RedOctober wrote:

To an atheist like me, the pope has little meaning or worth to me other
than being just another fellow human being who is old and in poor
health.

As a free thinker I have little need for religion. Since religion
itself is oppressive.

I'm not Catholic, but
the Pope speaks with the voice of God for about two billion people.
Their beliefs and views are as valid to them as yours are to you.
There's at least one thing Steven and I can agree on:
John Paul II was more than just a sick old man;
he was a good, decent man and a positive influence
in a world that desperately needs both.
If there is a heaven, may he rest from his labors there.
Dave S.