In a ceremony today president Bush awarded the US's highest civilian
honor to the Pope and praised him as a "hero of our generation".  He
also alluded to the Pope's great accomplishments.

What great things have the Pope accomplished?  (I'm not trolling,
really.  This is a sincere question.)

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 04 Jun 2004 09:21 PDT

Please let me know if this serves to answer your question:

"The Accomplishments of John Paul" 
http://www.bereanbeacon.org/articles/accomplishments_john_paul.htm

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 04 Jun 2004 09:25 PDT

"During those 25 years, John Paul II has: visited 301 of the 334
parishes in his Diocese of Rome; made 142 trips inside Italy, and 98
foreign trips, to 129 different countries, traveling over 740,000
miles; delivered over 3,300 speeches during his trips, and spent
roughly 11.5 percent of his pontificate outside Rome; written 13
encyclicals, 13 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions,
and 42 apostolic letters (including a new document on the Rosary,
beatified 1,297 people, including 1,024 martyrs and 272 confessors, in
135 separate ceremonies; and canonized 464 saints (401 martyrs and 63
confessors) in 47 ceremonies; held 8 consistories, at which he has
created 201 cardinals, including 115 of those who are now eligible to
vote in a papal conclave; convened 6 meetings of the College of
Cardinals, and 15 meetings of the Synod of Bishops; held over 1,430
private audiences with visiting dignitaries, including 944 visits with
heads of state or chief government ministers; and presided at over
1,055 public audiences, at which he has spoken to roughly 16,500,000
people.

A great record of accomplishments."

POPE JOHN PAUL II
http://www.stthomasirondequoit.com/id521.htm

Hello.

Bush's statement gives a broad outline of the accomplishments he was referring to:

 "A devoted servant of God, His Holiness Pope John Paul II has
championed the cause of the poor, the weak, the hungry, and the
outcast. He has defended the unique dignity of every life, and the
goodness of all life. Through his faith and moral conviction, he has
given courage to others to be not afraid in overcoming injustice and
oppression. His principled stand for peace and freedom has inspired
millions and helped to topple communism and tyranny. The United States
honors this son of Poland who became the Bishop of Rome and a hero of
our time."
source: The White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040604-3.html

A few years ago, Pope John Paul II was awarded a Congressional medal.
At the time, Congress listed various accomplishments as reasons for
that award. See:
http://financialservices.house.gov/banking/12800lea.htm


George Weigel has written a biography of Pope John Paul II.  Here's a
description of a recent talk on this subject by Weigel:

"Weigel devoted most of his talk to the 10 accomplishments of Pope
John Paul's pontificate that he believes are "securely established" in
history. They are:

   1. Transforming the papacy from a bureaucratic to a pastoral office.
   2. Recognizing that the primary aim of Vatican Council II was spiritual renewal.
   3. Defeating communism, not as a statesman or diplomat, but as a pastor.
   4. Recognizing that a false concept of freedom would be the next
great threat to democracy after communism.
   5. Keeping genuine ecumenism -- the quest for "unity in truth"
among all Christian denominations -- alive.
   6. Making historic breakthroughs in Jewish-Catholic relations.
   7. Rescuing dialogue with Islam, Buddhism, and other world
religions from the "sandpit of political correctness."
   8. Calling attention to the importance of human life issues.
   9. Developing the Catechism.
  10. Providing personal inspiration to millions of believers. "
source:
The Catholic Diocese of Peoria - Catholic Post - October 12, 2003
http://www.cdop.org/catholic_post/post_10_12_03/news.cfm

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search strategy:
whitehouse.gov
pope "presidential medal"
pope "congressional medal"
weigel pope accomplishments communism

I hope this helps.

Excellent.  Thank you.

Thank you for the tip.
-juggler

So what does anyone REALLY accomplish?

Not a lot.

A prophecy from the Bible. From the Old Testment. Daniel 2;44.."And in
the days of those kings, the God of Heaven will set up a Kingdom that
will never be brought to ruin. And the Kingdom itself will not be
passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all
these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite". Jesus,
God`s son, told his disciples to " preach the Kingdom". Matthew
6;33..."Keep on then, seeking first the Kingdom, and his
righteousness, and all these other things [necessities of life, verse
31] will be added to you". Matthew 7;21.."Not everyone saying to me,
`lord, lord,`will enter into the Kingdom of the heavens, BUT THE ONE
DOING THE WILL OF MY FATHER, WHO IS IN THE HEAVENS, WILL".  Does the
Pope understand what the Kingdom is?, Does he use the word "Kingdom",
Is he prepared to give away his wealth to follow Jesus` teachings?
Does he stay totally aloof from world politics?. Jesus said of the
Pharisees, Mark 7;7.."It is in vain that they keep worshiping me,
because they teach as doctrines, commands of men". 8. Letting go the
commandment of God, You hold fast the tradition of men". Has the Pope
read Revelation 21;4 where God promises that death and pain will be
done away with. Or will we believe that mankind is forever to live and
die, and go to the Popes heaven or hell. If that were the case, then
Jesus` sacrifice would be in vain, and God just does not make mistakes
that serious.