Dear FRONTLINE

His legacy will be that of a great holy man as the 20th century closes. But like all great men , his efforts to control where the church is going will not be accomplished. I think the church changes despite what any one man declares possible or impossible. The Catholic Church has survived many bad leaders and still the Body of Christ continues to move people towards God the Father.

I am still a greate admirer of John Paul II because of his incredible faith. That is what connects me to my God and my church.

m flores

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

Dear FRONTLINE

What are the credentials of Helen Whitney and Jane Barnes, the writers of the Frontline program on Pope John Paul II? Why was the program so weighty in its views by dissenters and so light in its comments by members of the Faith? I was looking forward to the program but, after viewing it, felt that this holy man who has done so much for the Church and the world was very poorly portrayed by Frontline. What a waste of a golden opportunity!

Rose Goodof
Naples, FL

Dear FRONTLINE

From my devout Catholic boyhood, through my self-awareness as a gay man at age 17, I embarked on a perilous journey of faith and self-acceptance . I would only reach the point where I could reconcile my sexuality and my Catholic faith at age 40!

My experience of the Catholic Church, priests, and popes was a kind of benevolent but unengaged and certainly uninformed context. It IS frustrating to find that the forms of religion which exist to support humanity cling blindly and inexorably to traditions which now oppress. There is much meanness, denial, hypocracy and cowardice I see in religious leaders which I had no inkling of as a young person.

Against this backdrop the pope strikes me as an outstanding leader in personal faith and aspects of human courage. It seems too much for me to ask him to "Be Not Afraid" to preach a message of acceptance of the gayness which affects 5 to 10 percent of his membership and perhaps 40 percent of his clergy.

Ed Dagnes

Dear FRONTLINE

I appreciated your balanced presentation of John Paul's papacy. In a era when many are looking for heros and heroines he stands out as one who's life is guided by faith and heroism. However, John Paul's legacy may also may be identified as a time in the Catholic Tradition that dialogue, mystery, search are somehow identified as suspect. There is a difference between confusion and mystery, saying and listening, dialogue and didactic. Christ left us with more questions than answers. The last of some seventy three questions in St. Luke's Gospel is " Do you have anything to eat? It is as if Jesus want to leave us with a querie on how we nourish our souls. Faith is a journey in which each of us must chart own own course with the guidance of God. We find nourishment in the journey. John Paul would drive the bus for us.

Jack H.
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Dear FRONTLINE

For the Catholic Church, a legacy of trying to hold together a denomination split by various cultural fires burning all over the globe. Let it be remembered he isn't through yet.

For Protestants, depending on the Scriptural viewpoint, the demise of that movement, or inspiring the final thrust of finishing it's protesting mission before the return of the Lord.

For the world in general, well, it is down to the Vatican and the USA for ultimate influence on earth. The Vatican will ultimately win, perhaps in John Paul's lifetime.

Raymond Frigon
Portland, Maine

Dear FRONTLINE

Thank you for you insightful and thorough examination of Pope John Paul II. I was very moved.

I am a Catholic, who like many, find contradictions between our world and our church difficult and at times painful. But this program has helped open my eyes to the depth and intensity of this incredible man of faith. I think he has played a more important role in our survival to date than we realize. We can so easily get lost in rationalism, modernity, that we lose the central core of our existence. The one who created us. Thank you.

David Jones

Dear FRONTLINE

John Paul...an
extraordinary man leading the Church in this discordant and deeply troubled secular age. His burden is immense and I'm sure he asks himself every day why he was chosen to lead His flock. Many are called but few are chosen. He is the moral compass of the world today and charged with always keeping the spiritual fire lit between mankind and God.

In the future, I'd hope John Paul's legacy to the Church
and mankind would be the antithesis to
the philosopher Nietzsche's
remark that "God is dead".

Rich Ujvary
Kings Park, NY

Dear FRONTLINE

The Jewish conductor got to the heart of the matter for me. I loved what he said about feeling the Pope's peace as he was praying there in the room near him. He just knew it was the same God that they both had faith in that was the source of this gentle goodness he felt there.

I am not a Catholic, but a Christian Scientist, and found that to be the most moving and true moment in the show for me. It showed the effectiveness of pure prayer that surely he was doing when the Jewish conductor felt it.It demonstrated
" ..the peace...which passeth all understanding."Phil 4:7

I found the unity of that moment a comment on what is shared and felt deeply by all monothiests.

It is not an exclusive experience, this wonderful relationship with the One God known to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike.

It is the same spiritual desire and listening that makes them all know and recognize God.

s. switzer

Dear FRONTLINE

Doubtless, Pope John Paul II will be remembered as a towering figure in the 20th century. We are, however, in no position really to judge his legacy at this point in time. The one thing your program showed consistently is that he is a man of contraditions, whose ideas, policies, piety, and spirituality have brought about as much division as unity. When one sifts through the bulk of the romanticized hagiography that formed a large part of your production, one sees consistent threads of a frail human being who does not fully understand the times he lives in, and who nevertheless asserts himself in ways that delight some and distress others. History will judge the place of this man in the 20th century. At this point we cannot really say what that judgment will look like.

A. Mitchell
Washington, DC

Dear FRONTLINE

John Paul II's legacy will be the spiritual renewal of the world. He has continually warned us of the impending disaster that we are bringing on ourself while at the same time proclaiming God's mercy and love for us.

After we see this disaster clearly we are seekers of unbridled pleasures which have brought about a culture of death world widewe will remember his words and change our lives.

He is a true prophet.

Mrs Maureen Wiggins
LAKE VIEW TERRACE, CA

Dear FRONTLINE

It is remarkable to me that this man's beauty and strength were able to show through in a program that was so unbalanced. In segment after segment, virtually all of the interviews shown were of people that were critical to the Pope's point of view. On the subject of liberation theology, for instance, there was no attempt to understand the Pope's position. There also was no mention of the fact that the Catholic Church, in stark contrast to the Anglican Church, continues grow. The reason, I suspect, is that this Pope has made certain that the Church provides a true choice in an increasingly secular world - a point completely missed by the program's producers.

Jason Trennert

Dear FRONTLINE

Brilliant, fascinating programming. This is one of the best serious programs every broadcast. With something like this PBS keeps alive the hope that television can be more than sadly repeated sitcoms, sports, and sex.
The comments so far appear to miss the point of the program and the interviews. This program is neither a puff piece on Catholicism nor an attack on JPII. It is a thoughtful, intelligent review of this man's legacy. My thanks and congratulations to PBS, the producer and writers.

Russell Stout
Springfield, VA

Dear FRONTLINE

As an adult I lost my belief in the Catholic Church because I could not separate the mistakes of clergy/laity from the Church. It has taken me many years to return. My return came through a retreat to Christ in the Desert Monastery in New Mexico and the hospitality of The Benedictines. I have not agreed with all that this Pope done and yet I am most grateful for his presence in the world. He seemingly alone stands for the dignity of human life. Today my family and I are involved in a horrible struggle against industrial agriculture taking over Family Farms. We are deeply worried about the effects of Genetically Engineered Foods which threaten all human life. It is another part of the Pope's phrase, "Culture of Death". Thank you.

Julie Kenefick