Monitor: All the News of the World American comment on the Pope's visit to the United States

Wednesday 27 January 1999 19:02 EST
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SO THERE they were, the saint and the sinner, meeting in the hangar. When the new millennium and new century officially arrive, Pope John Paul II may have been the last pope to serve his full reign in the 20th century, and Clinton will be the first president to serve in the 21st century. In contemporary history, the Pope will represent what once was and Clinton will represent what will be. The Pope will be remembered for his tireless battle to stem the changing beliefs of his flock. The President will be remembered for his impeachment, and his tireless effort to adjust his own beliefs.

St Louis Post Dispatch

JOHN PAUL'S criticisms of materialism were part of a trip underwritten by Pepsi-Cola and several other companies. Pope John Paul won his battle with Communism, but his struggle to mount a spiritual critique of capitalism and a global commercial culture promises to be an even more complex task.

The New York Times

POPE JOHN Paul II is getting the kind of welcome America's youths usually reserve for rock stars. They cheer his motorcade. They pack his sermons. But when the lights go off and the stage comes down, it's not clear how closely they will adhere to the strictures of any organised religion. Many young Americans thirst for connection to a broader movement. But often they find it hard to commit to any one religion. Increasingly, they are looking to their own consciences, rather than any religious teaching, to sort out the truth. The danger is that youths will adopt an amorphous belief system that just won't last.

Christian Science Monitor

THIS IS the man who began his papacy with the words, "Be Not Afraid", the Pope who survived an assassin's bullet to help bring down the Soviet Union, who, for all his insights into the lock that the culture of death now holds on our century, will be remembered more for the hope he holds out against it. In this battle for authentic human freedom, John Paul has more allies than even he may know.

The Wall Street Journal

Europe

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