Just another dreadful, out-of-date old man perched atop a vast criminal conspiracy.  During his most undistinguished tenure, the child molestation scandal that had been brewing for decades finally came to the surface, and this geriatric clown and the cover-up bureaucracy he ruled attempted to trivialize it.  Just a few bad apples, they explained, while conveniently leaving out that the church protected these sexual predators at the expense of the flock.  There was also quite a financial scandal there at the Vatican early on in his term that was swept under the rug, but, not before the Comptroller of the church hanged himself.  His adherance to outmoded notions of the RC on the use of condoms contributed mightly to the African AIDS epidemic.  And, with all the tremendous wealth of the Vatican, poor people were still living under bridges, or starving to death, all over the planet.  Maybe some of that money could have been put to better use than the purchase of a Popemobile.

This man was all about the "love of others",He was "great person" will be missed. Will be the biggest funeral any of us will see in our lifetime.

He was a brilliant and gentle man, mind you, but his ideas on Christian teachings don't mirror what the Bible says.

. . .he's been a member of 'the walking dead' for years. . .big deal.

He is a mighty historical figure. His contribution to the ending of Communism in the West is a great contribution to civilization.

I admired the way that he didn't try to force-feed righteousness to the world. Instead, he tried to make the world a better place by living as Jesus wants all of us to live.

The world will miss him more than anyone on this list, and so will I. I didn't always agree with him but he wasn't an elected president, he was the leader of the Catholic Church, and the Church will miss his steady, benevolent, conservative leadership.

Didn't know the guy.................why would I mourn? Being titled pope does not make one's life worth more than the kid who got his guts blown out by AK-47 down the street. Nobody cares. Not truly. Stop lying! You know the guy and mourn, or you don't and not give a damn. BE HONEST! We're all compassionate Americans here, right?

I have not mourned.I am glad that he has been put out of his pain and is suffering no more.Now I hope and believe that he has got his reward for giving so much service to the catholic church.I also believe that no other pope is going to be loved by so many people as he was.

I believe that John Paul II was the biggest loss to the world in 2005, although the loss of each and every person on this list was likewise regrettable because it's almost always sad to see a well-known figure pass on. If the TV coverage given to the Pope's death and funeral are any indication of the importance of the man, he was by far the most important person to die in decades. Likewise, the astounding number of people of virtually all faiths who paid their respects, either by going to Rome or by expressions of condolence, would seem to provide some idea as to the measure of his popularity, and how much of an impact he had in terms of connecting with people. PBeaver mentioned that he feels that John Paul II was too interested in the status quo; I would note that JP II was extremely conservative on some issues, yet almost a liberal poster boy on others. He certainly was unabashedly conservative or traditional on issues like abortion, homosexuality, and the role of women in the church, to name a few. He was what I'd term a liberal on issues such as the dignity and worth of each and every human (women and children included), compassion for the poor (he seems to have advocated some sort of income redistribution, near and dear to the hearts of committed liberals), peace and non-violence in relations between nations (again, pretty much liberal dogma), religious tolerance (his deep and genuine desire to reach out to Jews as the sort of cousins of Catholics), his outreach to young people and defense of children all, to some degree or other, were anti-status quo. Anyway, personally I wishe he had lived in good health for another ten years at least. I also wish he had taken a lot stronger stand over the sexual abuse scandal involving priests here in the US, and had really taken strong action against Cardinal Law of Boston. Overall, however, I think that John Paul II's loss has yet to be appreciated in its fullest sense.

Yes I have mourned him. I'm a Roman Catholic like him, but what he stood for was courageous. He treated all denominations with respect, he fought for freedom against Communism, and he stood against bigotry and anti-Semitism. He was a true pro-lifer. What I mean by that is that he was against abortion, against euthanasia, and against the death penalty. All of these religious freaks from the right aren't true pro-lifers. The same goes for liberals like myself. I'm not a true pro-lifer because I support abortion and euthanasia.

I am not upset by his death, because he lived a long life and accomplished so much, but instead remember him for the compassion and humanity that he showed not just for Catholics, but all Christians and all mankind. Regardless of his religious beliefs and power, he was a person of the people. He will be missed by many, and hopefully his successor will be able to somehow fit into his shoes.