Israel: Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on Sunday expressed deep sorrow over the death of Pope John Paul II, calling him ”a great champion of reconciliation and brotherhood between the faiths” who strived for closer relations with Israel and the Jewish people.
”Israel, the Jewish people and the entire world lost today a great champion of reconciliation and brotherhood between the faiths,” Shalom said, extending Israel’s condolences to the Roman Catholic Church in a statement issued shortly after the Vatican announced that the 84-year-old pontiff had passed away.
”This is a great loss, first and foremost for the Catholic Church and its hundreds of millions of believers, but also for humanity as a whole,” Shalom said.
Palestine: Palestinians were also mourning the death of John Paul II, remembering him as a pope who supported those suffering from injustice.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas passed on his condolences and those of the Palestinian Authority, remembering him as a pope ”who dedicated his life to justice for all”.
”We have lost a very important religious figure who dedicated his life to peace and justice for all,” a statement from his office said.
”We will not forget his visit to our land and his position towards Jerusalem,” it said, in reference to the Holy City that the Palestinians hope will one day be the capital of their future state.
United Kingdom: British Prime Minister Tony Blair said after Pope John Paul II died on Saturday that the world has lost a religious leader who was revered by Catholics and non-Catholics alike for his ”unflinching” struggle for what he believed was good and right.
”The world has lost a religious leader who was revered across people of all faiths and none,” Blair said in a statement released by his office in London. ”He was an inspiration, a man of extraordinary faith, dignity and courage.”
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II expressed her ”deep sorrow” at the death of Pope John Paul II on Saturday and remembered his efforts at promoting peace throughout the world.
”The queen has conveyed to the Holy See her deep sorrow on receiving the news of the death of his holiness Pope John Paul II,” said a statement from Buckingham Palace, the queen’s official residence in London.
”Her majesty remembers the untiring efforts of Pope John Paul II in promoting peace and goodwill throughout the world,” she said.
Italy: Italy’s President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi said on Saturday he was ”mourning the Holy Father with all Italians” following the death of the pope.
”Italy is in mourning. Along with everyone, I feel deep sorrow,” Ciampi said in a televised address to the nation.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said everyone was grateful for the ”tireless work and suffering” of the late Pope John Paul II, the Ansa news agency reported.
”We are all grateful for the tireless work and suffering that he bore incessantly against every form of totalitarianism, violence, oppression and moral degradation in the name of the values of the Catholic Church that are also the supreme values of human dignity and solidarity,” he said in a message to the camerlengo, Cardinal Martinez Somalo.
United States: United States President George Bush Saturday paid tribute to Pope John Paul II in a brief appearance shortly after the pope’s death, calling him a ”champion of human freedom”.
”Laura and I join people across the earth in mourning the passing of Pope John Paul II,” the president said.
”The Catholic Church has lost its shepherd, the world has lost a champion of human freedom, and a good and faithful servant of God has been called home,” Bush said from the White House.
Bush ordered that US flags be flown at half-mast on all public buildings on the day of the pope’s interment.
Former US president Bill Clinton on Saturday praised Pope John Paul II’s role in the downfall of communism and hailed him as a ”beacon of light” for everyone in the world.
In a statement released shortly after the announcement of the pope’s death, Clinton and his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton said: ”In speaking powerfully and eloquently for mercy and reconciliation to people divided by old hatreds and persecuted by abuse of power, the Holy Father was a beacon of light not just for Catholics, but for all people.”
Canada: Canadian leaders paid tribute to Pope John Paul II, with Prime Minister Paul Martin calling him ”a true apostle of peace”.
”His wide-ranging travels, even at an advanced age and despite ill health, were an expression of his determination to use every opportunity to promote international reconciliation and respect for democratic values and human rights,” Martin said in a statement.
Pope John Paul II ”was the number one humanist on this planet”, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev said early on Sunday, reacting to the pope’s death.
”The pope was able to do a lot not only for Catholics, but for the whole world,” Gorbachev told the Itar-Tass news agency.
Russia: A top Russian lawmaker, State Duma Lower House of Parliament Deputy Speaker Lyubov Sliska, said the death of John Paul II is ”a big loss for the world”.
France: French President Jacques Chirac said on Saturday he is ”deeply moved” and that all of France is in mourning following the death of Pope John Paul II.
”This mourning deeply marks France as well as every French person, who identifies with the message of the Catholic Church,” he said in a statement issued shortly after the announcement of the pontiff’s death.
Meanwhile, the president of the French Conference of Catholic Bishops, Jean-Pierre Ricard, said John Paul II’s death ”devastates us and we cry for a father”.
”John Paul II has just died, a pilgrim of hope has reached the end of his path,” Ricard said in a statement.
Nigeria: Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo hailed the late Pope John Paul II as ”an embodiment of the virtue of love” on Saturday and thanked him for his opposition to the country’s former military dictators.
On a personal note, the West African strongman also thanked the pope for speaking out against his own imprisonment when an opponent of military rule.
”President Olusegun Obasanjo has received with immense sadness the news of the passing away of one of the world’s most revered religious leaders and statesmen,” the president’s spokesperson, Remi Oyo, said.
Spain: The Spanish government on Saturday expressed ”profound grief” over the death of Pope John Paul II and expressed its condolences to the Vatican.
In a communiqué sent to the Holy See, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, said the demise of the pontiff ”represents the loss of one of the most towering world figures in recent history”.
”With his death, mankind has lost a first-class moral beacon both for Christians and non-Christians,” he added.
Ireland: Ireland’s President Mary McAleese said after Pope John Paul II died on Saturday that he had been a pillar of the modern world, serving the Catholic Church and the cause of all humanity.
Germany: German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said that Pope John Paul II had ”changed our world” and played a major role in the development of a peaceful Europe.
Philippines: Philippine President Gloria Arroyo on Sunday led the nation in expressing a ”deep sense of grief” over the death of Pope John Paul II, a highly revered figure in this largely Roman Catholic nation.
”Our people receive the news of his death with a deep sense of grief and loss,” Arroyo, a devout Catholic, said in a statement. — Sapa-AFP