With the death of Pope John Paul 11 a great iconic figure has departed from us.  
Pope John Paul II was essentially a man of God; the “ Servant of the Servants 
of God” as the Pope is described.  His service to the Church; the Catholic flock;
to other churches and to the wider community of humanity has been and will in 
the future be more clearly seen to have been very important.  In his teaching 
and in his statements the late Holy Father was a great defender of the values 
which all people of good will irrespective of their particular religions or 
political allegiances espouse.  The dignity of the human person as an individual 
and the defence of his or her rights was a recurring theme in his public statements 
and addresses.

The full impact of his teaching has not yet been fully understood, much less 
assimilated.  In the future it will become clearer that we had a prophetic 
figure in our midst for a quarter of a century, during a great cultural upheaval 
in the Church and in the world who read the signs of the times for us, interpreted 
them and gave us norms, standards and values which have universal application 
for the good order and the promotion of human rights and human dignity.  His 
legacy in this regard will come to be appreciated for the prophetic vision and 
insights with which he interpreted the signs of the times in which we live.

It was also the lot of Pope John Paul II to lead the Catholic Church through 
an unprecedented period of change, upheaval and challenge.  His cultural background, 
his story of faith, his wholeness as an individual, multi-talented, multi- lingual, 
his capacity to relate to people of all ages – most especially to youth, placed 
him in a unique position as a modern leader.  In recent years he did not allow
his physical infirmity and illness to divert him from discharging his mission.  
He continued faithful, diligent and committed to his task to the end.  In recent 
weeks he gave great witness in ennobling suffering and in dignifying it by the 
patience and the resignation which he so steadfastly demonstrated.  By coping 
with his illness, especially in recent weeks as he has done, he has been an 
encouragement and a hope to all who suffer or who are infirm.   

Even in the face of his impending death he truly lived out his first words to 
us as Pope “Do not be afraid.”  His faith sustained him throughout his life and 
at no time was this faith more evident than recently.  He continued to “Duc in 
altum” – launch out into the deep -  which were Christ’s words to the first Pope 
and which are applicable also to each one of us.  

Pope John Paul will be numbered among the great teaching Popes.  All Popes are 
teachers but Pope John Paul was a leader of extraordinary talent, incisiveness 
and profundity.  He has left a valuable legacy of Catholic teaching to future 
generations.  While some of his gems of teaching and instruction may not have 
received the attention or much less the application desired by him, a time will 
come when much greater attention and application will be paid to them. 

We commend his soul to the mercy and the love of Jesus, whom he represented so
generously and so faithfully for a quarter of a century as Pope.  May the hope 
which the risen Christ proclaimed so consistently become a reality for him.     
+Seamus Hegarty
Bishop of Derry
4 April 2005