The faith of Pope John Paul II

There are quite a few disgruntled Catholics out there who accuse our last pope, John Paul II, of being a heretic, a Muslim, a Buddhist, an animist, etc.
While it is true that the last Holy Father did engage in dialogue and prayer with those of other religions, let us examine what he said.
In his book Crossing the Threshold of Hope, he says, "It is therefore a revealed truth that there is salvation only and exclusively in Christ. The Church, inasmuch as it is the Body of Christ, is simply an instrument of this salvation...People are saved through the Church, they are saved in the Church, but they are always saved by the grace of Christ."
He approved of the document Dominus Jesus, which states, that while the Catholic Church accords other religions of the world "sincere respect," The truth that Christ founded the Catholic Church to be "the instrument for the salvation of all humanity...rules out in a radical way the mentality of  'indifferentism', characterized by a religious relativism which leads to the belief that 'one religion is as good as another.'" This should put to rest the argument that he thought all religions were basically the same.
In not one instance did Pope John Paul II ever attempt to change any doctrine or belief of the Catholic Church.
Let's not be too hasty to jump to conclusions about anyone, especially someone as important as the Holy Father.

Fall

Here are a few thoughts on life as we enter fall and are getting closer to the end of the year.
I think it is kind of sad when the leaves start putting on their beautiful colors. I think this may be because I always feel like the family is closer in the summer. We travel together, go camping together, take long evening walks--now all of this is over. It is especially sad now that the two older ones have moved on in life. A tremendous longing for the days of my children's childhood strikes when I am alone or feeling lonely. And now that they are older I worry about them twice as much!
Then there is the political situation in America. So many people are unjustly imprisoned in this country. And Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize? Kind of makes it meaningless. Not to mention that there is no justice for the unborn. Hasn't been since 1973.
But there has to be some joy in life as well. Good friends, loving relatives, kind strangers, things to make, things to do.
Blessings on all as we draw near to the end of 2009!