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! ===Role as spiritual inspiration and catalyst=== By the late 1970s, the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] had been predicted by some observers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/80804.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502123923/http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/80804.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 May 2006|title=bailey83221: Anticipations of the Failure of Communism (Scholarly list of those who predicted fall|date=2 May 2006|access-date=24 February 2019}}</ref><ref>Daniel Patrick Moynihan, "Will Russia blow up?" Newsweek (19 November 1979): 144,147.</ref> John Paul II has been credited with being instrumental in bringing down Communism in Central and Eastern Europe,<ref name="Memory" /><ref name="Bottum" />{{sfn|Maxwell-Stuart|2006|p=234}}<ref name="CBCNews" /><ref name="Gorbachev" />{{sfn|Domínguez|2005}} by being the spiritual inspiration behind its downfall and catalyst for "a peaceful revolution" in Poland. [[Lech Wałęsa]], the founder of [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] and the first [[post-Communist]] [[President of Poland]], credited John Paul II with giving Poles the courage to demand change.<ref name="Memory" /> According to Wałęsa, "Before his pontificate, the world was divided into blocs. Nobody knew how to get rid of Communism. In [[Warsaw]], in 1979, he simply said: 'Do not be afraid', and later prayed: 'Let your Spirit descend and change the image of the land ... this land'."{{sfn|Domínguez|2005}} It has also been widely alleged that the [[Vatican Bank]] covertly funded Solidarity.<ref name="NYTimes" /><ref name="Salinger2005" /> In 1984, the [[foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration]] saw opened diplomatic relations with the Vatican [[Holy See–United States relations|for the first time since 1870]]. In sharp contrast to the long history of strong domestic opposition, this time there was very little opposition from Congress, the courts, and Protestant groups.<ref>Andrew M. Essig, and Jennifer L. Moore. "US-Holy See Diplomacy: The Establishment of Formal Relations, 1984." ''Catholic Historical Review'' (2009) 95#4, pp. 741-764741-764. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/27745671 online]</ref> Relations between Reagan and John Paul II were close, especially because of their shared [[anti-communism]] and keen interest in forcing the Soviets out of Poland.<ref>Gayte, Marie (2011). "The Vatican and the Reagan Administration: A Cold War Alliance?" ''Catholic Historical Review''. '''97''' (4): 713–736. {{JSTOR|23053064}}.</ref> Reagan's correspondence with the pope reveals "a continuous scurrying to shore up Vatican support for U.S. policies. Perhaps most surprisingly, the papers show that, as late as 1984, the pope did not believe the Communist Polish government could be changed."<ref name="nationalreview"/> <blockquote>"No one can prove conclusively that he was a primary cause of the end of communism. However, the major figures on all sides—not just Lech Wałęsa, the Polish Solidarity leader, but also Solidarity's arch-opponent, General [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]]; not just the former American president [[George Bush Senior]] but also the former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev—now agree that he was. I would argue the historical case in three steps: without the Polish Pope, no Solidarity revolution in Poland in 1980; without Solidarity, no dramatic change in Soviet policy towards eastern Europe under Gorbachev; without that change, no velvet revolutions in 1989."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/apr/04/catholicism.religion13?INTCMP=SRCH |title=The first world leader |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 April 2005 |access-date=4 November 2013}}</ref></blockquote> In December 1989, John Paul II met with the Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] at the Vatican and each expressed his respect and admiration for the other. Gorbachev once said: "The collapse of the [[Iron Curtain]] would have been impossible without John Paul II."<ref name="Bottum"/><ref name="CBCNews" /> On John Paul II's death, Gorbachev said: "Pope John Paul II's devotion to his followers is a remarkable example to all of us."<ref name="Gorbachev" />{{sfn|Domínguez|2005}} On 4 June 2004, U.S. president [[George W. Bush]] presented the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], the United States' highest civilian honour, to John Paul II during a ceremony at the [[Apostolic Palace]]. The president read the citation that accompanied the medal, which recognised "this son of Poland" whose "principled stand for peace and freedom has inspired millions and helped to topple communism and tyranny".<ref name="Associated Press">{{cite news |url=http://www.cjonline.com/stories/101303/pag_pope.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040404041319/http://www.cjonline.com/stories/101303/pag_pope.shtml |archive-date=4 April 2004 |title=Poles worried, proud of Pope John Paul II 10/13/03 |agency=Associated Press |work=The Topeka Capital-Journal |date=3 April 2012 |access-date=28 January 2012}}</ref> After receiving the award, John Paul II said, "May the desire for freedom, peace, a more humane world symbolised by this medal inspire men and women of goodwill in every time and place."<ref name="vatican1" /> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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