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Lonevoice
Guest
I’m right there with you, except I’m not sure if I wouldn’t reverse the first two.My Top Three
Gerry
- Pius XII
- John Paul II
- St. Pius X
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F
Faithful_2_Rome
Guest
Yet again, Hermit wears his badly formed Jesuit education on his sleeve
Do yourself a favor Hermit and start watching EWTN…it could do wonders in correcting all the errors you had instilled within your heart and mind.
Do yourself a favor Hermit and start watching EWTN…it could do wonders in correcting all the errors you had instilled within your heart and mind.
E
Esperanto99
Guest
If you were to ask the best pope in the last **1000 ** years, I would still have had to say Wojtyła. Some great popes in the XXth Century, though you must admit.
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loyola_rambler
Guest
John XXIII tops my list, mainly because of his actions during WWII. Paul VI is the bottom of my list because of the despicable corruption during his papacy and the way he lost control of the implementation of Vatican II.
D
Detroit_Sue
Guest
I second that emotion.
F
Fergal
Guest
I don’t really go for posts like this but I believe in all fairness that God established the best person for that particular stage in History.
Some were great at difficult times and some great in the less difficult times.
They are all great in the eyes of God and should be recognised as such.
A simple ’ The Pope is always the greatest’ is what comes to my mind as a reply to this poll. I cannot vote for just one.
Think of each of the forementioned Popes and think of the time in history look at thier achievements at that time and you will see that each stroved to fulfill the plan God had for the world at that time.
I know of no other Pope other than John Paul II. I was too young to remember Paul VI or John Paul I but I know that no matter what they achieved to the best of their human abilities, with the aid of supernatural enlightenment and help, the will of God.
I will mourn and mourn hard when the present Pontiff receives his eternal reward and at times I wonder who might be next.
Look back at Pius XI. People thought that no one greater could come along after him. Then came Pius XII!!
Each and every Pontiff is the greatest in his particular time in history.
Some were great at difficult times and some great in the less difficult times.
They are all great in the eyes of God and should be recognised as such.
A simple ’ The Pope is always the greatest’ is what comes to my mind as a reply to this poll. I cannot vote for just one.
Think of each of the forementioned Popes and think of the time in history look at thier achievements at that time and you will see that each stroved to fulfill the plan God had for the world at that time.
I know of no other Pope other than John Paul II. I was too young to remember Paul VI or John Paul I but I know that no matter what they achieved to the best of their human abilities, with the aid of supernatural enlightenment and help, the will of God.
I will mourn and mourn hard when the present Pontiff receives his eternal reward and at times I wonder who might be next.
Look back at Pius XI. People thought that no one greater could come along after him. Then came Pius XII!!
Each and every Pontiff is the greatest in his particular time in history.
B
bones_IV
Guest
Hermit are you sure,
Pius XII was by no stretch of the imagination Hitler’s pope. He clearly oppossed to nazi Germany. It seems to me at least that you deny Pius’ efforts during, before and after the war. Hermit, nothing hurts the truth more like stretching it. And that’s percisely what you did. If Pius had acted indifferently toward the holocaust the Vatican would have already admitted it. Hermit let ask you something, why would the Vatican condemn Pius when so many people Jewish and Gentile praised him for his efforts following the war? Surely I tell you Golda Mier, Einstein, Rabbi Herzog and others never would have praised Pius if they had known he was Nazi sympathizer. There were Catholics who directly condemned the Nazi persecutions. A diocese in Holland made that same mistake and the Nazis only responded with more violence. Consequently more Jews got shipped off to the concentration camps including Edith Stein. Pius was well aware of the fact that greater persecution would result if he directly condemned the Nazi attrocities. Sorry Hermit but the truth hurts!
The best Pope of last 100 years goes to Pius XII, John Paul II and John XXIII.
Padre Pio “Don’t worry, work and pray.”
B
bones_IV
Guest
loyola rambler:
I would just like to remind you that Paul VI was praised as a great pastor by John Paul II. Your ignorance is showing.
Padre Pio “Don’t worry, work and pray.”
Loyala,
I would just like to remind you that Paul VI was praised as a great pastor by John Paul II. Your ignorance is showing.
Padre Pio “Don’t worry, work and pray.”
T
tru_dvotion
Guest
I did not vote, simply because you included John Paul II.
He is at an advantage or at a disadvantage over all the others listed. He is a contemporary, so naturally he is better known than all the rest of the popes put together. People tend to pick out someone they are familiar with over someone who is just a name, a portrait or a writer of some encyclical. In general, people have a superficial knowledge of history, as well as church history.
Aside from this, since John Paul II is radically different from all the other preceding popes, one may pick him or not pick him, based on whether one welcomes change or prefers orthodoxy. Based on this alone, people may pick our current pontiff or a previous one, who is perhaps seen as the right pope representing those personal preferences. So people could be biased for or against John Paul II, without taking into consideration his true accomplishments. For the same reason people could bypass some of the best popes, because they simply do not fit the criteria for either the contemporary or the orthodox mindset.
It would have made sense if you only included popes from the past, because we are able to look back how well they served the Church in the context of their times. It is not so easy to evaluate the present, because all the facts are not yet in. John Paul II could easily turn out to be one of the best popes or one of the worst, but we will not be able to tell for another century or so. The 100 years span is insufficient to make an objective selection.
He is at an advantage or at a disadvantage over all the others listed. He is a contemporary, so naturally he is better known than all the rest of the popes put together. People tend to pick out someone they are familiar with over someone who is just a name, a portrait or a writer of some encyclical. In general, people have a superficial knowledge of history, as well as church history.
Aside from this, since John Paul II is radically different from all the other preceding popes, one may pick him or not pick him, based on whether one welcomes change or prefers orthodoxy. Based on this alone, people may pick our current pontiff or a previous one, who is perhaps seen as the right pope representing those personal preferences. So people could be biased for or against John Paul II, without taking into consideration his true accomplishments. For the same reason people could bypass some of the best popes, because they simply do not fit the criteria for either the contemporary or the orthodox mindset.
It would have made sense if you only included popes from the past, because we are able to look back how well they served the Church in the context of their times. It is not so easy to evaluate the present, because all the facts are not yet in. John Paul II could easily turn out to be one of the best popes or one of the worst, but we will not be able to tell for another century or so. The 100 years span is insufficient to make an objective selection.
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Exporter
Guest
Pope Pius XII gets my vote. Why? He is the one Pope that I would prefer to work for in any lowly capacity. Does that make sense?
C
caroljm36
Guest
JP II-- the only one I’ve really ever known! But he’s a good 'un…he was one of the compelling reasons drawing me to the Church.
S
Sweetcakes
Guest
Why do you beat up on people for expressing opinions when that’s what you’ve asked them to do?
If you want complete agreement, then don’t ask people what they think.
If you want complete agreement, then don’t ask people what they think.
T
TheresaS
Guest
I voted for Pope John Paul II beacuse he is truly the “people’s Pope”. He has retained his pastorial presence which draws people to him especially the youth of our great Church. I agree that Pope Pius XII is one to be admired. Both men fought a horrific chain of events…I could never image what is must have been like for Pope Pius. Those that criticize…what would you have done?..or better yet COULD have done? Bless you all.
R
RobedWithLight
Guest
I think it would be more appropriate if you have quoted the poster himself, so we would have an idea who you are reacting to.
Peace
Gerry
S
Sir_Knight
Guest
History “officially” recognizes two Popes (other than Saint Peter) as being “great”:
- Pope Leo I (440-461)
- Pope Gregory I (590-604)
S
SaintJVMan
Guest
I wish I could vote twice. I had a hard time deciding between Pope John Paul II and Blessed John XXIII.
D
dvalle27
Guest
I voted to JP II, but I think it’s a bit unfair with the others.
Maybe if the question is asked in 50 years, it would get more unbiased answers…
Maybe if the question is asked in 50 years, it would get more unbiased answers…
R
romano
Guest
My friend, you are absolutely right. This poll is meaningless since most people today only know about John Paul II. The question should have been: Which Pope do you like best? Once again, however, the outcome would have been predictable, with John Paul II winning by a large margin since most folks don’t seem to know much about what happened more than 25 years ago.
J
Jayson
Guest
John Paul II is quite an amazing individual. When one studies him they see God working in a very obvious way throughout his life.
What a Holy Holy Man.
He visited my hometown of Flatrock, Newfoundland back in the 80s. He blessed my family, we were standing on the side of the road as he rode into town. There was no-one else near us.
My father tried to take his picture as he came into town and as he was leaving but was unable to on both occasions because as soon as he looked through the camera lens at his face my father became mesmerized and was unable to push the shutter release.
Unfortunately, I am too young and I got into Catholicism in a really passionate way too late to really appreciate the man in his heyday. I have a bunch of his books and a biography of him that I really like. He was an amazing man.
Apparently it was really something to see him pray. I would love to learn to pray as he did.
What a Holy Holy Man.
He visited my hometown of Flatrock, Newfoundland back in the 80s. He blessed my family, we were standing on the side of the road as he rode into town. There was no-one else near us.
My father tried to take his picture as he came into town and as he was leaving but was unable to on both occasions because as soon as he looked through the camera lens at his face my father became mesmerized and was unable to push the shutter release.
Unfortunately, I am too young and I got into Catholicism in a really passionate way too late to really appreciate the man in his heyday. I have a bunch of his books and a biography of him that I really like. He was an amazing man.
Apparently it was really something to see him pray. I would love to learn to pray as he did.
S
Steve_Green
Guest
JPII, was a holy and good man, not a great pope by any stretch of the imagination. Chaos, Assissi??? The Koran incident!!!
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