Pope John Paul II

Saint

1920-05-18 – 2005-04-02

Pope John Paul II led the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005 and was one of the longest-serving modern popes. He played a major global role in late 20th-century religious and political life.

Books by Pope John Paul II

Love and Responsibility
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Evangelium vitae
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Encyclical Redemptor hominis of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II
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Quotes by Pope John Paul II

The historical experience of socialist countries has sadly demonstrated that collectivism does not do away with alienation but rather increases it, adding to it a lack of basic necessities and economic inefficiency.
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Stupidity is also a gift of God, but one mustn't misuse it.
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I kiss the soil as if I placed a kiss on the hands of a mother, for the homeland is our earthly mother. I consider it my duty to be with my compatriots in this sublime and difficult moment.
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Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes.
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You are priests, not social or political leaders. Let us not be under the illusion that we are serving the Gospel through an exaggerated interest in the wide field of temporal problems.
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The future starts today, not tomorrow.
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I have a sweet tooth for song and music. This is my Polish sin.
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Pervading nationalism imposes its dominion on man today in many different forms and with an aggressiveness that spares no one. The challenge that is already with us is the temptation to accept as true freedom what in reality is only a new form of slavery.
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The cemetery of the victims of human cruelty in our century is extended to include yet another vast cemetery, that of the unborn.
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The United Nations organization has proclaimed 1979 as the Year of the Child. Are the children to receive the arms race from us as a necessary inheritance?
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Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.
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The unworthy successor of Peter who desires to benefit from the immeasurable wealth of Christ feels the great need of your assistance, your prayers, your sacrifice, and he most humbly asks this of you.
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Today, for the first time in history, a Bishop of Rome sets foot on English soil. This fair land, once a distant outpost of the pagan world, has become, through the preaching of the Gospel, a beloved and gifted portion of Christ's vineyard.
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Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create.
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The vow of celibacy is a matter of keeping one's word to Christ and the Church. a duty and a proof of the priest's inner maturity; it is the expression of his personal dignity.
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You will reciprocally promise love, loyalty and matrimonial honesty. We only want for you this day that these words constitute the principle of your entire life and that with the help of divine grace you will observe these solemn vows that today, before God, you formulate.
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War is a defeat for humanity.
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Marriage is an act of will that signifies and involves a mutual gift, which unites the spouses and binds them to their eventual souls, with whom they make up a sole family - a domestic church.
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Radical changes in world politics leave America with a heightened responsibility to be, for the world, an example of a genuinely free, democratic, just and humane society.
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An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie, for an excuse is a lie guarded.
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