The death of Pope John Paul II on Saturday has caused much mourning but also much praise of his life among Catholics throughout campus.

Reverend Stuart W. Swetland of St. John’s Catholic Chapel met the pope twice and admires the pope’s outlook on life.

“I truly believe he was from the core of his being motivated by love for God and love for man,” Swetland said. “He was an Evangelist who put faith on the world’s stage and allowed all to see the splendor of truth.”

Although many Catholic students think the Pope joined God in Heaven after his death, they are still upset about the pope’s passing.

Barbara Zebrowski, freshman in LAS, was especially affected by the death of the Polish pope.

“I did cry because my parents are from Poland and religion is very present in their society,” Zebrowski said. “Because he was Polish, the world knew that someone Polish can do something great. In addition, he was a great person who touched so many people and caused people to gravitate towards him.”

David Knippenberg, freshman in LAS, said Pope John Paul II was not only a spiritual leader but a political figure as well. He said the pope was a rallying point for Catholics around the world by making clear what the Church believed was right and wrong.

“He did a really good job with abortion and euthanasia, otherwise known as the Right For Life Movement,” Knippenberg said. “He was also credited with the fall of communism, which I believe he definitely had a hand in.”

Swetland also said the pope was a wonderful teacher and that Swetland studied many of his works.

“His teachings of philosophy, theology, plays and poetry deserve attention and study because his teaching will provide the bridge between the church and the post-modern world in which we all live,” Swetland said.

The church is also making an effort to help students mourn.

“The church is offering prayers and masses to reflect on the life and teaching of the Holy Father,” Swetland said.

But some Catholics said they are concerned about the selection of the next pope. Swetland and Knippenberg said they have faith that the next leader will do a good job.

“We will always be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,” Swetland said. “Pope John Paul II would also probably say that for Christians we will always find meaning and purpose in life and suffering through the birth, life and resurrection of Christ.”

Swetland said he thanked the pope for his achievements with the youth last summer when he met him.

“He was very much a pope of the young and the only pope that many children had ever known,” Swetland said.

The pope was not only close to the heart of the youth and Catholics, but also affected policy makers in Washington, D.C.

“The world feels a bit less humane today with the loss of Pope John Paul II,” Congressman Tim Johnson, R-Ill., said in a press release Saturday. “He was not only a symbol of moral goodness and hope, but an active participant in the secular world, defying Nazis, defying Communists, even defying an assassin’s bullets, and doing it with the strength and fortitude that will be his legacy. He touched us all and we will feel his loss.”