Unity and hope

'We must ... seek unity without being discouraged
at the difficulties that can appear ... along that road'

BRIDGING A DIVIDE - Chief Rabbi Israel Lau leaned in to speak to Pope John Paul II during the pontiff's historic visit tot he Western Wall in Jerusalem on March 23, 2000. (AFP File Photo)

A concerted effort
to reach out to other faiths

(By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff)

Pope John Paul II leaves behind a complex and controversial legacy on many fronts. But his unrelenting work to improve relations between Catholics and non-Catholics -- sometimes successful and sometimes not -- will clearly go down as one of the pope's most important and lasting legacies.

HERO'S WELCOME - Millions of Poles greeted John Paul in June 1979 during his first visit since being elected. He quickly set to work on releasing the Soviet grip on his homeland. (AP File Photo)

A fuse lit in Poland
helps end Soviet rule

(By Charles Sennott, Globe Staff and Brian Whitmore, Globe Correspondent)

In June 1979, the Soviet grip on Eastern Europe seemed as tight as ever. But the windows of grim, Stalin-era apartment blocks in the Polish capital were decorated with jubilant shrines to welcome Pope John Paul II, who was making a pilgrimage to his homeland in the first year of his papacy.

A concerted effort to reach out to other faiths

A fuse lit in Poland helps end Soviet rule

A concerted effort
to reach out to other faiths

A fuse lit in Poland
helps end Soviet rule