The Pope: Legacy and Ritual

Re “Some Yearn to Bring Pope Home,” April 5: As Polish American Catholics, my family and I mourn the passing of Pope John Paul II, a great spiritual leader and role model for future generations.

It is without a doubt that Pope John Paul II played an important role in the liberation of Poland from communism, and the fact that he was known as the Polish pope reinforced the historically strong national pride of the Polish people that Poland’s most recent foreign oppressors unsuccessfully tried to extinguish during the last century.

Edyta

Frackiewicz-Koziol

Los Angeles

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I have been looking again and again at the exquisite photograph by Times photographer Genaro Molina of mourners in St. Peter’s Square (front page of Sunday’s special section on Pope John Paul II). The composition is masterful, the emotion palpable. Photography may be ubiquitous in our digital age, but artistry deserves recognition.

Elizabeth Anthony

Malibu

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Re “Pontiff’s Choice Was to Die Simply,” April 4: Thank you for a touching and insightful article about the pope’s last hours. I was dismayed, however, at the end of the article, where those who were at his bedside were mentioned. All of the clergymen and doctors (men) were named, but the four Polish nuns who had tended to the pope for most of his papacy were not. It reminded me of the writing in the Bible, which rarely names the women present. We know the women were there, but without naming them, they are lost to history. I guess I hold The Times to a higher standard of inclusiveness than the biblical authors.

Katherine Jaramillo

Torrance

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I received a call from my grandson yesterday relative to flying the flag at half-staff at school in honor of the passing of the pope. He was concerned that it was a contradiction of the separation of church and state.

I told him that his feelings were not totally unjustified -- and that you have to understand that this wonderful man was more than just the leader of a billion Catholics around the world, but a man of peace, a man of justice and a man of kindness and good to all peoples of every faith, creed, color and ethnicity.

The president asking for the lowering of the flag was to pay honor to a complete man of great contributions to our world. The unparalleled turnout of mourners at the Vatican is a picture that speaks 4 million words.

Len Fields

Long Beach