[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 183 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 183

 Honoring the life, and expressing the condolences of the House on the 
                     passing, of Pope John Paul II.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 5, 2005

Mr. McCotter submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring the life, and expressing the condolences of the House on the 
                     passing, of Pope John Paul II.

Whereas Karol Jozef Wojtyla, known as John Paul II since his October 1978 
        election to the papacy, was born in Wadowice, Poland, on May 18, 1920, 
        the day of the ``Polish Miracle'', the nation's first military victory 
        in 200 years and a day which set in motion events which briefly restored 
        Poland's independence;
Whereas he made his First Holy Communion at age 9, was confirmed at 18, and saw 
        his mother, father, and eldest brother all die before he turned 21, and, 
        upon graduation from Marcin Wadowita high school in Wadowice, he 
        enrolled in Cracow's Jagiellonian University in 1938 and in a school for 
        drama;
Whereas the Nazi occupation forces closed Cracow's Jagiellonian University, 
        where he was enrolled in 1939, and young Karol had to work in a quarry 
        and then in a chemical factory to earn his living and to avoid being 
        deported to Germany;
Whereas, in 1942, aware of his call to the priesthood, he began courses in the 
        clandestine seminary of Cracow, run by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, 
        archbishop of Cracow, and at the same time, Karol Wojtyla was one of the 
        pioneers of the ``Rhapsodic Theatre'', which was forced to hold 
        clandestine performances;
Whereas, in 1948, he returned to Poland and was vicar of various parishes in 
        Cracow as well as chaplain for the university students until 1951, when 
        he again took up his studies on philosophy and theology;
Whereas, on January 13, 1964, he was nominated Archbishop of Cracow by Pope Paul 
        VI, who made him a cardinal on June 26, 1967;
Whereas, on October 16, 1978, Karol Wojtyla began his pontificate as Pope John 
        Paul II;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has used his pontificate in unique fashion, emerging 
        as more than just the leader of the Catholic Church, but also a global 
        voice against communism, oppression, and tyranny, working both in public 
        and private to exercise his influence against the forces of injustice;
Whereas, in the 1980s, Pope John Paul II was a vocal supporter of the Polish 
        Solidarity movement and his support for striking workers at the Gdansk 
        Shipyard was a key to the downfall of communism in Poland, and started 
        in motion a chain of events ultimately leading to the dissolution of the 
        Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact;
Whereas his criticism of such dictators as Alfred Stroessner in Paraguay, 
        Augusto Pinochet in Chile, and Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, 
        encouraged opposition movements that eventually brought down those 
        governments;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has become the most traveled Pope in history, 
        journeying more than one-half million miles visiting 125 countries, 
        conducting meetings with numerous government leaders during 38 official 
        visits, holding 690 audiences and meetings held with Heads of State and 
        226 audiences and meetings with Prime Ministers;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has welcomed more than 16,000,000 pilgrims in the 
        General Audiences which were held weekly at the Vatican; and met with 
        tens of millions of the faithful during pastoral visits made in Italy 
        and throughout the world, including more than 8,000,000 pilgrims during 
        the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 alone;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has been a prolific writer completing 14 encyclicals, 
        13 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions, and 42 apostolic 
        letters, and he has also published three books: ``Crossing the Threshold 
        of Hope'' (October 1994); ``Gift and Mystery: On the 50th Anniversary of 
        My Priestly Ordination'' (November 1996); and ``Roman Tryptych--
        Meditations'', a book of poems (March 2003);
Whereas John Paul II has presided over 139 beatification ceremonies (1,311 
        Blesseds proclaimed) and 48 canonization ceremonies (469 Saints) during 
        his pontificate, and he has held 9 consistories in which he created 231 
        cardinals;
Whereas, in 1981, Pope John Paul II survived an assassination attempt after 
        being shot twice by Mehmet Ali Agca in St. Peter's Square, whom the Pope 
        would later personally meet and forgive;
Whereas Pope John Paul II, was a survivor of and a victor over of fascism, 
        communism, and terrorism, has been a tireless voice for the verities of 
        morality and decency;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has emerged as more than just a spiritual leader for 
        the world's Catholics, but as one of the most influential and 
        inspirational leaders of the 20th and 21st centuries, as a consistent 
        voice for peace and human dignity; and
Whereas Pope John Paul II heroically endured and transcended the ravages of 
        Parkinson's disease and the natural, ineluctable agonies and infirmities 
        of our human aging process and, thereby, through his suffering, cradled 
        and celebrated a culture of life in all its unfathomably mysterious and 
        beauteous manifestations: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the United States House of Representatives honors 
the life and accomplishments, and expresses its condolences on the 
passing, of Pope John Paul II.
                                 <all>