VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul II has died, the Vatican has announced.
The 84-year-old Pontiff, who had headed the Roman Catholic Church for 26 years, died at 9.37 p.m (8.37 p.m. British time), a statement said on Saturday.
"The Holy Father died this evening at 21.37 in his private apartment," the statement said.
The news was immediately announced to huge crowds gathered in St Peter's Square.
John Paul will be remembered for his role in the collapse of communism in Europe and his unyielding defence of traditional Vatican doctrines as leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.
Huge crowds had staged a tearful vigil in St. Peter's Square, praying for a man already being dubbed by some Catholics as "John Paul the Great".
The Pope's health had deteriorated steadily over the past decade and earlier this year took a sharp turn for the worse.
The Pontiff, once a lithe athlete and powerful speaker, was already racked by arthritis and Parkinson's Disease, his voice often reduced to a raspy whisper.
He was rushed to hospital twice in February and had to have a tracheotomy to ease serious breathing problems. But he never regained his strength from the operation and failed dramatically on two occasions to address crowds at St. Peter's Square.
On Wednesday doctors inserted a feeding tube into his stomach to try boost his energy levels. A day later he developed a urinary infection and high fever that soon precipitated heart failure, kidney problems and ultimately death.
According to pre-written Church rules, the Pontiff's mourning rites will last 9 days and his body is likely to be laid to rest in the crypt underneath St Peter's Basilica.
The conclave to elect a new Pope will start in 15 to 20 days, with almost 120 cardinals from around the world gathering in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel to choose a successor.
There is no favourite candidate to take over. Karol Wojtyla was himself regarded as an outsider when he was elevated to the papacy on October 16, 1978.
Few would have predicted then that the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years would throw off the stiff trappings of the papacy, travel the globe and leave an indelible mark on history.
In over a quarter century on the world stage, he was both a champion of the downtrodden and an often contested defender of orthodoxy within his own church.
Historians say one of the Pope's most lasting legacies will be his role in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989.
"Behold the night is over, day has dawned anew," the Pope said during a triumphant visit to Czechoslovakia in 1990.
A decade after witnessing the fall of communism, he fulfilled another of his dreams. He visited the Holy Land in March 2000, and, praying at Jerusalem's Western Wall, asked forgiveness for Catholic sins against Jews over the centuries.
But while many loved the man, his message was less popular and he was a source of deep division in his own church.
Critics constantly attacked his traditionalist stance on family issues, such as his condemnation of contraception and homosexuality, and hope the next Pope will be more liberal.
However, he has appointed more than 95 percent of the cardinals who will elect his successor, thus stacking the odds that his controversial teachings will not be tampered with.
Ashii
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hmmm.........
ther s a person that i respect a loottttt,, the way she spent her life i know even being a muslim i could never do this,, mother teressa will she go in hell ??
Bazigaar
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SALL said:
agree ONE u say that line for urself,,, not for the person who s dead maut sab k liye barabar hai,,, mayyat ki respect sab pe farz hai
btw we r not allowed to say "may his soul rests in peace" or "Allah maghfirat kare" or "jannat naseeb kare" for a non muslim
hmmmmmmmm... i ve a little 'objection' abt it agar meri pitai na karne ka promis kiya jae to hum kuch kahein ??
c'mon guys don;t be narrow minded...a non-muslim is also a human...i am surprised how easily we say Allah maghfirit keray for a muslim who have all da bad habbits yet we have problem saying Allah maghfirit keray for a non-muslim who have been nice and kind all his life following his religion properly...
islam teaches us to spread peace, love and humanity...is this a way to spread humanity and love by saying k no i can;t pray for u...i hope u burn in hell? naah...Allah himself is forgiving and he can forgive anyone anysin...it;s up to HIM...he could forgive a non-believer for something he did or catch a muslim for some mistake he might have made...
and agar ab bhi kisi ke baat samajh mae nahi ati..then i have no more time to waste - sorry
Bazigaar
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SALL said:
hmmm.........
ther s a person that i respect a loottttt,, the way she spent her life i know even being a muslim i could never do this,, mother teressa will she go in hell ??
we don;t know...it;s up to God to decide, but we certialy can pray for her
the_one
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yes,Bazigaar you are right."Allah maghfirit keray" is an automatic reaction.it is said that Allah may forgive any sin except SHIRK. being a muslim is not an automatic guarantee to a place in heaven.
Bazigaar
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the_one said:
yes,Bazigaar you are right."Allah maghfirit keray" is an automatic reaction.it is said that Allah may forgive any sin except SHIRK. being a muslim is not an automatic guarantee to a place in heaven.
Allah can forgive shirk too...
there's a very well known hadees....about a non-muslim prostitute who was going somewhere and saw a dog dying near a well...she got water from well and gave the dog..God liked her action so much that he forgave her all sins and send her to heaven...(i don't have source for this hadees, but i can certianly find it for u)
so u see...God is all forgiving..there's nothing that he can;t forgive...cuz if we say god can;t forgive something perticular..then it;s like restricting god's abilities/powers to forgive...and god is above all restrictions...it;s simple logic
the_one
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Bazigaar said:
the_one said:
yes,Bazigaar you are right."Allah maghfirit keray" is an automatic reaction.it is said that Allah may forgive any sin except SHIRK. being a muslim is not an automatic guarantee to a place in heaven.
Allah can forgive shirk too...
there's a very well known hadees....about a non-muslim prostitute who was going somewhere and saw a dog dying near a well...she got water from well and gave the dog..God liked her action so much that he forgave her all sins and send her to heaven...(i don't have source for this hadees, but i can certianly find it for u)
so u see...God is all forgiving..there's nothing that he can;t forgive...cuz if we say god can;t forgive something perticular..then it;s like restricting god's abilities/powers to forgive...and god is above all restrictions...it;s simple logic
Teen Tracker
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Jibran said:
Mujhey Bardha Afsoos hai Shahrukh Bhai app kay ROHANI WALID kay itiqal par.
Mr Jibran I think this is childish behaviour.We all come on such topics not only for fun but for information and experience sharing.
We are not here to humilate a departed soul.After all he was the supreme leader of Catholic Church.I got many christian friends and i saw them weaping after that. listen Mr Jibran if we are not going to respect sipritual leaders of others how we expectv others to respect others. Make sure that you have read the Surah Kafiroon. Sorry if I am being harsh
Bazigaar
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TeenTracker said:
Jibran said:
Mujhey Bardha Afsoos hai Shahrukh Bhai app kay ROHANI WALID kay itiqal par.
Mr Jibran I think this is childish behaviour.We all come on such topics not only for fun but for information and experience sharing.
We are not here to humilate a departed soul.After all he was the supreme leader of Catholic Church.I got many christian friends and i saw them weaping after that. listen Mr Jibran if we are not going to respect sipritual leaders of others how we expectv others to respect others. Make sure that you have read the Surah Kafiroon. Sorry if I am being harsh
mzaid
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TeenTracker said:
Jibran said:
Mujhey Bardha Afsoos hai Shahrukh Bhai app kay ROHANI WALID kay itiqal par.
Mr Jibran I think this is childish behaviour.We all come on such topics not only for fun but for information and experience sharing.
We are not here to humilate a departed soul.After all he was the supreme leader of Catholic Church.I got many christian friends and i saw them weaping after that. listen Mr Jibran if we are not going to respect sipritual leaders of others how we expectv others to respect others. Make sure that you have read the Surah Kafiroon. Sorry if I am being harsh
and u ain't being harsh 
