Mourners flooded the streets of Warsaw early yesterday, carrying flowers and lighting candles for Pope John Paul II in an outpouring of grief and admiration that was repeated around the world.
People from every continent and of many faiths found something in the life of the pope to praise -- his inspiration for the resistance to communism in his Polish homeland, support for better relations with Muslims and Jews, or championing the cause of the poor.
Feelings were intense in Poland, where the Church of St. Anne in the heart of the Polish capital could not hold all those wanting to pay their respects to the Polish-born pontiff. Several thousand knelt outside in prayer.
PHOTO: AFP
"These are tears of joy," said seamstress Iolanta Szarkowiec as she wept. "The pope did all that he could for Poland. He brought God back to communist Poland, and then the feeling of freedom."
Bells tolled in churches everywhere when the pope's death Saturday night was announced.
In Paris, the bells of Notre Dame Cathedral sounded 84 times -- once for each year of the pontiff's life.
In Canada, Marc Cardinal Ouellet, archbishop of Quebec, spoke haltingly while tears ran down his cheeks.
"We all feel like orphans at this moment," he said. "It's beautiful consolation to remember the echo he will leave, how he united people, united nations."
In China, where worship is allowed only in government-sanctioned churches, believers sang hymns and prayed in Beijing's Southern Cathedral at Xuan Wu Men. The Beijing government, which cut off ties with the Vatican shortly after the officially atheist communist party took power in 1949, made no official comment.
The Dalai Lama, in a message of condolence issued by his office in exile in the Himalayan resort town of Dharmsala, north India, said "Pope John Paul II was a man I held in high regard. His experience in Poland, then a communist country, and my own difficulties with communists, gave us a common ground." The pope, he added, "was very sympathetic to the Tibetan problem."
French President Jacques Chirac said history "will retain the imprint and the memory of this exceptional sovereign pontiff," while British Prime Minister Tony Blair said John Paul "never wavered, never flinched, in the struggle for what he thought was good and right."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said, "I have very warm recollections of meetings with the Pope. He was wise, responsive, and open for dialogue."
In Colombia, President Alvaro Uribe declared a period of national mourning and ordered flags across the country to fly at half staff. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared seven days of national mourning.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, the pope "was a tireless advocate of peace, a true pioneer in interfaith dialogue and a strong force for critical self-evaluation by the church itself."
Even in communist Cuba, Fidel Castro's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque hastily called a news conference to express "profound sorrow" and fondly recall the pope's visit to the island seven years ago.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said the pope will be remembered "as a distinguished religious figure, who devoted his life to defending the values of peace, freedom and equality." Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad also expressed their sorrow.
Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf said he shared "this grief with the Christian brothers of Pakistan and the world."
Spain's ruling Socialist party, which clashed with the pontiff over gay marriage, abortion and divorce, issued a statement calling his death a loss for both Catholics and the international community: "He "was one of the most important historical figures of the 20th century."
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