The Pope's Legacy

Abortion: 'A nation that kills its own children is a nation without a future' - June 1997

Abortion: 'A nation that kills its own children is a nation without a future' - June 1997

Throughout his reign, John Paul II was outspoken on life issues. In constant pain himself, the dignity of those in suffering inspired him.

He rarely lost an opportunity to speak out against abortion. Last year he canonised Gianna Beretta Molla, who died of cancer in 1962 after refusing life-saving treatment that would have required the termination of her pregnancy.

The Vatican condemned the invasion of Iraq, saying that the pre-emptive action was not a "just war".

The late pope described euthanasia as a distortion of medical ethics, while his opposition to stem-cell research was more contentious because of the potential for relieving suffering and for saving life.

Priests: 'We are personally and profoundly afflicted by the sins of some of our brothers' - March 2002

The church has achieved a strength of purpose and a degree of unity under Pope John Paul II. But the number of people attending Mass has plummeted, and the shortage of priests, particularly in Europe and the United States, is dire.

During his papacy an estimated 100,000 priests left the Catholic priesthood, most of them unable to cope with the insistence on celibacy.

Matters were made worse by charges of paedophilia against clergy around the world, and evidence that it was covered up.

The refusal of the Pope to countenance women priests, despite the uproar, also became more central. Given the shortage of priests, his successor will be mindful that most regular worshippers are female.

Christian Dialogue: 'Real peace can only be achieved with understanding and respect between the three Abrahamic religions' - 5 May 2001

After centuries of distrust, Catholic attitudes towards the Jewish people have undergone a transformation. The Pope effectively apologised for centuries of anti-Semitism in a major speech in 2000 at the Yad Vashem memorial in Israel, saying: "Let us build a new future in which there will be no more anti-Jewish feeling."

In 2001, he became the first leader of the Catholic church to enter a mosque. Senior Vatican diplomats have also established links with Iranian clerics.

A 1999 visit to Romania saw him become the first Pope to visit an Orthodox land since the Great Schism of 1054, which created a split in the Christian empire that resulted in centuries of mutual hostility.

Sexuality: 'In the act that expresses their love, spouses are called to make a reciprocal gift of themselves, of their person...contraception limits this...giving' - February 1998

Of all the moral issues embraced by Pope John Paul II, his trenchant opposition to birth control proved easily the most controversial. A majority of Catholics worldwide, and an overwhelming majority in Europe and the United States, use contraception despite the official prohibition - a contradictionimpossible for his successor to ignore.

The issue has taken on enormous significance with the global spread of HIV/Aids, particularly in Africa. The Catholic church, and by extension the Pope, stands charged with contributing to its spread.

Reporting by Nicholas Pyke, James Lewis, Steve Bloomfield and Jonathan Thompson