April 2, 2005: STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON ON THE DEATH OF POPE JOHN PAUL II

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2005

STATEMENT OF CONGRESSWOMAN ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON
ON THE DEATH OF POPE JOHN PAUL II

Washington, DC—The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton released the following statement.

“I join all District residents, and especially my Catholic constituents, in mourning the death of Pope John Paul II. Whatever their differences, people of faith, adherents to all religions, and many who profess no faith will remember this long-serving, long-living pope with respect and admiration. The consistency with which he embraced the traditional doctrine of his church sometimes led to controversy about some current issues. Pope John Paul II, however, was just as consistent concerning a much broader array of church principles he emphasized were at the core of his Christian faith--opposition to war except as a last resort, society's responsibility to the poor, opposition to the death penalty, and a number of others current during his papacy. Just as he fought totalitarian Communism as a Polish priest, he did not spare the high and mighty as pope. One of his concerns was felt most recently when the American bishops announced a new effort for abolition of the death penalty in our country. May the Pope's passing lead to deeper thinking among Christians about our own beliefs and about how to reconcile our differences as Christians in the spirit of the reconciliation among faiths throughout the world that was a hallmark of his papacy.”