Pilgrim Pope

Would you believe that Pope John Paul II has made over 80 overseas trips to spread the Christian gospel since his inauguration in 1978? This book is a collection of sermons and addresses given on these visits and is fascinating reading whatever your faith, or lack of it. One of the Pope's abiding messages is mankind's need for 'solidarity and unity'--on his Middle Eastern travels he stresses that Christians, Jews and Muslims all worship one God and see themselves as children of Abraham. The book comprises three parts: Evangelism and Global Politics, covering the period from 1979 to 1981, when the Pope was primarily concerned with evangelism; Solidarity and Unity, from 1981 to 1989, when he took up the call for solidarity which grew out of Eastern European struggles for democracy; and New Evangelisation: Toward the Millennium and Beyond, from society's materialism and quick-fix mentality. The list of countries the Pope has visited reads like a list of the world's worst trouble spots over the last three decades. From Angola to Nicaragua, Rwanda to Croatia, he has unflinchingly spoken out about the abuses of human rights and war atrocities, seasoning bold words with hope, celebrating Masses and canonising martyrs. However, what really strikes you as you read his speeches, such as his stirring homily on Polish compatriot Maximilian Kolbe, the pastor who took someone else's place in an Auschwitz gas chamber, is the Pontiff's deep love for his fellow man. Entirely appropriate for God's representative on earth.