Pope John Paul II died today at 9:37pm. I am not Catholic, nor am I truly a religious person, yet still I felt true sadness watching the people in St Peter's Square as they each dealt with their loss.

Catholicism is not something that I fully understand or agree with. I don't like to get into discussions normally simply for those reasons. I can debate the parts that I know of but I am sure that there is so much more. I have a problem with a religion that will forgive all if it is confessed before you die, however it is not a forgiving religion in the sense of living your life by your own choices. I believe in a loving god and I believe in the Bible, I just believe that the unconditional love that is preached is not always what is practiced. I guess that if you are a truly committed and practicing Catholic, then you are living within the laws of the Church so it would not matter to you.

Maybe part of the fact that I am jaded where this is concerned is that my parents had to get married in my grandmother's living room rather than a church because they both came from failed marriages unless of course they had permission from the Church, which from everything that I have read is not an easy process to go through without reinforcing the feeling of failure that you felt when the first marriage ended. That was okay with them, although I'm sure my grandparents would have liked to see them joined in a church. In a world where people get married too young or for the wrong reasons, my belief is that they deserve a second chance and be accepted, even welcomed, into a church family.

Anyway, enough of my personal views and back to the subject of the Pope's passing. This man is truly one of those rare people who have touched almost everyone at some point. I have been watching the biographies on his life and am amazed at the life he has led. And all while wearing his faith for all to see. I may not agree with everything that he stands for, however I cannot help but respect his views and the fact that he has never strayed from those views. Who would have thought that he was an actor or that he played hockey when in school? It's a fact that he was the first Pope to visit a Mosque, the first Pope to travel to other countries and the first Pope truly interested in the youth of the world. He has apologized to pretty much everyone for any injustices inflicted by the Catholics and accepted the blame as his own. In looking at him, in younger years and in more recent pictures, I have always been struck by the gentleness that he has about him and the serenity. It should be interesting to see if the next Pope will continue with the work that John Paul II has started. I doubt that there will be one that will endear himself to the people in the way that John Paul II did.

He was a giant among men, but still just a man and as with all mere mortals his time came today when he was taken from this world and welcomed into one where there is no more suffering and existence is eternal. That much I believe to be true.