POPE JOHN PAUL II IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM OF THE CHURCH
Pope John Paul II, leader of the Roman Catholic Church since 1978, has assumed a greater political role in world affairs than any other pope in the modern age. Fluent in eight languages, author of countless scholarly books and dissertations, and ceaseless traveler of the world at large, Pope John Paul II has extended his influence into the farthest reaches of the planet. He is the first Pope in modern times to set foot in a synagogue and to visit an Islamic country(The Economist, 26). His ultimate driving determination: to re-Christianize a world that has lost its moral center. In this pursuit, John Paul has been characterized by his conservatism, his support for morality and tradition, and his condemnation of materialism and secularism. Those who have sought a more liberal church over the last two decades have been frustrated by John Paul's reign, which has perhaps left its most damaging legacy on the issues of contraception and abortion(Woodward, 67).
In 1995, The Economist reported on Pope John Paul II's lasting political legacy, citing an extensive role in world affairs; John Paul, delivering criticisms abroad has "helped embolden opposition to an array of oppressive rulers who were later displaced, including Joao Baptista Figueirido of Brazil, Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, the Duvaliers of Haiti, Augusto Pinochet of Chileà" and more(23). His greatest worldly achievement, according to The Economist, "was to encourage, through his support for the Solidarity trade-union movementàthe beginnings of the collapse of the communist empire over which Stalin has presided"(1995, 23).
In a grand stroke for the papacy, in 1998 Pope John Paul II made a visit to Cuba, taking the opportunity to make a request of Fidel Castro for the release of hundreds of political prisoners. John Paul's appeal for the release of these "prisoners of conscience" als
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