Dear FRONTLINE

I wish to thank PBS for this program. Even if the show was incredibly biased in some arguments, I really appreciated the part on faith, especially Msgn. Albacete's contribution; I think you should go on working on the last question: is it His or our tragedy?

e. ciaccia
Houston, TX

Dear FRONTLINE

Overall I thought the program on John Paul II was well done and exhibited less of the media’s usual anti-Catholic bias. The Pope's critics made some interesting points, but were over-simplistic.

For example, one man said the Pope by condemning artificial
contraception missed an opportunity to prevent abortion in South
America. It is true that there is no logical link between true
contraception and abortion, but there is a practical link. After
contraceptives became widely available in the U.S.,
the demand for legal abortion actually increased, perhaps because
it produced a climate of less self control, more promiscuity, and
less tolerance for the unwanted pregnancies that occurred as a result.

We therefore can't assume that artificial contraception will reduce
the temptation to abortion. And this practical link to abortion
is not the only reason for the Pope's opposition to artificial contraception.

I also wonder about the honesty of the woman who said the Church's affirmation
of the value of Mary's free choice to accept God's will at the Annunciation in
becoming mother of Christ, is somehow negated by the Pope's
condemnation of the free choice of artificial birth control. I am not Catholic but I know the Church teaches that Mary in saying yes to God became the spouse
of the Holy Spirit. The Pope has never argued that women and men
be forced to marry. They have the right not to have children,
and they exercise it through their right to remain single, a
state of life which assumes celibacy.

What this woman really
wants is for the Pope to declare it moral for men and women to
enjoy sex while deliberately thwarting its natural consequence by
artificial means -- which is quite another question -- and
something the Pope cannot do in good conscience, as he views this
as an abuse of God's gift of sexuality.

Kelly Smith
Niagara Falls, NY

Dear FRONTLINE

The bishops who elect JPII's successor will most likely choose a pastoral leader rather than someone who has served in the Roman Curia. The bishops of most non-Slavic countries are concerned that decision-making has been withdrawn from local churches to the Vatican. John Paul's legacy will be short-lived, even though his barnstorming and his amazing vitality are genuinely loved by most of the world.

tom neumann

Dear FRONTLINE

It took me a long time to realize that belief and faith are not the same. Growing up, I had belief without faith. A few years ago, I had faith without belief. Now I have both, and my faith is stronger for it.

I was raised a Catholic, but rejected that religion because I could not accept that Jesus was the last messenger from God. I floundered for many years, anguished, until I opened my heart to God for the first time! and then to the Baha'i Faith. In the Baha'i faith I found the answers I had been looking for.

The strength and sustenance I now derive from my faith is more than I ever could have imagined. I hope John Paul II's story will inspire others to seek for their own spiritual truths.

Jennifer Spotila
King of Prussia, PA

Dear FRONTLINE

As a eighteen year old Polish-American teenager the Pope is the symbol of a new and promising future for the church.

Despite some of the
controversial issues he has dealt with, I see him as the figure who freed my parent's homeland from Communism. He is the embodiment of all that is good, pure, and holy. He has made a profound impact on my life in every Pole, and people all around the world. May I say God Bless Him for all the goodness he has down for this world and the Catholic Church.

Margaret Bednarowicz
Milwaukee, WN

Dear FRONTLINE

As someone who has been drawn rather recently and surprisedly to worship within the Roman Catholic church recently, I would first say that I believe Pope John Paul II's most righteous and therefore enduring influence will be on the renewed emphasis on personal spiritual practice.

There seems little doubt that his priesthood has been based on an ability to combine a deep meditative appreciation of his creator with the work set before him as a singular and individual human being.

It was good to be informed about the details of his life, which have influenced his passions about the sanctity of LIFE in general and led him to embrace the Jewish community as brethren in the same God. something that has escaped his predecessor Popes almost entirely for 2000 years. It is spectacular to see mystic appreciation re-established, even as he uses his authority to finally expose and denounce ancient evil anti-Semitism. Thank God that he played with Jewish boys in his childhood.

However, I remain very doubtful that he should himself be credited with a full appreciation of what he preaches. I speak foremost of his inability to recognize that the true enemy of the freedom which his beloved Poland was so long bereft, was not Communism per se, but Fascism.. which can surface in many.. even any type of governance. Even the church itself.

His failure to recognize the suffering of the peoples of South American as deeply akin to those of his fellow Poles.. and his failure to embrace the remote oppression as unconscionable represents a deep lapse in his role as World figure. With a bit of honest and open exchange, such a compassionate personality as his could have come to see a parallel of himself in Cardinal Romero. And he could have understood that Oscar Romero was no more able to embrace a government which systematically abused poor and, than he, Carol Woltyla would have been able to embrace a Nazis occupation as bishop of Krakow.

It's clear to me that this is a well meaning, devout man, and who accomplishes much by using the insights of his own life to inform his work as a priest. And he has made tremendous outreach into places which never before saw hide nor hair of the Pope. However, the isolation of the Vatican has not served him well. After all, he spends all his time enthroned and ensconced and isolated within artificial kingdom where he is revered without question.

I wish that he had been able to spend time talking with people who could inform him of other stories, other challenges.. If he had actually suspended judgment, listened to the Cardinal Romero.. gazed deep into photo images of murdered disappeared children.. . If he had spoken in Faith & compassion with the priests and sisters whose daily work was to minister to the abused….. Who knows what lives might have been saved if the Pope he had heard their stories before wagging two fingers and threatening reproach...

Sharon Chestnut

Dear FRONTLINE

This is a Pope who will be remember as both a saint and a pivotal person in history.

He, unlike most of the people discussing him on your show or elsewhere, sees only God's will to be done. What he does, teaches, and asks of us, is only what the Holy Spirit directs him to do, teach and ask.

While many will bemoan him for his "conservatism," if they truly would reflect that it is the SAME Holy Spirit the brought about the election of John XXIII, the calling of Vatican II and the election of JohnPaul II. Our Faith calls us to be bigger than our social/political ideals, and to view everything as God would, not as humans would.

It is this call to basic conversion, and JohnPaul's actually doing it, that make his legacy both personal and communal.

Brent Christen
Minneapolis, MN

Dear FRONTLINE

The fact that so many of the comments are negative is another example of anger being a stronger impetus to take pen in hand than is appreciation.

I suggest to my fellow Catholics who view the program as a whole negatively, and particularly to the many who use the term, “hatchet job,” that it is unfair to condemn the program’s creators because they do not fully share your views of John Paul II and the Catholic Church.

The fact that their approach is different from what yours would be, and presents issues such as contraception and the ordination of women in a different light than you would, is a quite reasonable service to the American public at large and to American Catholics in particular.

It is a simple fact, no matter how lamentable you consider it, that Catholics are deeply divided on these issues, and further, that you are in the small minority within the Church in your unconditional support of John Paul II in his condemnation of both contraception and the belief that women are eligible for ordination.

Frontline would be remiss if it did not take cognizance of this fact and address it. Although the program’s creators may not have handled every issue perfectly, it is quite clear that they were striving to give a deep and objective presentation. Whatever the specific complaints, it was definitely not a hatchet job, and they deserve high praise for their efforts.

P.S. Please forbear reproaching me for claiming that the majority is correct by virtue of being a majority. I’m not saying that. I’m saying that Frontline, in fulfilling its responsibility to the American public as a whole, cannot ignore the split among Catholics. Furthermore, neither does the majority claim to be right because it is a majority. It claims to be right on the merits of the cases, just as you do. And your minority status confers no particular moral or intellectual superiority.

William Breidenbach
Washington, DC

Dear FRONTLINE

His legacy will be that he has brought Catholicism down to the basic precepts that the Church was established on.He stayed his course regardless whether it was popular with the public, or not.

An amusing story was told to me by a priest who serves in the Vatican. One day while the Pope and his aide Bishop Dziwisz were testing the P.A. system in the auditorium, they didn't realize that the microphone was on - the aide said "I think they can hear you now" the Pope answered: "It doesn't make any difference if they can hear me, they still don't listen".

John Wozny
Steger, IL

Dear FRONTLINE

I thought the most interesting part of the program was that on faith, particularly the last question: if as the Pope witnesses, that God is real and that Christ is the Incarnation of God in the flesh, then that fact changes the way that we face all of reality, including the relationship between Jews and Christians, men and women, politics and all the other things the program talked about before the final part on faith. Faith and life are not separate.

Although I found some parts of the program to be biased and designed more as a forum to air the ideological agenda of the speakers, than to understand and portray the pope, I want to thank PBS for dedicating this program to the amazing human being that John Paul II is. I also want to mention that I found Fr. Albacete to be very profound, and I would have liked to hear more from him.

Debra Sheldon
San Francisco, CA

Dear FRONTLINE

Overall, Frontline did a superficial job of documenting Pope JPII's impact on our world it would take at least 10 hours to really begin to go in depth. You neglected to interview the Pope himself and interviewed several individuals who, for personal reasons, had a grudge against the Church. I was also disappointed that you did not mention the Pope's love for young people, as evidenced by his establishing World Youth Day in 1985.

Mike Ludeman
Newberg, Oregon

Dear FRONTLINE

John Paul II's legacy is focusing the world on the fact that the central message of the Gospel is hope, hope that does not exist apart from the cross of Christ. From the first words of his pontificate -- "be not afraid" he has tirelessly carried the message of hope to a seemingly embittered and embattled world.

I disagree with the last words of your program that characterized him as a pessimist. His message -- the Gospel of Jesus Christ -- is the only basis for a true optimism. It is an optimism which acknowledges the very real problems of the world in which we live, but puts them into perspective by viewing them against the backdrop of the cross. How can the problems we face be any worse than the seemingly inevitable consequences one would expect to follow when a world created by a loving God murders their own Creator? Yet, God's love and mercy are so great that the worst thing one could ever imagine in a world of creatures is the very event that God uses as the way for the world to be restored to himself.
The pope reminds us that all suffering is made redemptive and thus adds to the world's store of hope when it is united with the suffering of Christ on the cross. God has been very generous to bless us with a messenger who can so clearly see through the confusion of our times and so courageously repeat the good news to an often unreceptive world.

Martin Meyers
Kansas City, Missouri

Dear FRONTLINE

I was deeply moved during parts of your 'Millennial Pope' piece. The warden, the conductor, and the entire polish nation showed me the power of Love!

However, I was equally repulsed by the
many "I hate Catholicism" interviews. i.e.Marina Warner points out that
The Virgin Maryhad a choice when the Arch Angel Gabriel asked her to bear the Son of God. Warner therefore concludes that women should have the choice to abort their own babies. Catholic women do have the same right to choose as Mary.
That is BEFORE conception.

Eric Ciccone
Marblehead, MA

Dear FRONTLINE

Personally, I wish that JPII would have emerged truly as a catholic, millenial pope. Alas, he will be remembered as a Polish pope! He did well for his fellow poles. But he failed to be truly a catholic - a universal pope, bringing an equal passion for the suffering of others, particularly the poor of Latin America.

He will be remembered as more tribal than catholic, perhaps in the analysis of history. Beyond Italian or Polish popes, the church awaits a truly millenial pope who matches the spirit of Jesus who transcended tribe. As the poet Eileen Duggan penned,
"...conceive, if you can, it was not only life he gave up, but country for man."
When a pope is still frontiered by tribe or nation, he fails to reach the stature of a catholic, millenial vicar of Jesus of Nazareth.

Rev. Emmett Coyne
Washington, DC

Dear FRONTLINE

First of all I would like to thank you, PBS, for airing a piece on the pope. A lot of people don't realize how truly remarkable and holy John Paul II really is. And while the show was incredibly biased in some segments, like those on Liberation Theology and Women, on the whole I think you did a great job at maintaining an accurate focus on who JPII is.

I would also like to say that Msgr. Albacete really struck me with his clarity and information on the pope. Some of the other guests seemed to me to be too oversensitive about certain issues with the pope or the church to keep a clear view of reality.

For me personally, as a young FEMALE Catholic, John Paul II serves as the only clear voice of reason in this "culture of death" and while the rest of the influencing powers try to destroy in me what is truly human, the pope indeed confirms that I have a true history, a rich tradition, and most of all, dignity.
Again thank you for the documentary.

Leah Heine
San Diego, CA