As I write this, Pope John Paul II is apparently hovering near death; by the time you read it, he may well have already died.

Here's a few things I've found talking about his legacy:

From Democracy Now!

Robert Ellsberg, editor, Orbis Books: I think that the way people perceive the Pope, you know, depends sort of on their perspective, where they're starting from, and the image of the Pope in the U.S. tends to be shaped pretty much by how you stand in relation to certain, you know, hierarchy of moral issues, role of women, homosexuality, abortion. And, of course, you know, on those grounds he is lauded by conservatives and, you know, many liberals and progressives would tend to see him as a very conservative or reactionary force. But I think that, you know, that’s looking at it through sort of an American lens or the way that his image is filtered by the American media, and probably his legacy in the rest of the world will be shaped much more by an awareness of his strong commitment to social justice and the right to the poor, labor, human rights, his critique of liberal capitalism and those kind of issues.

Tom Cornell, editor, The Catholic Worker: Everyone knows that the Pope had some kind of link with the fall of the Soviet Union and the downfall of communism. They're not aware that there is a link between the Berlin Wall and the nonviolent revolution against Marcos in the Philippines in the late ‘70s. Cardinal sin was supported by the Pope in that instance and that gave the possibility of mass nonviolent direct action to other people, including the Germans. On the labor front, Carol Voitila was teaching a variant of the labor theory of value back in Krakow in the 1940s, when you could be exiled from the University of St. Louis for teaching the same thing as one of my friends did. Common Wheel published a version of the Pope's teaching on that subject some years ago. Over and over again he reiterated the principle established in 1893 of the universal destination of goods. That means that everything in creation, all goods, are meant for all people, and although we defend the principle of the right of private property, private property must always be viewed under the rubric of the common good.Everyone knows that the Pope had some kind of link with the fall of the Soviet Union and the downfall of communism. They're not aware that there is a link between the Berlin Wall and the nonviolent revolution against Marcos in the Philippines in the late ‘70s. Cardinal sin was supported by the Pope in that instance and that gave the possibility of mass nonviolent direct action to other people, including the Germans. On the labor front, Carol Voitila was teaching a variant of the labor theory of value back in Krakow in the 1940s, when you could be exiled from the University of St. Louis for teaching the same thing as one of my friends did. Common Wheel published a version of the Pope's teaching on that subject some years ago. Over and over again he reiterated the principle established in 1893 of the universal destination of goods. That means that everything in creation, all goods, are meant for all people, and although we defend the principle of the right of private property, private property must always be viewed under the rubric of the common good.

PBS Frontline - The Millenial Pope

EWTN - The Pope's condition