Pope John Paul Ii

EDM number 1013 in 2004-05, proposed by Kevin McNamara on 04/04/2005.

That this House expresses its sadness at the death of the Vicar of Christ, Pope John Paul II; offers its condolences to the Catholic people of the United Kingdom and beyond, particularly to the people of Poland; pays tribute to Pope John Paul II's immense and unique contribution to peace and justice in our world and his emphasis on the dignity and worth of every individual from conception to the grave; commends his witness in living a life of faith, dignity and courage when facing the evils of Naziism, communism and materialistic capitalism; recalls his determination to champion the weak and to remind the strong of their moral responsibility to the dispossessed; further recalls his support for the Solidarity movement in Poland and his par t in toppling communism in Eastern Europe; further recalls his reaching out to other faiths, particularly his gathering of all faith leaders in Assisi in 1987 to focus on what unites rather than what divides people of faith, and especially recalls his work towards reconciliation among the children of Abraham, culminating in his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2000; concurs with the words of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor that Pope John Paul II turned the papacy into a moral voice not just for Christians, but for all people of goodwill across the world; further recalls with pride that in the Millennium year he proclaimed the former Speaker of this House, Thomas More, the Patron Saint of Politicians; and trusts that he may rest in peace.

This motion has been signed by a total of 43 MPs.