CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—NOV. 19, 2003
117 STAT. 2961
Whereas Pope John Paul II, in his inaugural sermon, boldly offered hope to oppressed peoples around the world while causing authoritarian rulers to brace by proclaiming ‘‘open the boundaries of states, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid.’’; Whereas Pope John Paul II returned to his native Poland for 9 days in June 1979, unleashing patriotic and religious forces that would ultimately lead to the peaceful toppling of the communist regime in Poland and the dramatic demise of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union; Whereas Pope John Paul II, before visiting his native Poland in 1987, met with President Ronald Reagan, who recognized the fruits of His Holiness’ labors by stating ‘‘be assured that the hearts of the American people are with you. Our prayers will go with you in profound hope that the terrible burden of brave people everywhere who yearn for freedom, even as all men and women yearn for the freedom that God gave us all. * * * We see the power of the spiritual force in that troubled land, uniting a people in hope, just as we see the powerful stirrings in the East of a belief that will not die despite generations of oppression.
- * * For despite all the attempts to extinguish it, the people’s
faith burns with a passionate heat: once allowed to breathe free, that faith will burn so brightly it will light the world.’’; Whereas Pope John Paul II was recognized by Lady Margaret Thatcher to have ‘‘provided the main impetus for the revival of Solidarity and the pressure for reform [in his native Poland]’’; Whereas Pope John Paul II was acknowledged by Mikhail Gorbachev to have played an essential role in the liberation of those who lived under European communism when he stated ‘‘everything that happened in Eastern Europe * * * would have been impossible without this pope’’; Whereas Pope John Paul II carried on an active correspondence with world leaders during the 1980’s, involving the Church in efforts to promote peace by reducing tensions, and exerting his moral authority to persuade the superpowers to engage in a ‘‘dialogue’’ that succeeded in reducing conventional and nuclear weapons and helped to avert a nuclear war; Whereas Pope John Paul II has used public and private diplomacy and the power of moral suasion to encourage world leaders to respect the inalienable rights of the human person; Whereas Pope John Paul II, on May 13, 1981, was shot by a would-be assassin, and nevertheless provided a remarkable example of the power of grace, later visiting his attacker in prison, and stating afterwards ‘‘I spoke to him as I would speak to a brother whom I have forgiven and who enjoys my confidence’’; Whereas Pope John Paul II has ministered to Catholic and nonCatholic alike, providing a personal example of grace, endurance, compassion, courage, sacrifice, and foresight; Whereas Pope John Paul II has sought to heal divisions between the Catholic Church and other Christian faiths, the Jewish faith, and Islam, expressing sadness and regret for the individual acts of present and former Catholics who persecuted members of other faiths, and promoting reconciliation and dialogue through the first-ever Papal visits to synagogues and mosques, as well as
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