Honoring the life and achievements of His Holiness Pope John Paul II and expressing profound sorrow on his death.

Mr. Speaker, I was honored to support H. Res. 190, a resolution passed April 6 that commended the life and achievements of His Holiness Pope John Paul II. Likewise, I am proud to say I was the lead sponsor of legislation that was passed by the House and Senate in 2003, House Concurrent Resolution 313, that urged President Bush to present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Pope. Thankfully, President Bush did just that in June of last year.

In a time when many leaders look to the polls and test political winds for guidance, Pope John Paul II stood unflinching at the center of the most controversial moral debates of our time, and held firm, always supporting the sanctity and dignity of every human life. His presence will be sorely missed, but his accomplishments will long be relished.

Mr. Speaker, as a reminder of the Pope's enduring and historic contributions to world peace, human freedom and to the security and national interests of the United States, I request that the following remarks that I delivered on the House floor on November 18, 2003 be printed in the Record.

Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman

from Florida. I rise to pay tribute to His Holiness, Pope

John Paul II, who in October marked his 25th year as Bishop

of Rome and Supreme Pastor of the Catholic Church.

I also wish to offer my sincere appreciation to all my

friends and colleagues in the House who have joined together

to urge the President to present the Medal of Freedom to Pope

John Paul II.

The celebration of the Silver Jubilee of Pope John Paul

II's pontificate is but the latest in a series of remarkable

milestones that have characterized his life and his ministry.

From his birth on May 18, 1920, Karol Jozef Wojtyla's life

has been intertwined with the fate of his native Poland and

synonymous with the struggle for his individual freedom and

dignity.

In 1978 when then-Cardinal Wojtyla, the Archbishop of

Krakow, was elected Pope, the world was a much different

place. For the more than 3 decades since Winston Churchill

delivered his famous ``Iron Curtain'' speech, people around

the world prepared for what many regarded as the inevitable

new war that would someday engulf the East and the West. To

win the Cold War, geopolitical strategists honed and

implemented various policies including the doctrines of

containment and mutual-assured destruction.

At this pivotal moment in history, when the status quo

included the subjugation of half the populations of Europe

and the omnipresent threat of nuclear annihilation, a

remarkable and energetic new Pope set foot on the world

stage. To many in the West, this new Polish Pope was an

unknown entity. While we recognized immediately his energy,

courage and leadership, these same qualities were reviewed

with suspicion by some in the East, particularly the

communist rulers in Poland.

Pope John Paul II's commitment to freedom, his affection

for his native Poland, and the devotion of his countrymen to

him were never more evident than the summer of 1980. That

August, the Solidarity Workers Union, which Cardinal Wojtyla

had nurtured and protected, organized a peaceful strike at

the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk.

With the Pope's portrait suddenly appearing everywhere and

the admonition from his inaugural sermon, ``Do not be

afraid,'' on the lips of the workers, his support and

reassurance provided vital sustenance for the strikers and

ignited a spiritual spark in their struggle to secure dignity

and freedom. Ultimately, that spark would lead to the demise

of Soviet communism and the liberation of hundreds of

millions in Eastern and Central Europe.

History has recorded the remarkable achievement of Pope

John Paul II and his relentless advocacy in pursuit of

individual dignity, freedom, and peace. The Pope has not

confined his efforts solely to the struggle against

totalitarianism. He has engaged wherever people are

downtrodden and oppressed.

Mr. Speaker, the Congress should pass House Concurrent

Resolution 313 and urge the President to present the Medal of

Freedom, our Nation's highest civilian award, to His

Holiness.

In authorizing the first Medals of Freedom in 1963,

President Kennedy proclaimed that persons who have made

especially meritorious contributions to the security or

national interests of the United States, world peace or

cultural or other significant public or private endeavors

should be so recognized. By any measure it is apparent that

there is no individual more deserving of this recognition

than Pope John Paul II.

Two other recipients of the Medal of Freedom, President

Ronald Reagan and Lady Margaret Thatcher, shared the Pope's

commitment to Solidarity in the 1980s. In my estimation,

their leadership changed the course of human history. In

1984, while welcoming the Pope to the United States,

President Reagan spoke of the connection between freedom, the

founding of our own Nation, and America's debt to His

Holiness.

President Reagan stated, ``I can assure you, Your Holiness,

that the American people seek to act as a force for peace in

the world and to further the cause of human freedom and

dignity. Indeed, an appreciation for the unalienable rights

of every human being is the very concept that gave birth to

this Nation. Few have understood better than our Nation's

founding fathers that claims of human dignity transcend the

claims of any government, and this transcendent right itself

has a transcendent source.''

The President went on to state, ``To us, Your Holiness, the

Holy See and your pastorate represent one of humanity's

greatest moral and spiritual forces,'' and ``your words, your

prayers and your example have made you, for those who suffer

oppression or the violence of war, a source of solace,

inspiration and hope.'' It is no exaggeration to recognize

that this remarkable man has brought hope, comfort and faith

to literally billions of people around the world during the

course of his ministry.

Three weeks ago today I was honored to be joined by 30

Members of the House in introducing this resolution. Since

that time we have gained additional support for which I am

grateful, and I particularly appreciate the work of the

gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) and the Committee on

Government Reform who reported our resolution to the floor in

such a timely manner.

As stated previously, our bipartisan resolution calls upon

the President on behalf of all the people of the United

States, to present the Medal of Freedom to Pope John Paul II

as a sign of our gratitude for his significant, enduring, and

historic contributions to the causes of freedom, human

dignity, and peace. We urge the President to do so without

delay.

Finally, I include an article by Carl Bernstein entitled

``The Holy Alliance,'' which appeared in the February 24,

1992, edition of Time, as well as an article by Father Robert

A. Sirico entitled ``The Cold War's Magnificent Seven; Pope

John Paul II; Awakener of the East,'' which was published in

the Winter 1992 edition of Policy Review.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would invoke President Reagan

once more. When asked his assessment of the Pope before

meeting him the first time, the President replied, ``He is an

example of what so many people have always said about

Christian and Judaic tradition, and that is, that when really

needed, God provides a man. And I think in Pope John Paul he

did just that.''

Billions around the world are thankful that God has

provided such a man.

The articles referred to are as follows:

[From Time Magazine, Feb. 24, 1992]

The Holy Alliance

(By Carl Bernstein)

Only President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II were

present in the Vatican Library on Monday, June 7, 1982. It

was the first time the two had met, and they talked for 50

minutes. In the same wing of the papal apartments, Agostino

Cardinal Casaroli and Archbishop Achille Silvestrini met with

Secretary of State Alexander Haig and Judge William Clark,

Reagan's National Security Adviser. Most of their discussion

focused on Israel's invasion of Lebanon, then in its second

day; Haig told them Prime Minister Menachem Begin had assured

him that the invasion would not go farther than 25 miles

inside Lebanon.

But Reagan and the Pope spent only a few minutes reviewing

events in the Middle East. Instead they remained focused on a

subject much closer to their heart: Poland and the Soviet

dominance of Eastern Europe. In that meeting, Reagan and the

Pope agreed to undertake a clandestine campaign to hasten the

dissolution of the communist empire. Declares Richard Allen,

Reagan's first National Security Adviser: ``This was one of

the great secret alliances of all time.''

The operation was focused on Poland, the most populous of

the Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe and the birthplace of

John Paul II. Both the Pope and the President were convinced

that Poland could be broken out of the Soviet orbit if the

Vatican and the U.S. committed their resources to

destabilizing the Polish government and keeping the outlawed

Solidarity movement alive after the declaration of martial

law in 1981.

Until Solidarity's legal status was restored in 1989 it

flourished underground, supplied, nurtured and advised

largely by the network established under the auspices of

Reagan and John Paul II. Tons of equipment--fax machines (the

first in Poland), printing presses, transmitters, telephones,

shortwave radios, video cameras, photocopiers, telex

machines, computers, word processors--were smuggled into

Poland via channels established by priests and American

agents and representatives of the AFL-CIO and European labor

movements. Money for the banned union came from CIA funds,

the National Endowment for Democracy, secret accounts in the

Vatican and Western trade unions.

Lech Walesa and other leaders of Solidarity received

strategic advice--often conveyed by priests or American and

European labor experts working undercover in Poland--that

reflected the thinking of the Vatican and the Reagan

Administration. As the effectiveness of the resistance grew,

the stream of information to the West about the internal

decisions of the Polish government and the contents of

Warsaw's communications with Moscow became a flood. The

details came not only from priests but also from spies within

the Polish government.

down with yalta

According to aides who shared their leaders' view of the

world, Reagan and John Paul II refused to accept a

fundamental political fact of their lifetimes: the division

of Europe as mandated at Yalta and the communist dominance of

Eastern Europe. A free, noncommunist Poland, they were

convinced, would be a dagger to the heart of the Soviet

empire; and if Poland became democratic, other East European

states would follow.

``We both felt that a great mistake had been made at Yalta

and something should be done,'' Reagan says today.

``Solidarity was the very weapon for bringing this about,

because it was an organization of the laborers of Poland.''

Nothing quite like Solidarity had ever existed in Eastern

Europe, Reagan notes, adding that the workers' union ``was

contrary to anything the Soviets would want or the communists

[in Poland] would want.''

According to Solidarity leaders, Walesa and his lieutenants

were aware that both Reagan and John Paul II were committed

to Solidarity's survival, but they could only guess at the

extent of the collaboration. ``Officially I didn't know the

church was working with the U.S.,'' says Wojciech Adamiecki,

the organizer and editor of underground Solidarity newspapers

and now a counselor at the Polish embassy in Washington. ``We

were told the Pope had warned the Soviets that if they

entered Poland he would fly to Poland and stay with the

Polish people. The church was of primary assistance. It was

half open, half secret. Open as far as humanitarian aid--

food, money, medicine, doctors' consultations held in

churches, for instance--and secret as far as supporting

political activities: distributing printing machines of all

kinds, giving us a place for underground meetings, organizing

special demonstrations.''

At their first meeting, Reagan and John Paul II discussed

something else they had in common: both had survived

assassination attempts only six weeks apart in 1981, and both

believed God had saved them for a special mission. ``A close

friend of Ronald Reagan's told me the President said, `Look

how the evil forces were put in our way and how Providence

intervened,' '' says Pio Cardinal Laghi, the former apostolic

delegate to Washington. According to National Security

Adviser Clark, the Pope and Reagan referred to the

``miraculous'' fact that they had survived. Clark said the

men shared ``a unity of spiritual view and a unity of vision

on the Soviet empire: that right or correctness would

ultimately prevail in the divine plan.''

``Reagan came in with very simple and strongly held

views,'' says Admiral Bobby Inman, former deputy director of

the CIA. ``It is a valid point of view that he saw the

collapse [of communism] coming and he pushed it--hard.''

During the first half of 1982, a five-part strategy emerged

that was aimed at bringing about the collapse of the Soviet

economy, fraying the ties that bound the U.S.S.R. to its

client states in the Warsaw Pact and forcing reform inside

the Soviet empire. Elements of that strategy included:

The U.S. defense buildup already under way, aimed at making

it too costly for the Soviets to compete militarily with the

U.S. Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative--Star Wars--became

a centerpiece of the strategy.

Covert operations aimed at encouraging reform movements in

Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland.

Financial aid to Warsaw Pact nations calibrated to their

willingness to protect human rights and undertake political

and free-market reforms.

Economic isolation of the Soviet Union and the withholding

of Western and Japanese technology from Moscow. The

Administration focused on denying the U.S.S.R. what it had

hoped would be its principal source of hard currency in the

21st century: profits from a transcontinental pipeline to

supply natural gas to Western Europe. The 3,600-mile-long

pipeline, stretching from Siberia to France, opened on time

on Jan. 1, 1984, but on a far smaller scale than the Soviets

had hoped.

Increased use of Radio Liberty, Voice of America and Radio

Free Europe to transmit the Administration's messages to the

people of Eastern Europe.

Yet in 1982 neither Reagan nor the Pope could anticipate

the accession of a Soviet leader like Mikhail Gorbachev, the

father of glasnost and perestroika; his efforts at reform

unleashed powerful forces that spun out of his control and

led to the breakup of the Soviet Union. The Washington-

Vatican alliance ``didn't cause the fall of communism,''

observes a U.S. official familiar with the details of the

plot to keep Solidarity alive. ``Like all great and lucky

leaders, the Pope

and the President exploited the forces of history to their

own ends.''

the crackdown

The campaign by Washington and the Vatican to keep

Solidarity alive began immediately after General Wojciech

Jaruzelski declared martial law on Dec. 13, 1981. In those

dark hours, Poland's communications with the noncommunist

world were cut; 6,000 leaders of Solidarity were detained;

hundreds were charged with treason, subversion and

counterrevolution; nine were killed; and the union was

banned. But thousands of others went into hiding, many

seeking protection in churches, rectories and with priests.

Authorities took Walesa into custody and interned him in a

remote hunting lodge.

Shortly after Polish security forces moved into the

streets, Reagan called the Pope for his advice. At a service

of meetings over the next few days, Reagan discussed his

options. ``We had a massive row in the Cabinet and the

National Security Council about putting together a menu of

counteractions,'' former Secretary of State Haig recalls.

``They ranged from sanctions that would have been crushing in

their impact on Poland to talking so tough that we would have

risked creating another situation like Hungary in '56 or

Czechoslovakia in '68.''

Haig dispatched Ambassador at Large Vernon Walters, a

devout Roman Catholic, to meet with John Paul II. Walters

arrived in Rome soon after, and met separately with the Pope

and with Cardinal Casaroli, the Vatican secretary of state.

Both sides agreed that Solidarity's flame must not be

extinguished, that the Soviets must become the focus of an

international campaign of isolation, and that the Polish

government must be subjected to moral and limited economic

pressure.

According to U.S. intelligence sources, the Pope had

already advised Walcsa through church channels to keep his

movement operating underground, and to pass the word to

Solidarity's 10 million members not to go into the streets

and risk provoking Warsaw Pact intervention or civil war with

Polish security forces. Because the communists had cut the

direct phone lines between Poland and the Vatican, John Paul

II communicated with Jozef Cardinal Glemp in Warsaw via

radio. He also dispatched his envoys to Poland to report on

the situation. ``The Vatican's information was absolutely

better and quicker than ours in every respect,'' says Haig.

``Though we had some excellent sources of our own, our

information was taking too long to filter through the

intelligence bureaucracy.''

In the first hours of the crisis, Reagan ordered that the

Pope receive as quickly as possible relevant American

intelligence, including information from a Polish Deputy

Minister of Defense who was secretly reporting to the CIA.

Washington also handed over to the Vatican reports and

analysis from Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski, a senior member of

the Polish general staff, who was a CIA informant until

November 1981, when he had to be smuggled out of Poland after

he warned that the Soviets were prepared to invade if the

Polish government did not impose martial law. Kuklinski had

issued a similar warning about a Soviet military action in

late 1980, which led the outgoing Carter Administration to

send secret messages to Leonid Brezhnev informing him that

among the costs of an invasion would be the sale of

sophisticated U.S. weapons to China. This time, Kuklinski

reported to Washington, Brezhnev had grown more impatient,

and a disastrous harvest at home meant that the Kremlin did

not need mechanized army units to help bring in the crops and

instead could spare them for an invasion. ``Anything that we

knew that we thought the Pope would not be aware of, we

certainly brought it to his attention,'' says Reagan.

``Immediately.''

the catholic team

The key Administration players were all devout Roman

Catholics--CIA chief William Casey, Allen, Clark, Haig,

Walters and William Wilson, Reagan's first ambassador to the

Vatican. They regarded the U.S.-Vatican relationship as a

holy alliance: the moral force of the Pope and the teachings

of their church combined with their fierce anticommunism and

their notion of American democracy. Yet the mission would

have been impossible without the full support of Reagan, who

believed fervently in both the benefits and the practical

applications of Washington's relationship with the Vatican.

One of his earliest goals as President, Reagan says, was to

recognize the Vatican as a state ``and make them an ally.''

According to Admiral John Poindexter, the military

assistant to the National Security Adviser when martial law

was declared in Poland, Reagan was convinced that the

communists had made a huge miscalculation: after allowing

Solidarity to operate openly for 16 months before the

crackdown, the Polish government would only alienate its

countrymen by attempting to cripple the labor movement and,

most important, would bring the powerful church into direct

conflict with the Polish regime. ``I didn't think that this

[the decision to impose martial law and crush Solidarity]

could stand, because of the history of Poland and the

religious aspect and all,'' Reagan says. Says Cardinal

Casaroli: ``There was a real coincidence of interests between

the U.S. and the Vatican.''

The major decisions on funneling aid to Solidarity and

responding to the Polish and Soviet governments were made by

Reagan, Casey and Clark, in consultation with John Paul

II. ``Reagan understood these things quite well, including

the covert side,'' says Richard Pipes, the conservative

Polish-born scholar who headed the NSC's Soviet and East-

European desks. ``The President talked about the evil of

the Soviet system--not its people--and how we had to do

everything possible to help these people in Solidarity who

were struggling for freedom. People like Haig and Commerce

Secretary Malcolm Baldrige and James Baker [White House

chief of staff at the time] thought it wasn't realistic.

George Bush never said a word. I used to sit behind him,

and I never knew what his opinions were. But Reagan really

understood what was at stake.''

By most accounts, Casey stepped into the vacuum in the

first days after the declaration of martial law in Poland

and--as he did in Central America--became the principal

policy architect. Meanwhile Pipes and the NSC staff began

drafting proposals for sanctions. ``The object was to drain

the Soviets and to lay blame for martial law at their

doorstep,'' says Pipes. ``The sanctions were coordinated with

Special Operations [the CIA division in charge of covert task

forces], and the first objective was to keep Solidarity alive

by supplying money, communications and equipment.''

``The church was trying to modulate the whole situation,''

explains one of the NSC officials who directed the effort to

curtail the pipeline. ``They [church leaders] were in effect

trying to create circumstances that would head off the

serious threat of Soviet intervention while allowing us to

get tougher and tougher; they were part and parcel of

virtually all of our deliberations in terms of how we viewed

the evolution of government-sponsored repression in Poland--

whether it was lessening or getting worse, and how we should

proceed.''

As for his conversations with Reagan about Poland, Clark

says they were usually short. ``I don't think I ever had an

in-depth, one-on-one, private conversation that existed for

more than three minutes with him--on any subject. That might

shock you. We had our own code of communication. I knew where

he wanted to go on Poland. And that was to take it to its nth

possibilities. The President and Casey and I discussed the

situation on the ground in Poland constantly: covert

operations; who was doing what, where, why and how; and the

chances of success.'' According to Clark, he and Casey

directed that the President's daily brief--the PDB, an

intelligence summary prepared by the CIA--include a special

supplement on secret operations and analysis in Poland.

The Pope himself, not only his deputies, met with American

officials to assess events in Poland and the effectiveness of

American actions and sent back messages--sometimes by letter,

sometimes orally--to Reagan. On almost all his trips to

Europe and the Middle East, Casey flew first to Rome, so that

he could meet with John Paul II and exchange information. But

the principal emissary between Washington and Rome remained

Walters, a former deputy director of the CIA who worked

easily with Casey. Walters met with the Pope perhaps a dozen

times, according to Vatican sources. ``Walters was sent to

and from the Vatican for the specific purpose of carrying

messages between the Pope and the President,'' says former

U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Wilson. ``It wasn't supposed

to be known that Walters was there. It wasn't all

specifically geared to Poland; sometimes there were also

discussions about Central America or the hostages in

Lebanon.''

Often in the Reagan years, American covert operations

(including those in Afghanistan, Nicaragua and Angola)

involved ``lethal assistance'' to insurgent forces: arms,

mercenaries, military advisers and explosives. In Poland the

Pope, the President and Casey embarked on the opposite path:

``What they had to do was let the natural forces already in

place play this out and not get their fingerprints on it,''

explains a analyst. What emerges from the Reagan-Casey

collaboration is a carefully calibrated operation whose scope

was modest compared with other CIA activities. ``If Casey

were around now, he'd be having some smiles,'' observes one

of his reluctant admirers. ``In 1991 Reagan and Casey got the

reordering of the world that they wanted.''

the secret directive

Less than three weeks before his meeting with the Pope in

1982, the President signed a secret national-security-

decision directive (NSDD 32) that authorized a range of

economic, diplomatic and covert measures to ``neutralize

efforts of the U.S.S.R.'' to maintain its hold on Eastern

Europe. In practical terms, the most important covert

operations undertaken were those inside Poland. The primary

purposes of NSDD 32 were to destabilize the Polish government

through covert operations involving propaganda and

organizational aid to Solidarity; the promotion of human

rights, particularly those related to the right of worship

and the Catholic Church; economic pressure; and diplomatic

isolation of the communist regime. The document, citing the

need to defend democratic reform efforts throughout the

Soviet empire, also called for increasing propaganda and

underground broadcasting operations in Eastern Europe,

actions that Reagan's aides and dissidents in Eastern Europe

believe were particularly helpful in chipping away at the

notion of Soviet invincibility.

As Republican Congressman Henry Hyde, a member of the House

Intelligence Committee from 1985 to 1990, who was apprised of

some of the Administration's covert actions, observes, ``In

Poland we did all of the things

that are done in countries where you want to destabilize a

communist government and strengthen resistance to that. We

provided the supplies and technical assistance in terms of

clandestine newspapers, broadcasting, propaganda, money,

organizational help and advice. And working outward from

Poland, the same kind of resistance was organized in the

other communist countries of Europe.''

Among those who played a consulting role was Zbigniew

Brzezinski, a native of Poland and President Jimmy Carter's

National Security Adviser. ``I got along very well with

Casey,'' recalls Brzezinski. ``He was very flexible and very

imaginative and not very bureaucratic; if something needed to

be done, it was done. To sustain an underground effort takes

a lot in terms of supplies, networks, etc., and this is why

Solidarity wasn't crushed.''

On military questions, American intelligence was better

than the Vatican's, but the church excelled in its

evaluations of the political situation. And in understanding

the mood of the people and communicating with the Solidarity

leadership, the church was in an incomparable position. ``Our

information about Poland was very well founded because the

bishops were in continual contact with the Holy See and

Solidarnosc,'' explains Cardinal Silvestrini, the Vatican's

deputy secretary of state at that time. ``They informed us

about prisoners, about the activities and needs of Solidarity

groups and about the attitude and schisms in the

government.'' All this information was communicated to the

President or Casey.

``If you study the situation of Solidarity, you see they

acted very cleverly, without pressing too much at the crucial

moments, because they had guidance from the church,'' says

one of the Pope's closest aides. ``Yes, there were times we

restrained Solidarnosc. But Poland was a bomb that could

explode--in the heart of communism, bordered by the Soviet

Union, Czechoslovakia and East Germany. Too much pressure,

and the bomb would go off.''

casey's cappuccino

Meanwhile, in Washington a close relationship developed

between Casey, Clark and Archbishop Laghi. ``Casey and I

dropped into his [Laghi's] residence early mornings during

critical times to gather his comments and counsel,'' says

Clark. ``We'd have breakfast and coffee and discuss what was

being done in Poland. I'd speak to him frequently on the

phone, and he would be in touch with the Pope.'' Says Laghi:

``They liked good cappuccino. Occasionally we might talk

about Central America or the church position on birth

control. But usually the subject was Poland.''

``Almost everything having to do with Poland was handled

outside of normal State Department channels and would go

through Casey and Clark,'' says Robert McFarlane, who served

as a deputy to both Clark and Haig and later as National

Security Adviser to the President. ``I knew that they were

meeting with Pio Laghi, and that Pio Laghi had been to see

the President, but Clark would never tell me what the

substance of the discussions was.''

On at least six occasions Laghi came to the White House and

met with Clark or the President; each time, he entered the

White House through the southwest gate in order to avoid

reports. ``By keeping in such close touch, we did not cross

lines,'' says Laghi. ``My role was primarily to facilitate

meetings between Walters and the Holy Father. The Holy Father

knew his people. It was a very complex situation--how to

insist on human rights, on religious freedom, and keep

Solidarity alive without provoking the communist authorities

further. But I told Vernon, `Listen to the Holy Father. We

have 2,000 years' experience at this.' ''

Though William Casey has been vilified for aspects of his

tenure as CIA chief, there is no criticism of his instincts

on Poland. ``Basically, he had a quiet confidence that the

communists couldn't hold on, especially in Poland,'' says

former Congressman Edward Derwinski, a Polish-speaking expert

on Eastern Europe who counseled the Administration and met

with Casey frequently. ``He was convinced the system was

falling and doomed to collapse one way or another--and Poland

was the force that would lead to the dam breaking. He

demanded a constant [CIA] focus on Eastern Europe. It wasn't

noticed, because other stories were more controversial and

were perking at the moment--Nicaragua and Salvador.''

In Poland, Casey conducted the kind of old-style operation

that he relished, something he might have done in his days at

the Office of Strategic Services during World War II or in

the early years of the CIA, when the democracies of Western

Europe rose from the ashes of World War II. It was through

Casey's contacts, his associates say, that elements of the

Socialist International were organized on behalf of

Solidarity--just as the Social Democratic parties of Western

Europe had been used as an instrument of American policy by

the CIA in helping to create anticommunist governments after

the war. And this time the objective was akin to creating a

Christian Democratic majority in Poland--with the church

and the overwhelmingly Catholic membership of Solidarity

as the dominant political force in a post communist

Poland. Through his contacts with leaders of the Socialist

International, including officials of socialist

governments in France and Sweden, Casey ensured that

tactical assistance was available on the continent and at

sea to move goods into Poland. ``This wasn't about

spending huge amounts of money,'' says Brzezinski. ``It

was about getting the message out and resisting: books,

communications equipment, propaganda, ink and printing

presses.''

Look for the Union Label

In almost every city and town, underground newspapers and

mimeographed bulletins appeared, challenging the state-

controlled media. The church published its own newspapers.

Solidarity missives, photocopied and mimeographed on

American-supplied equipment, were tacked to church bulletin

boards. Stenciled posters were boldly posted on police

stations and government buildings and even on entrances to

the state-controlled television center, where army officers

broadcast the news.

The American embassy in Warsaw became the pivotal CIA

station in the communist world and, by all accounts, the most

effective. Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO, which had been the largest

source of American support for Solidarity before martial law,

regarded the Reagan Administration's approach as too slow and

insufficiently confrontational with the Polish authorities.

Nonetheless, according to intelligence sources, AFL-CIO

president Lane Kirkland and his aide Tom Kahn consulted

frequently with Poindexter, Clark and other officials at the

State Department and the NSC on such matters as how and when

to move goods and supplies into Poland, identifying cities

where Solidarity was in particular need of organizing

assistance, and examining how Solidarity and the AFL-CIO

might collaborate in the preparation of propaganda materials.

``Lane Kirkland deserves special credit,'' observes

Derwinski. ``They don't like to admit [it], but they

literally were in lockstep [with the Administration]. Also

never forget that Bill Clark's wife is Czechoslovak, as is

Lane Kirkland's wife. This is one issue where everybody was

aboard; there were no turf fights or mavericks or

naysayers.''

But AFL-CIO officials were never aware of the extent of

clandestine U.S. assistance, or the Administration's reliance

on the church for guidance regarding how hard to push Polish

and Soviet authorities. Casey was wary of ``contaminating''

the American and European labor movements by giving them too

many details of the Administration's efforts. And indeed this

was not strictly a CIA operation. Rather, it was a blend of

covert and overt, public policy and secret alliances. Casey

recognized that in many instances the AFL-CIO was more

imaginative than his own operatives in providing

organizational assistance to Solidarity and smuggling

equipment into the country. According to former deputy CIA

director Inman, Casey decided that the American labor

movement's relationship with Solidarity was so good that much

of what the CIA needed could be financed and obtained through

AFL-CIO channels. ``Financial support wasn't what they

needed,'' says Inman. ``It was organization, and that was an

infinitely better way to help them than through classic

covert operations.''

The Solidarity office in Brussels became an international

clearinghouse: for representatives of the Vatican, for CIA

operatives, for the AFL-CIO, for representatives of the

Socialist International, for the congressionally funded

National Endowment for Democracy, which also worked

closely with Casey. It was the place where Solidarity told

its backers--some of whose real identities were unknown to

Solidarity itself--what it needed, where goods and

supplies and organizers could be most useful. Priests,

couriers, labor organizers and intelligence operatives

moved in and out of Poland with requests for aid and with

detailed information on the situation inside the

government and the underground. Food and clothing and

money to pay fines of Solidarity leaders who were brought

before Polish courts poured into the country. Inside

Poland, a network of priests carried messages back and

forth between the churches where many of Solidarity's

leaders were in hiding.

In the summer of 1984, when the sanctions against Poland

seemed to be hurting ordinary Poles and not the communists,

Laghi traveled to Santa Barbara to meet with Reagan at the

Western White House and urge that some of the sanctions be

lifted. The Administration complied. At the same time, the

White House, in close consultation with the Vatican, refused

to ease its economic pressures on Moscow--denying technology,

food and cultural exchanges as the price for continuing

oppression in Poland.

Much of the equipment destined for Solidarity arrived in

Poland by ship--often packed in mismarked containers sent

from Denmark and Sweden, then unloaded at Gdansk and other

ports by dockers secretly working with Solidarity. According

to Administration officials, the socialist government of

Sweden--and Swedish labor unions--played a crucial role in

arranging the transshipment of goods to Poland. From the

Polish docks, equipment moved to its destination in trucks

and private cars driven by Solidarity sympathizers who often

used churches and priests as their point of contact for

deliveries and pickups.

``solidarity lives!''

``The Administration plugged into the church across the

board,'' observes Derwinski, now Secretary of Veterans

Affairs. ``Not just through the church hierarchy but through

individual churches and

bishops. Monsignor Bronislaw Dabrowski, a deputy to Cardinal

Glemp, came to use often to tell us what was needed: he would

meet with me, with Casey, the NSC and sometimes with

Walters.'' John Cardinal Krol of Philadelphia, whose father

was born in Poland, was the American churchman closest to the

Pope. He frequently met with Casey to discuss support for

Solidarity and covert operations, according to CIA sources

and Derwinski. ``Krol hit it off very well with President

Reagan and was a source of constant advice and contact,''

says Derwinski. ``Often he was the one Casey or Clark went

to, the one who really understood the situation.''

By 1985 it was apparent that the Polish government's

campaign to suppress Solidarity had failed. According to a

report by Adrian Karatnycky, who helped organize the AFL-

CIO's assistance to Solidarity, there were more than 400

underground periodicals appearing in Poland, some with a

circulation that exceeded 30,000. Books and pamphlets

challenging the authority of the communist government were

printed by the thousands. Comic books for children recast

Polish fables and legends, with Jaruzelski pictured as the

villain, communism as the red dragon and Walesa as the heroic

knight. In church basements and homes, millions of viewers

watched documentary videos produced and screened on

the equipment smuggled into the country.

With clandestine broadcasting equipment supplied by the CIA

and the AFL-CIO, Solidarity regularly broke into the

government's radio programming, often with the message

``Solidarity lives!'' or ``Resist!'' Armed with a transmitter

supplied by the CIA through church channels, Solidarity

interrupted television programming with both audio and visual

messages, including calls for strikes and demonstrations.

``There was a great moment at the half time of the national

soccer championship,'' says a Vatican official. ``Just as the

whistle sounded for the half, a Solidarity Lives! banner went

up on the screen and a tape came on calling for resistance.

What was particularly ingenious was waiting for the half-time

break; had the interruption come during actual soccer play,

it could have alienated people.'' As Brzezinski sums it up,

``This was the first time that communist police suppression

didn't succeed.''

``Nobody believed the collapse of communism would happen

this fast or on this timetable,'' says a cardinal who is one

of the Pope's closest aides. ``But in their first meeting,

the holy Father and the President committed themselves and

the institutions of the church and America to such a goal.

And from that day, the focus was to bring it about in

Poland.''

Step by reluctant step, the Soviets and the communist

government of Poland bowed to the moral, economic and

political pressure imposed by the Pope and the President.

Jails were emptied, Walesa's trial on charges of slandering

state officials was abandoned, the Polish communist party

turned fratricidal, and the country's economy collapsed in a

haze of strikes and demonstrations and sanctions.

On Feb. 19, 1987, after Warsaw had pledged to open a

dialogue with the church, Reagan lifted U.S. sanctions. Four

months later, Pope John Paul II was cheered by millions of

his countrymen as he traveled across Poland demanding human

rights and praising Solidarity. In July 1988, Gorbachev

visited Warsaw and signaled Moscow's recognition that the

government could not rule without Solidarity's cooperation.

On April 5, 1989, the two sides signed agreements legalizing

Solidarity and calling for open parliamentary elections in

June. In December 1990, nine years after he was arrested and

his labor union banned, Lech Walesa became President of

Poland.

[Correction (Apr. 27, 1992): A short article accompanying

our report on the cooperative effort of President Reagan and

Pope John Paul II to assist Poland's Solidarity movement

[Cover, Feb. 24] incorrectly stated the U.S. position on

financial aid for family planning in foreign countries. The

U.S. announced in 1984 that it would withhold funds for

abortion or coerced birth control--but not for all family

planning.]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished ranking member for yielding time, and I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) for bringing this resolution to the floor. Might I offer my deepest sympathy to the world's family of Catholics, to those Catholics in my congressional district, the 18th Congressional District in the State of Texas, and as well allow me as a member of the ecumenical community, many different faiths, to be able to express our sympathy as well.

It is important to note what many of us believe Pope John Paul II stood for, an unyielding spine, backbone, someone who was larger than life, who believed in humanity and its safety and love and as well had the common touch, a man who understood suffering, having lost his mother at an early age of 8 years old, his older brother of scarlet fever just a few years later, and his father, who was a sergeant in the army, in 1941. He understood suffering. Yet he was the first Pope to expand his reach and understand the value of the world's religious communities coming together.

And so he paid homage to the victims of the Holocaust. He was the first Pope to visit Auschwitz and as well to visit the synagogue of Rome. In March 2000, Pope John Paul II went to the Holocaust memorial as well. And, yes, he visited Syria. Pope John Paul II was also the first Pope to visit a Muslim mosque when he traveled to Damascus, Syria. Later on, with the strength of his conscience, he said to us, war is a defeat for humanity and that wars generally do not resolve the problems for which they are fought and therefore prove ultimately futile.

So I simply have these words to say, Mr. Speaker, simply to thank Pope John Paul II for his legacy and his life, to appreciate the fact that he was willing to lift those who could not lift themselves and thank him for teaching us about the genocide in Sudan and allowing us to lift ourselves to be able to stand against it and to fight with every breath in our body to be able to live his legacy, and that is a man of peace and a man who loved humanity.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor of the House Resolution honoring the life and achievements of His Holiness Pope John Paul II and expressing profound sorrow on his death. Truly, billions of people around the world, both Catholic and non-Catholic alike mourn the death of Pope John Paul II. He held one of most influential positions on Earth, but his life will be remembered as a man of the people, a man who never saw any barriers between people.

I plan to travel with the Congressional Delegation to Pope John Paul's funeral at the Vatican in Rome along with an estimated two million mourners. This man has touched the life of so many both with his words and with his actions, that people now come together to honor this great man. Pope John Paul was born Karol Wojtyla on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. His early life was not easy, his mother died when he was only eight years old. Three years later, he lost his older brother to scarlet fever. His father, who was a sergeant in the army, died in 1941. By the age of 20, he had lost three of his closest family members. But as he would throughout his life, he summoned his courage and his remarkable resolve to remain true to his religious upbringing. He would grow up in Poland during an era of Nazi occupation and repression. He worked as a common laborer and even as religious expression was being quelled by the Nazis he continued his Catholic teachings.

He would become the youngest bishop in modern Polish history at the age of 38 as the Archbishop of Krakow. Nine years later he was the youngest cardinal, guiding the Catholic faithful in a country that was officially atheist. He was known even then for his stance against Communism and the forces of oppression and hate. On Oct. 16, 1978 at the age of 58, John Paul II was selected to lead the Roman Catholic Church as the youngest pope of the 20th century. His relative youth allowed him to be extremely active and meet with people throughout the world. His charisma and grace allowed him to touch the hearts of people and convey a message of peace and collective humanity.

As Pope, John Paul II traveled the world to directly speak to the issues that confronted society. Whereas previous pontiffs often remained distant, never straying far from the Vatican, John Paul maintained a busy travel schedule. He completed 102 pastoral visits outside of Italy, and 144 within, visiting almost 130 countries during his 26 years as Pope. He logged more kilometers of travel than all other popes combined. His first visit as pope was to his homeland of Poland which was still beset by Communist rule. He advocated for the solidarity movement and he pushed for change, but he insisted above all else that any movement in order to be successful must be peaceful. It was Pope John Paul who aptly stated that: ``Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create.'' His influence and guiding hand brought down the rule of Communism in Poland and ushered in a new era throughout Europe and indeed much of the world. I was honored to recently have meetings with both former Polish President Lech Walesa and current President Aleksander Kwasniewski and it seems clear that together with the Pope's influence Poland was able to transform from an oppressive communist country under strict Soviet control and with a weak economy to an independent and democratic country with a fast growing free-market economy. The end of communism fell like a series of dominoes in nations throughout the world and truly Pope John Paul was among the most influential in setting off these series of events.

Pope John Paul also used his travel to improve relations between the Vatican and people of other faiths. He grew up in an area of Poland where he lived next to many people of Jewish faith during the era of Nazi persecution where he saw his Jewish neighbors face brutality. As Pope he wrote and delivered a number of speeches on the subject of the Church's relationship with Jews, and often paid homage to the victims of the Holocaust in many nations. He was the first pope to have visited Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, in 1979 and his visit to the Synagogue of Rome was the first by a pope in the history of the Catholic Church. In March 2000, Pope John Paul II went to the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem in Israel and touched the holiest shrine of the Jewish people, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, promoting Christian- Jewish reconciliation. The Pope said at that time that Jews are ``our older brothers''. Pope John Paul was also the first Pope to visit a Muslim Mosque when he traveled to Damascus, Syria. He used his position of influence to bring people of all faiths together and for that we should be grateful.

At each stop he made as Pope he reiterated that we only have one lifetime to live and that we must ensure that we use this time to achieve peace instead of suffering in war. It was Pope John Paul who stated: ``War is a defeat for humanity.'' And that ``Wars generally do not resolve the problems for which they are fought and therefore . . . prove ultimately futile.'' His words certainly ring true for the present, as well as the past and future. Indeed, Pope John Paul II was a great man for all ages; it was he who stated: ``The future starts today, not tomorrow.'' His presence and stature will be missed and we are right to mourn this great man. However, the Pope John Paul would be the first to tell us that the future is now and we must continue to move forward. We must all use his words and the lessons learned to help guide future generations. Because while the issues of society may change over time, the basic spirit of humanity never does.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in strong support of this resolution.

Madam Speaker, at the outset, I would like to express my deep appreciation to the distinguished chairman of the Committee on International Relations, my good friend, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), for authoring this resolution remembering the life of Pope John Paul II. I also welcome the wholehearted support for this measure of my friend, our Democratic leader, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Madam Speaker, one billion Catholics worldwide, more than 60 million of them Americans, have suffered the staggering loss of a unique spiritual leader. And for all humanity, Pope John Paul II was a towering figure in the struggle for freedom. He railed against injustice all his life. He fought tirelessly on behalf of the poor, and he kept alive the aspirations of the oppressed wherever they were.

Those of us who have shared in his fight against both Nazism and communism have a special appreciation for him. Those of us who lived in the grip of Nazism and communism will always be grateful for his eloquence and his courage in his fight against Hitler's tyranny and Soviet domination during the Cold War.

I had the profound honor, with my wife, of having a serious conversation with Pope John Paul II during the visit to Rome in 1998. In our long discussion with His Holiness, we were struck by his clarity of mind, his captivating personality, and his absolute refusal to let his deteriorating health force him to remain behind the walls of Vatican City. These impressions came back to me during these very last days when a Pope silenced by illness nevertheless continued to call out forcefully for freedom and peace and to bring comfort to millions around the globe.

In his first public address at his installation as the Supreme Pontiff in 1978, John Paul II famously urged the faithful, and I quote, ``Be not afraid.'' In the decades that followed, this message resonated well beyond the Church and the City of Rome. Within months of assuming his papacy, Pope John Paul II traveled to his native Poland. Enormous crowds poured onto the streets to greet him. The Pope pointed out that it was impossible to understand Poland without the context of Catholicism, and that, in his words, ``There can be no just Europe without the independence of Poland.''

Throughout the 1980s, the Pope remained in constant contact with the nascent Solidarity labor movement and with the Polish Government, pushing successfully for the end of martial law in 1983, and, ultimately, Madam Speaker, the end of the Polish Communist regime in 1989.

The demise of communism in Poland dramatically influenced the pace of Democratic change throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Americans, together with the rest of the world, will be eternally grateful for his important role in bringing liberty and democracy to tens of millions of men and women behind the Iron Curtain.

The Pontiff went on to provide inspiration for the ``people power'' revolt against the corrupt rule of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, and he strongly supported the pro-democracy efforts of the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Jaime Sin. Marcos fell from power in 1986. Then the Pope traveled to Chile in 1987 and spoke out firmly against the authoritarian rule of Augusto Pinochet. Democracy took hold in Chile in 1990. Then the Pope traveled to East Timor in 1999, inspiring a whole generation of young Timorese to protest Indonesian occupation. East Timor won its freedom in 2002.

Pope John Paul II also made extraordinary efforts to repair relations between Catholics and Jews. In 1982, he took the historic step of establishing diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the State of Israel. He became the first Pope in modern times to visit a synagogue. In 2000, he was the first Pope to travel to the State of Israel; and there, Madam Speaker, he quietly read a prayer of reconciliation at the Western Wall, requesting forgiveness for the sins of the Church against Jews through the centuries.

At a somber visit to the Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust, the

Pope spoke movingly of his Jewish friends he had lost to the death camps during the Holocaust, and he recommitted the Catholic Church to battling anti-Semitism around the globe. He said, ``The world must heed the warning that comes to all of us from the victims of the Holocaust, and from the testimony of the survivors.''

Madam Speaker, with his efforts to reach out to Jews worldwide and to the State of Israel, and with his ceaseless work to promote human rights globally, Pope John Paul II, became a truly historic figure. We were all inspired by his passion for justice. His voice will be missed in the great global chorus that sings out for freedom in all corners of the world. I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).

(Mr. DAVIS of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings).

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to my distinguished colleague, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), our Democratic leader and my friend and neighbor who will be one of the leaders of the congressional delegation leaving for Rome.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to my friend, the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), a member of the Committee on International Relations.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 3 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the distinguished majority whip.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, in concluding on our side, may I just say that for the last hour you have heard an outpouring of genuine affection and respect and admiration for a great spiritual leader. These were not empty phrases. These were heartfelt thoughts and expressions of profound respect for a person who in a profound way has changed our world for the better.

In concluding, I again want to thank my friend for crafting this brilliant and moving resolution on which we are about to vote.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, Rome 1993. I knew the City. Except for the machine-gun carrying Carbineri at Rome's Fumicino Airport, and the cars whizzing by me on the autostrada at 150 kilometers per mile, Rome seem strangely familiar. Perhaps it was the ten years studying Latin, following the exploits of Caesar, Veni, Vedi, Vici, except Caesar never had to drive his chariots in rush hour. Nor did anyone dare crowd his style along the Appian Way. Everywhere I looked cars were bumper on bumper, I did a sidewalk survey and noticed that about seven of ten cars parked along any given street had body damage. Rome was very personal like that. My friend Judy and I had come to visit the Eternal City to study the cradle of our faith. As we toured, it became clear that just as Washington is a monument to Presidents, Rome is a celebration of the Papacy.

Prior to leaving for Rome I had lunch with an old friend, Dr. Robert White, the famed neurosurgeon and physician to the Pope. I told him I was soon going to be visiting Rome. He made a call to his friend at the Jesuit's headquarters in Rome and was able to arrange for a special visit to the Vatican, including attendance at a general Papal audience, Judy and I, and about five thousand other persons.

Minutes before we left the hotel for our Vatican tour, I received a call that there had been a change of plans. Judy and I were to come immediately to a certain entrance off St. Peter's Square. Just in case I was going to meet someone I always wanted to meet, I brought with me a ceremonial presentation of a Key of the City of Cleveland, although they changed the locks when I left the Mayor's office. When we arrived, we were greeted by Swiss guards. Then we were ushered into the large hall where the general audience was held. It had the air of carnival, colorful, noisy, boisterous. Slowly we were escorted past one jammed pew after another to the front pew, et introibo ad altare Dei . . .

A priest in a simple black cassock, a former resident of Milwaukee, who followed American politics, approached smilingly, ``Mayor Kucinich?'' I accepted the honorific though it had been thirteen years since I left Cleveland City Hall, concluding my own personal experience with Manichean struggles with the forces of power and light. The years after City Hall were, well, different. Except for brief service in City Council, filling an unexpired term, I could not win an election to save (or lose) my soul.

``Yes. We're very excited to be here,'' I said. The priest, now a personal assistant to the Pope responded: ``We're really glad you could make it.'' Wait a minute. I waited my whole life just to get into close proximity to the Pope and one of his assistants is telling me he's glad? ``The Holy Father will be here shortly. There will be a general audience. Afterwards, people will file out and then he will come over to talk with you.''

That is the moment I knew I was about to meet Pope John Paul II. I was lost in thought. Judy feigned panic ``Omigosh,'' she kept saying over and over.

The General Audience is something like Cleveland's West Side Market on a Saturday, except many a pilgrims dancing, playing music, and singing, while wearing the colorful costumes of their native lands.

The Pope enters to wild applause. He sits on a simple throne and after about an hour and a half his right hand is supporting his head. I thought how physically demanding it was for him.

The General Audience ended. The Pope had brief discussions with a group of clergy. He then walked in our direction. He stopped and spoke to two other couples. Then he approached.

He looked at Judy, and greeted her first. He then turned to me. ``Is this your wife?'' he asked, in English. She wasn't. Neither of us were married. I wasn't going to lie to the Pope. Talk about setting yourself up to go to Hell . . .

``A friend, Holy Father.''

He nodded.

``Holy Father, I come from Cleveland. . . .''

``Yes, we were talking about you earlier, about your public service,'' he said.

``I remember Cleveland.''

Indeed the Pope had visited Cleveland, as Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, at St. Stanislaus Church in the Slavic Village Neighborhood. One of his closest friends was John Cardinal Krol, whose family came from St. Stanislaus Parish. There was a great joy in Cleveland when he was chosen Pope. The Polish community brought together 10,000 people in Public Hall to celebrate in prayer and song. We spoke for a few minutes about how the same Polish community was instrumental in my election as Mayor in 1977.

``Holy Father, I have a special gift I would like to give you, a Key to the City of Cleveland. It was one of the last Keys from my Administration. I supposed he received a thousand like it, but he accepted it and an accompanying certificate graciously as several cameras flashed around us. He turned to Judy and he thanked her for coming.

Then my life changed. John Paul II put his hand on my head. He looked into my eyes and said in a Polish-accented English I have come to know so well in my own neighborhood: ``My son, I give you my special blessing.'' I felt something at that moment. Whether it was a connection with his charisma or grace, I felt something, a different energy field, a buzz, my imagination? A sense of peace? I felt something. Later I would mark that bright encounter as one when conditions began to change for the better in my own life.

I thanked him in Polish. He smiled.

He invited us to visit again. Ever the altar boy, as he was about to leave, I offered to him a prayer in Latin: ``Emitte lucem tuam et veritatem tuam.'' Send forth your light and your truth. It was said as an affirmation of his spiritual leadership, his own quest to bring peace to the world.

He said goodbye. Judy and I were suddenly alone in the pew. The Audience had ended.

There are millions of people the world over who felt a personal connection to John Paul II. Yet his passing may become significant not for that aspect of him which died in us, but for something within each of us that was reborn through his life.

It was the only time I would ever meet him. I have often thought back to that moment when he offered me his blessing.

Mr. Speaker, today I join with fellow Catholics around the world in mourning the death of the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II. The world has seen the passing of a great man dedicated to peace throughout the world. His actions reflected his preaching of love, healing and forgiveness, advocating for peace and reaching out to other faith traditions. Despite turmoil and controversy, he held fast to his beliefs, gaining the respect of many around the world, even those who did not agree with him. His teachings will be remembered by millions and his influence will guide world leaders for years to come.

Throughout his ministry, he remained firm in his beliefs, leading by word and deed, fearless in his efforts to spread the Gospel of Christ. He believed in the inalienable right and dignity of the human person from conception through the moment of death. He was unafraid to shape world events, speaking passionately for peace and advocating for human rights. From his early years during the Nazi occupation of Poland where he risked his life to protect Polish Jews from persecution to his forgiveness of his would-be assassin, he has led by example, in faith and humility.

His steadfast support of the Solidarity movement in his homeland of Poland provided hope and encouragement to the Polish people and led to peaceful government reforms that precipitated the collapse of communism in Poland and the eventual fall of the Soviet Union, bringing freedom to millions of people. As these events were unfolding, Pope John Paul II was also reaching out to other parts of the world, using his influence to bring about change.

Through his efforts, he helped reduce tensions between world leaders, advocating for peace and justice. He sought to heal divisions across the different faith traditions, promoting reconciliation and dialogue between members to further understanding and respect for all people.

Pope John Paul II traveled all over the world. For millions, his visits would be the only opportunity to see a pope in person. Despite his afflictions of arthritis and Parkinson's disease, the Holy Father continued to travel the world, bringing hope and encouragement to the millions still oppressed by tyranny, hunger, disease and despair.

Pope John Paul II was especially dear to the people of Guam. He was the only Pope to visit Guam and he mesmerized our people with his dignity, kindness and sincerity. From his first words upon his arrival, spoken in the native Chamorro language, and throughout his short visit, his presence brought a spiritual renewal to the island's Catholics, many of whom camped overnight in streets and parking lots near the plaza where he was to say Mass. On February 23, 1981, tens of thousands of people gathered at the Plaza de Espana in Agana, Guam, to attend the service and receive his blessing. The crowd was captivated by this gentle man who spoke passionately of his love for God and his love for humanity, praising the dedication of Catholics in Guam and Micronesia for their faithfulness while reminding them that their faith should be practiced in all that they do. He then took time to comfort the elderly and the sick in our hospital who were unable to attend his Mass, blessing and encouraging them with his words, ``You are the strongest among all of us, who build the church through your suffering.''

It was an awesome sight to see children with their parents and grandparents, religious and government leaders, gathered to welcome the Holy Father, to celebrate Mass and to bid him farewell as he departed our island.

His visit marked a turning point for Catholics in Micronesia. In 1984, three years after his visit, the Pontiff honored our island and the Chamorro people with the elevation of the Diocese of Agana to a Metropolitan Archdiocese, naming the late Bishop Felixberto C. Flores, the first Chamorro Bishop, the first Metropolitan Archbishop of Agana and appointing another Chamorro, Father Anthony S. Apuron as Auxiliary Bishop. A year later, he approved the creation of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and appointed Monsignor Tomas A. Camacho, a Chamorro and a native of Saipan, as its first Bishop.

Also in 1984, the Holy Father announced the beatification of Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores, the Jesuit priest who brought Christianity to Guam and was later martyred for baptizing the child of a Chamorro chief. Over two hundred people from Guam went on the pilgrimage to Rome to attend the beatification ceremony.

Although he would not return to the island before his passing, his visit will never be forgotten. From the street named in his honor, Chalan Santo Papa Juan Pablo Dos, to the bronze statue erected to commemorate his visit, the people of Guam will always remember this man of faith and vision who taught us ``not to be content to boast of a glorious heritage from the past without turning to the demands of the present moment.'' Rather, we must put our faith into practice each and every day, seeking more effective ways to proclaim the message of love to all those we meet.

Pope John Paul II was beloved by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Through the many challenges confronting the Catholic faith and the world, Pope John Paul II as the Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pastor of the Catholic Church was the rock of the Church and the conscience of the world. At his passing, we mourn the loss of a great person. For Catholics, we take comfort in the knowledge that he is at peace with God the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in heaven. On behalf of the people of Guam, ``Adios Santo Papa yan in guiya hao.''