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WASHINGTON, April 6, 2005 -- "It is a true honor to have been asked by Speaker Dennis Hastert and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to be a part of the US delegation to Rome to attend Pope John Paul II's funeral on April 7 and 8. I am very grateful that I will be able to celebrate this extraordinary man's life and to pay our respects, on behalf of New York and the nation, one last time.
"Pope John Paul II was a great man, and a strong advocate for equality. He spoke out time and time again against discrimination and injustice in all its forms. He believed in the "right to have a family and to have an adequately paying job" and that everyone should be able "to exist, preserve and develop one's own culture."
"Pope John Paul II has spread the word of God and the gospel to the world. He was the most traveled Pope in history as he brought these ideas across the world, especially to the world's poorest people on the continents of Asia, South America, and Africa. He was the only pope to have visited a Caribbean country and has held mass in a host of Central and South American countries. In the last two decades under the pontiff, the number of Catholics in Africa has doubled and the Pope has visited over a dozen countries on the continent. He appointed nearly two dozen cardinals from Latin America and the Caribbean, including Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras and Claudio Hummes of Brazil, and thirteen from Africa, including Francis Arinze of Nigeria.
"Citing the commitment to social justice in the Old Testament, the Pope was a long-time champion of debt relief. In 1994, he called on the United States and other nations to forgive the debts of 40 of the world's poorest countries; to fight vigilantly against hunger, poverty, and disease; and to establish programs to build sound economic policies in those countries.
"Though he mourned September 11th with the rest of the world, the Pope steadfastly believed that peace, not war, is the path to creating a safer world for all. He was an outspoken critic of the Iraqi war and called on international leaders to find a peaceful mechanism to address their differences.
"Pope John Paul II worked to ease the centuries' old tensions between the Catholic Church and Jews. He was the first Pope to visit a concentration camp and was also the first Pope to visit a synagogue, calling Jews "our eldest brothers." He has repeatedly tried to keep the Catholic Church morally grounded in its advocacy but adaptive to changes in the world.
"Not only was he a spiritual leader and warrior for civil rights of universal renown, but he was also an intellectual powerhouse. He was capable of speaking to his people in multiple languages. He wrote volumes on the philosophies of mankind and the virtues of faith.
"I have always respected and admired the Pope for his humanitarianism and empathy for others. He led by example and marked a path of principle and conviction. During my second meeting in 1987 with the pontiff, I was humbled to hear his views and thoughts on drug eradication and other contemporary issues. For over a half century, he had implored the international community to think with grace, act with compassion, and behave with deep regard and respect for our fellow man.
"In his many decades of service as the head of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II has done tremendous good for both the Catholic Church and the people of the world. He was a man who commanded my sincere respect, and his loss will be felt by me for many, many years to come. I will do my best to convey the thoughts and good wishes of the American public for a man who in death, as in life, is an inspiration and guide to us all."
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