Adios, JP2!

I'm not a Catholic, so I don't share the reverence for the recently-departed Pope that Catholics do. I don't even share many of John Paul II's beliefs, particularly in the areas such as birth-control and capital punishment.

Still, it's my belief that he easily did more good than ill for humanity in his tenure as the head of the Catholic Church. He reached out to other faiths in a way never seen in previous Popes, and traveled the world gathering record crowds as he preached his message of faith.

We can only hope the next man elected to wear the Papal Tiara will emulate John Paul II and never put it on his head, opting like John Paul II to instead recognize the changing world around him, and adapt the role of the pontiff to match. The world is better off with a "Pilgrim Pope", not an autocrat on a throne.

Heh, any man that likes koalas has got to have a good heart!

Adios, el Papa! Vaya con Dios!