[Sauron]

Imagine if this pope had been a "traditional" pope. In that scenario, he would have spent his time sitting in the Vatican, issuing decrees, endorsing the status quo, and basically collecting dust. He would never have left Rome, would have made everyone come to him, and simpy waited to die. He would have functioned only as a figurehead to keep the ball rolling; somewhat like the Queen of England does.

Don't set your expectations too high. When you're dealing with the question of the Pope of the entire Roman Catholic Church, you ain't gonna get a freethinker. You can take it as a given that contraception, gays, female clergy, and opposition to abortion are going to be the traditional positions, and not open to compromise. So there's already a lot of damage done there. And if that is all a given pope offers, then everyone can give a big yawn and go home. No progress, just a lot of damage and the same old song and dance.

But John Paul II gave something positive as well, to offset a lot of the traditional RCC baggage / damage. John Paul II used his popularity for getting something positive done. He challenged the Soviets and accelerated the liberation of Eastern Europe. He tried to heal divisions between Jews, Christians, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Russian Orthodox, Muslims, etc. He stood against war in Iraq, both under Bush I and Bush II. He stood against organizations like the World Bank and large corporations that steamrolled over poor people. He broke the mold for the pontificate, and made many of the fossilized "Vatican handlers" nervous by his active and face-to-face approach to his role. And within certain parameters, he expanded the role of women in the RCC church.

This isn't a winner-take-all scenario. And no matter how bad you think things *are* with the RCC and its influence, they could have been a hell of a lot worse under a traditional, stuffy Italian pope. Instead, the world experienced 26 years of a pope that grew up under the Soviets, was influenced early by the horror of Auschwitz, and had a special feeling for the poor and forgotten. With John Paul II, the glass is at least half full, instead of being totally empty as it usually is.

My 0.02.