Most Heartfelt Piece of the Day

For a very uplifting, politics-free eulogy of Pope John Paul II, this piece by James Carroll of the Boston Globe is tops for the day (I just don't understand the concluding sentence).

Even slight knowledge of the papal succession, however, underscores the special depth of this week's loss. Agree or disagree, we Catholics most valued John Paul II not for his historic achievements on the world stage or for his undisputed integrity -- but for the full magnificence of his humanity, to the end. We recognized in him a figure both in touch with our time and at the mercy of it; confounded by change and loyal to a treasured past; deeply conflicted and at home in his skin. He was a man, that is, in whom we could glimpse the elegant range of the human condition, including its paradoxes, mysteries, and infuriating disappointments. This pope, for all his greatness, was one of us. We loved him.