Hyde: JP 'among great popes in history'

This story, republished from our archives, first ran April 3, 2005.

Congressman Henry Hyde met Pope John Paul II at least four times during the past quarter-century, but it's the last time that stands out for him.

"The pope says Mass at 6 in the morning and has a very select few attend that Mass. I was able to get an invitation to go, and I read the Gospel during the first reading during the Mass," Hyde, a Republican from Wood Dale, said of his opportunity a few years ago. "I must say, with the Holy Father within 10 feet of me, I was quite nervous. But it was a memorable event."

Among suburban politicians, Hyde and House Speaker Dennis Hastert each had coveted private audiences with the pope, who died Saturday at the age of 84. Recalling those meetings, Hyde and Hastert say John Paul II will be remembered most for helping bring about the downfall of communism.

"I thanked him for his leadership in the world and his strong stand for moral values and helping the idea of individual justice and freedom come about," said Hastert, who led a January 2001 delegation to present the pope with the Congressional Gold Medal. "I didn't say this (to him), but my personal view, with the insight and strength of Ronald Reagan and the pope, there are millions of people who are walking around free today who wouldn't have had a chance to do it."

Hyde, who has a picture of himself and the pope hanging in his Capitol Hill office, said John Paul II will "rank among the great popes in history."

"I think because of this pope's tenure during the Cold War and when Communism was threatening Europe, his leadership and standing up to Marxism will stand out historically," he said.

Hyde first met the pope in 1981 as the pontiff returned from a trip to Japan and briefly touched down on American soil in Anchorage, Alaska, during a layover. In the ensuing decades, the two men met three more times when Hyde traveled to Rome on congressional business.

"It was just something I'll never forget. I once sat next to Mother Teresa at a dinner, and it ranks with that - meeting the Holy Father and having him give me a blessing and a rosary. You don't think about yourself, you think about the great honor you're participating in, and you don't forget it," said Hyde, a prominent Catholic congressman.

Hastert had met the pope previously in the mid-1990s as part of a congressional delegation, but when he returned in 2001, he was the leader of the U.S. delegation offering the pope Congress' highest honor.

"You go into this room and he talks to you for a few minutes and there's some conversation. Then you get to meet with him individually just for a second. He shakes hands. If you're Catholic, he'll bless you," Hastert recalled. "We were told maybe at most he'd spend 15 minutes with us. He met with every one of the 40 people in our group, which officials said he never did. And then he just kind of lingered, talked to people individually in a reception type of thing. You could see his handlers were kind of antsy trying to get him out. The really neat thing about it is, as he's leaving theroom, he turned around and looked at us and gave us the sign of the cross and said, 'God bless America.'"

Hastert, who is a Baptist, said John Paul II also will be remembered by Catholics as a pope who maintained a traditional church.

"I think constantly, especially at the turn of the century and now in the new century, there were a lot of people pushing for a great liberalization of the church," he said. "I think he has stood up for the basic tenets of Christianity. Whether people say it's conservative or whatever, he has held the line on moral impact."