Dear FRONTLINE

I can't begin to tell you how dissapointed I am with you for editing out my segment of this very power documentary. My interview about clergy sexual abuse within in this church and the Pope's reluctance to deal with this crisis was both noteworthy and indicative of this popes pick and choose type of leadership. How do you justify telling the history of this mans life and ignore one of the most devasting crisis to hit the church since the reformation. I am but one of thousands of victms of clergy sexual abuse throughout the world that have been shuned and re-vicitmized by this church for tell our truth. I am but one of many who have bravely stood up against this church and this Pope and challenged them to do what is right and just on behalf of thusands of children who have been molested and injured at the hands of "his" clergy.

Although I am grateful that you provide your viewers with a transcript of my interview, I am deeply offended and saddened with your decision to omit a very power interview on a very serious issue facing this Pope and his church.

Fr. Tom Economus
Chicago, IL

Dear FRONTLINE

While I applaud PBS for undertaking such a serious account of the life of this intensely provocative man, I can only say that this program gave excellent support to the oft-heard cries that the "Liberal Media" has no clue about anything dealing with the Catholic Church. The sections on "Women" and "Liberation Theology" proved to be as ridiculously oversimplified as, say, any given New York Times account, but this was to be expected. However, the section detailing the complex relationship between JPII and the Jews was very interesting. One of the lesser heralded legacies of this pope will be the unprecedented strides that he has made in reconciling the long and sometimes tortured history between Catholics and Jews.

Joseph Toth

Dear FRONTLINE

While I agree with many other reviewers above about an obvious liberal bend to the documentary, I was nevertheless riveted by the program. I does seem to me though that many of the people that you interviewed for the "Liberation Theology" and "Women" parts really do not understand the Holy Father. I am amused that you and they think that there is such a contradiction in the man between faith and reason. I can only guess that they and you are used to associating with Catholics and exCatholics who really don't have faith. Anyone with faith can see that there is no contradiction in believing like a little child and thinking critically about life, religion and the world. He, like Christ, seems beyond your understanding.

Some of your interviews were fascinating: Ex: MR.Levin's experience of praying with the Holy Fater and his subsequent return to prayer . Even Germaine Greer's agonizing testimony was moving in its own way.

Overall it was clear where the producers agree with the Pope and where they think he is way off. Next time I would love to see a story where you are so evenhanded that we don't know where you stand!

Bob McCabe
Berkeley Heights, NJ

Dear FRONTLINE

I can only hope that you are getting a tremendous amount of e-mails from Catholics speaking out against the anti-Catholicism so prevalent in your "special." I'm still appalled... two days later. I can't stop thinking about how much you've twisted history. Your "experts" did nothing but pretend to know how the Pope thinks and why he does what he does. Why not ask an orthodox Catholic? Why would anyone, even for a second, believe that the church should change to match our human "selfish" society? Many Catholics may be quiet on the issue... but they pray for our separated brethren. In our world of free speech, we can't stop you from bashing Catholics, we can't force people to see what we see, but we can try... and we can pray.

judy niese

Dear FRONTLINE

Dear Frontline,

Analgous to the maxim "We do not judge greatness, rather it judges us," Frontline's examination of the Pope reveals more of the political inclinations of its producers than of the great holiness and profound impact on the world of Frontline's subject, Pope John Paul II.

brian gedicks
Arlington, Va

Dear FRONTLINE

I always find Frontline to be uniformly excellent. The program on John Paul II proved to be no exception. I found the program to be deeply moving and as complex as the man and the issues it explored. Its treatment of the sanctity of life and the meaning of faith were particularly good. Thank you for tackling some tough issues in a thoughtful way.

tom baldy
ellicott city, md

Dear FRONTLINE

The usual PBS liberal bias not withstanding, the last 30 minutes of the program redeem the earlier one-sided, anti-Catholic pieces on liberation theology and women in the church.

It was the best 2 1/2 hours I have seen in television in quite some time.

Charles Horton
Springfield, MO

Dear FRONTLINE

Very interesting but uneven. The segment "Jews" was very distorted. Your writers/researchers should have quoted the full text of Cardinal Hlond's letter which prohibited persecution of the Jews. Also, Poland is not all gloom and doom and centuries of suffering. Poland had a quite wonderful history until the mid-eighteenth century. That a country and people could have endured so much misery from the late eighteenth century until this decade and emerge from it with a vital intact culture and a dynamism seen nowhere else is truly remarkable. And to have a produced a person of the depth and character of John Paul II is an achievement beyond words. Frontline, it's time you did something positive in your portrayals of Poles and Poland.

Marina Papaj
New York, New York

Dear FRONTLINE

This program on the Pope was really hit and miss. You hit it well with the Pope's crusade against the culture of death and his uncompromising faith. You missed it by a mile on the issues of the Holocaust, Liberation Theology and women.

When it comes to trying to understand Catholic doctrine and beliefs, why not consult a respected Vatican theologian such as Cardinal Ratzinger or a Cardinal of the United States who could adequately explain these things. Rather, you leave it to book authors and former ex Catholics to explain or rather condemn the inner workings of the Catholic Church. Case in point, the ordination of women. There are deep theological reasons while women cannot be ordained to he priesthood. You give the listener the impression that the Church is an arbitrary discriminator without allowing someone who is qualified to explain the theological reasons why it can't happen. The part on Pius XII was flawed as well. You neglected to inform the audience that Pius' actions saved 800,000 to 850,000 Jews who otherwise would have perished. Unfortunately, I have to give the program a B-. May God bless and keep this man, Pope John Paul II.

Kevin Larson
Placentia, CA

Dear FRONTLINE

I think your program on John Paul II tried to be as insightful on an extremely complex man as it was possible to be. In the end a man of his intellect and convictions will defy labels. It will take centuries for all of the ramifications of his ponticate to even be glimpsed. One trailer to the program noted the difficulty people have of following where the Pope goes. But at the end, one of the interviewees made the comment/question that, if this man is a prophet, we have some serious thinking about what we do next.

Robert Warden
San Antonio, Texas

Dear FRONTLINE

The holiness of this man can't be doubted. The beauty of his faith was evident, despite unbalanced interviews and opinions that held little factual base.

At one point an individual blamed the Catholic Church and the pope for an increase in abortions because of our stance on contraception. He implied that if the church only allowed the use of the pill there would be much less abortion. What a sensational accusation! Yet the pill itself has an abortificant character that continues to be ignored. So the church is responsible for overpopulation and famine?? More nonsense. Why weren't population experts who have data disputing the UN's stance on overpopulation interviewed? Why not interview farmers who are paid not to grow food?

Perhaps it is easier to blame one man and a church than it is to look at oneself in the mirror and ask, "what have I done to feed, to care for my brothers and sisters?" The church's stance on contraception is rooted in scripture and is an affirmation of life. Historically, all protestant churches were in agreement with the biblical affirmation of life and the Catholic teachings on contraception until the 1930's. Why wasn't that explored?

Women were portrayed as having a love/hate relationship with the church. Why weren't women who agree with the pope & the church's stance on the role of women interviewed? Why weren't their number's counted? The church affirms the sacred role of women and is fighting to protect it.

I can't help but wonder if women who seem so bent with the idea of being ordained have missed the boat. It's as if they are more concerned about having their own way & pleasing their own egos than in truly serving God, His church, His people.

M.P. Guard
El Paso Cnty , CO

Dear FRONTLINE

We were surprised by the persistent question of whether we live in a culture of death or is it Pope John Paul’s obsession? We absolutely can not understand how anyone could question whether or not we live in a culture death, just the mere footage shown on this program of violent, senseless deaths and destruction of human life was overwhelming.

In this program there were more corpses and signs of death than there were the joys and the happiness of living, such as the smiles of the people the Pope touched.

We felt the program was biased and clearly showed how the producers wanted the viewers to react and respond to John Paul: with disgust and anger, unfortunately it had the opposite effect on us it only made us appreciate him even more.

Our culture needs more people with the strength and persistency as John Paul to "Be Not Afraid" and stand for what is right even though it is not popular.

Kevin & Melissa Paquet

Dear FRONTLINE

My wife & I are devout Catholics and appreciated this series immensely. While I felt it to be biased and one-sided in many respects, I have come to expect this in the secular media & press. Indeed,this bias is inherent to those who do not understand the Catholic Faith. Dissenters were featured from every circle, accentuating the pope's profound impact thoughout the world. One should recall the "controversy" Christ invoked two thousand years ago.

What this show demonstrated most effectively was how even a "secular pilgrimage" such as this ultimately leads to the same questions and truths. Thank you Frontline for this superb production and thank you PBS for providing the best programming on modern television.

Christopher DeAngelis, D.O.
Brownstown, MI

Dear FRONTLINE

I began watching this program with some trepidation, expecting a typical media hit piece on a man and a faith which are incomprehensible to most journalists.

I was pleasantly surprised to encounter what seemed to be a real attempt at fairness in the first segment or two. I nearly turned off the set at the grotesquely unbalanced segments on feminism please, not "women"--do you still not understand how offensive it is to suborn all women into that coterie? and liberation theology, but persevered, and was glad that I did because there were some excellent vignettes in the last section.

Some of your choices of commentators were almost bizarre. It was somewhat interesting to hear the comments of alienated ex-Catholics like Robert Stone and Germaine Greer, but I don't know why they deserved so much time, when you had, as far as I can remember, not one example of the committed converts in the intellectual and artistic communities for whom John Paul's witness has been of profound importance. There are far more of us than you know, and I suppose that may be the problem--as sophisticated media people, you move in circles which do not bring you into contact with the--dare I say it?--diversity of the Catholic faithful. We exist, we are not stupid or crazy, and we believe this pope to be a great man.

I think you intended to be balanced, and other comments on your web site indicate that many viewers were drawn by the portrait. But there was a lack of testimony from people who might have articulated what it's like to be a believing Catholic at the end of the 20th century. I appreciate those you did include, such as Fr. Albacete, but they were such a small proportion that the overall effect was one of significant distortion.

mac horton
fairhope, al

Dear FRONTLINE

While the program had many flaws, duly noted by in this discussion by my fellow Catholics, I thought any shortcomings were outweighed by the producers success in very effectively conveying the strength and beauty of the Pope's witness to a life grounded in faith.

In doing so it has prodded me to reexamine more honestly the depth my own commitment to a Catholic life. My thanks to the producer and PBS for their efforts.

Paul Mehr
Milltown, NJ