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His Holiness John Paul II was elected Pope in 1978. Before taking the name John Paul II he was Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, Archbishop of Krakow, Poland. (I hope I have the Polish spelling right...) He succeeded John Paul I, who reigned only about 30 days before succumbing to a mysterious illness.
I feel the same way you do, Sandy regarding the Church. I don't agree with certain rules and policies of the Church, but I do consider the Pope our spiritual leader.
If anyone wants to read an outstanding novel about the election of a Pope, I recommend reading The Shoes of the Fisherman by Morris West. It's almost eerily prophetic of the election of the first non-Italian pope in over 400 years. And mind you, it was originally written in the early 1960s.
Don't count out the Italians... they are the real power behind the papal throne. Whoever succeeds John Paul II will have some very large shoes to fill.
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ASF
Causa latet vis est notissima - the cause is hidden, the results are well known.
Alpha Alpha (University of Oklahoma) Chapter, #814, 1984
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