To be a Christian doesn’t mean to be cuddly. This is not a cuddly pope, either. What he says and writes — though always elegantly — has been irking millions. He, who was instrumental in toppling socialism, is an inveterate preacher of justice and peace, and a critic of the modern “Me First” variety of capitalism — but his admonitions are not rooted in Marxism-Leninism; they are based in the Gospel. Thus he is only doing his job as supreme pontiff. —Uwe Siemon-Netto —Commentary: Everybody’s pope UPI)

In this essay, a Lutheran celebrates the 25th anniversary of John Paul II’s papacy.