life. Poet, actor, singer/composer, and well-versed in communication skills, his views had impact and provoked controversies. This essay examines his views on feminism, the world's youth and Africa.