Pope John Paul II Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Paraguay === The collapse of the dictatorship of General [[Alfredo Stroessner]] of Paraguay was linked, among other things, to John Paul II's visit to the South American country in May 1988.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/19/world/pope-ending-trip-urges-justice-in-paraguay.html|title = Pope, Ending Trip, Urges Justice in Paraguay|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 19 May 1988|last1 = Suro|first1 = Roberto}}</ref> Since Stroessner's taking power through a coup d'état in 1954, Paraguay's bishops increasingly criticised the regime for human rights abuses, rigged elections, and the country's feudal economy. During his private meeting with Stroessner, John Paul II told the dictator: <blockquote>"Politics has a fundamental ethical dimension because it is first and foremost a service to man. The Church can and must remind men—and in particular those who govern—of their ethical duties for the good of the whole of society. The Church cannot be isolated inside its temples just as men's consciences cannot be isolated from God."<ref name="Willey">[[David Willey (journalist)|David Willey]], ''God's Politician: Pope John Paul II, the Catholic Church, and the New World Order'', p. 227, St. Martin's Press (1992), {{ISBN|978-0-312-08798-2}}</ref></blockquote> Later, during a Mass, John Paul II criticised the regime for impoverishing the peasants and the unemployed, saying that the government must give people greater access to the land. Although Stroessner tried to prevent him from doing so, John Paul II met opposition leaders in the one-party state.<ref name="Willey" /> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page