Europe mourns death of the 'enlargement pope'

European Commission President Barroso expressed his "deep sorrow" about the pope's death. He also sent a special message of solidarity to the Polish nation. "John Paul II will be remembered as someone who played an essential role in the reunification of Europe and in the advance of ideas of freedom and democracy in our continent," said Mr Barroso.

The Guardian calls John Paul II a "radical authoritarian". Acknowledging the pope's influence ("his impact will outlast his life"), the British left-leaning newspaper says John Paul II "attracted admiration, incomprehension and loathing in almost equal measures".   

The International Herald Tribune points to the moral conservatism of the pope, calling him "a man who used the tools of modernity to struggle against the modern world".

The Financial Times already looks forward to the next pope, who should "reinforce spiritual leadership over a less deferential flock". 

The Times  says the election of Cardinal Woytila was "one of the most succesful decisions in the history of the papacy" and looks at the major challenges facing the Church: "the material poverty of the Third World, and the spiritual poverty of the First". The British newspaper suggests that the new pope be "drawn from the nations of suffering because they know the real conditions of life, and suffering strengthens their faith".

French Libération  calls John Paul II "un révolutionnaire aux penchants réactionnaires" and "le dernier géant politique du XXe siècle". 

Le Monde assesses John Paul's papacy in several articles. In one of them, Michel Leplay of the reformed Church of France says that the pope was certainly less free than was generally thought ("Il fut certainement moins libre qu'on ne le pense").

Süddeutsche Zeitung underlines that in few countries John Paul II was as controversial as in Germany but that the Germans made their peace with a pope who remained a stranger to them in many areas.

Die Zeit  calls John Paul II an "anticapitalist anticommunist" who could not be put into one box. "Mit dieser unabhängigen Position bildete er einen starken Pol in der Weltöffentlichkeit, stärker als fast alle anderen Kräfte in der globalisierten Welt. Der kranke, fromme Papst war ein Global Player, ein ernster Spieler auf der Weltbühne".