Dear friends,
InterVarsity staff, students, and faculty express our condolences to Catholics around the world at the death of Pope John Paul II. We share in this time of mourning but also join with Christians of all churches to celebrate his life as a faithful witness of Jesus Christ.
We especially appreciated his commitment to young people, making friends of people of different faiths and Christian denominations. Young people flocked to him as he showed them the love of God.
His encyclical on ecumenism, Ut Unum Sint, showed his concern for dialogue with other Christian churches and other religions. This opened doors for InterVarsity to serve Protestant students on Catholic campuses with the schools’ blessing.
He was refreshingly ecumenical; he could bridge gaps in unexpected ways. I had enormous respect for him, and we will all miss his influence in the world.
In Christ’s Service,
Alec Hill
President
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA
More on Pope John Paul at www.urbana.org
Christianity Today articles on Pope John Paul
In his first mass at St Peter’s in 1978 Pope John Paul said “Be Not Afraid” which became one of his major themes. “Be Not Afraid” is also the name and theme of an InterVarsity Press Bible Study series.
