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Originally posted by: Trooperman
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The Catholicchurch needs a lot of help to really regain a lot of the respect it has lost in recent years. Pope John Paul II was one of the only good things going for Catholicism. It will take one heckuva great man to fill his shoes.

You guys are completely missing the point. Catholicism and Christianity are actually affected very little by the Pope. If you think that the religion depends on who the Pope happens to be, you don't know what you're talking about. It's not about filling the last Pope's shoes; it's about leading the Church and providing an example for others to follow.

Trust me! I'm actually a Catholic myself and I know about this.

I'm not saying he affects it much. But what he represents is the bigger picture here. He represents the faith of millions of people, regardless of denomination. He is the physical embodiment of Catholicism regardless of his actual "effect" upon the religion and its tenets. I could care less if he does a single friggin' thing, he is still what people recognize. And, whether he did something or not for the actual religion, all he did for the world as a whole is far greater.