Lou Sheldon has good things to say about the pope:

Pope John Paul was a man of peace; always concerned when there was physical conflict and violence. So much so that he even visited and blessed the man that attempted to murder him at one time.

He was also a man of righteousness, never wavering in his belief that the Holy Scriptures were to be obeyed in matters of morals and human sexuality. He spoke out clearly that homosexuality was not a gift from God, but could be healed through the Gospel.

So does Gary Bauer:

Perhaps John Paul II’s most enduring legacy will be his rallying of the Catholic Church on the crucial issues of our day, including the sanctity of life, the importance of marriage and the family, and the true meaning of human sexuality. He was never afraid to raise his voice against the contemporary evil of the culture of death.

Albert Mohler disagrees:

Even so, we must also recognize that John Paul II also represented the most troubling aspects of Roman Catholicism. He defended and continued the theological directions set loose at the Second Vatican Council. Even as he consolidated authority in the Vatican and disciplined wayward priests and theologians, he never confronted the most pressing issues of evangelical concern.

Even in his most recent book, released in the United States just days before his death, John Paul II continued to define the work of Christ as that which is
added to human effort. Like the church he served, John Paul II rejected justification by faith. Beyond this, he rejected the biblical doctrine of hell, embraced inclusivism, and promoted an extreme form of Marian devotion, referring to Mary as “Co-Redemptrix,” “Mediatrix,” and “Mother of all Graces.”

In the end, evangelicals should be thankful for the personal virtues Pope John Paul II demonstrated, and for his advocacy on behalf of life, liberty, and human dignity. Yet we cannot ignore the institution of the papacy itself, nor the complex of doctrines, truth claims, and false doctrines that John Paul II taught, defended, and promulgated. As Roman Catholics mourn the passing of the pope, we should take care to respond with both compassion and conviction, fulfilling our own responsibility to take the measure of this man and his
legacy.

All of these from their respective listservs.

This is disgusting, as were the “Ding Dong, the Evil Pope is Dead” threads seen around lefty blogs over the weekend.

It seems so simple, and yet simple decency seems so elusive these days: let’s bury the man, and then begin to assess his legacy before we rush in to claim or spit on it.