April 6, 2005 - Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese
in America
523 East Broadway South Boston, MA 02127
Pope John Paul II
We join in prayer for the repose of the soul of the esteemed and venerable
primate of the Roman Catholic Church, John Paul II. His Holiness will long
be remembered
for the example he embodied in a life full of accomplishment for Jesus Christ
and for the church which he shepherded: of strength and vision in bridging
regions and religions, of mastery in forging freedom's rebirth where it had
too long
been constrained, of personal courage and persistence in the face of physical
debility.
When he visited Boston in 1979, I recall an energetic man with
vibrant, broad perspective for the manifold tasks ahead of him: a reformer
with traditional
grounding. He had reminded me then of our own beloved hierarch, Metropolitan
Fan Noli, who also had valued the arts and literature, scholarship and
the sciences. Neither withheld a love for their homeland even as
their first love was Christ
and the Church. In Rome in 1994, it was a privilege to meet him again,
as he articulated a broader scope as his vision now looked further
inward. Always he
spoke for many who could not speak on their own behalf, whether the unborn
or the elderly, the imprisoned or the disadvantaged, from East or
of West. From
all quarters, his words were analyzed, respected, debated and admired.
Most of all, he was a spiritual man who was unafraid to speak his mind
from the unique lectern given to him as bishop of Rome.
May his
memory ever be eternal.
Very Rev Arthur E. Liolin
Chancellor
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