The U.S. is a secular nation, and one of the major principals on which the country was founded is supposedly "seperation of church and state", which implies an absolute freedom of religion among its citizens and no religious influence in government. Frankly, this will likely never be effectively practiced, but that's acceptable, I suppose. George W. Bush, the country's leader, is of the Catholic faith and there's an obvious religious influence in his political platform. I'd imagine this is the reasoning behind the "America is a Catholic country" statements. It could also be taken as mudslinging from those who are Anti-Bush and are unhappy with the blatant impact his Catholicism has on how he does things.Originally Posted by Shoden
The Pope undeniably had an immense amount of influence over a great many people, but so did Hitler, which is to say that those who were popular or had an impact shouldn't arbitrarily be honored. The question is whether he was a respectable man who had a positive effect on the world. Personally, I'd say the Pope was. When thinking of things he's done that I find disagreeable, I realise that it's a case where I differ in my beliefs more or less with the principles of the Catholic faith rather than his individual ideals.
I think Shoden actually makes a good point. Given that he is the leader of the church, his beliefs are going to be immensely deep-rooted - the church isn't going to appoint a leader that doesn't uphold their morals to the fullest extent. Relative to the general conservatism of the Catholic faith, though, John Paul II had some progressive ideas. I certainly think the church is better off as a result of his time as Pope.
