Statement by Sen. Dick Durbin Regarding the Passing of the Pope

STATEMENT BY SEN. DICK DURBIN REGARDING THE PASSING OF THE POPE

Saturday, April 2, 2005

"Until his final days, Pope John Paul II used his strength to speak out for peace and justice and to give voice to those who are too often forgotten: the poor, the sick, the weak, the victims of war. He was a messenger of human freedom, dignity and peace and his death is a loss to the entire world.

"Pope John Paul II was a man of uncompromising principle whose uncommon courage and compassion changed history. The spiritual power he helped channel in Poland - as much as any military power - is what ultimately brought down the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall. Throughout his long papacy, he continued to use the spiritual power of love and reconciliation to tear down old walls dividing people of different faiths and nations.

"At the end of his second visit to America in 1987, the Pope told a group of followers, ‘I would urge you to continue your personal involvement in the never-ending quest for justice and peace.' To continue that work is the best way any of us can honor the memory and life of this extraordinary man."

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=235246&&