"A Pole and a German; a philosopher and a theologian; a great public personality and a shy scholar; a close collaboration and a deep spiritual friendship - one looks hard in the history of the Catholic Church to find a friendship so consequential for the faith and for the world as the partnership of Karol Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II, and Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. Both men sacrificed the lives they loved for an office and a service that did not seek. Both did so out of the greatness of their souls and the depth of their faith. Pope Benedict's tribute to his extraordinary predecessor is both a testimony and a pledge: a testimony to the depth of human brotherhood that friendship with Christ makes possible, and a pledge to continue extend, and deepen the witness of the Office of Peter." -George Weigel
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