John Paul II is enthusiastically revered by most Catholics for his evident personal holiness and iron will. He is highly-esteemed by non-Catholics the world over for his stand on moral principles and although many who praise him on this score are not bound by his strictures. But for progressive Catholics, and a vast marginalised faithful, he is perceived as a stumbling block and a contradiction.
Under John Paul II, Catholicism was almost a one-man show: the Vatican's publicity machine and large sections of the Catholic media ensure that his voice and words, his opinions and verdicts are broadcast daily and amplified throughout the world.....(to be contd)
(an excerpt from 'Breaking Faith'
by John Cornwell)
