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Tonight, the word is grim on the health of the Pope, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he passes on during this weekend.

I’m not a Catholic, nor do I play one on TV, but I do have a great deal of respect for this man. From the outside looking in, he seems to have done so many good things for our world. Whether you agree with his religion or not, his legacy is unquestionable.

I can just remember John Paul II’s ascendance to the papacy in the late 70s. I was a kid, and was fascinated — if a little overwhelmed — by the process for selecting the new pope. It was, well, magical in a funny sort of way. At the time, I was playing with religion, having made no real commitments, and somehow felt that the highly structured ways of the Episcopalian church was my cup of tea. And, of course, the rituals of the Catholic church as it attempted to settle on a new leader played well with the me I was then.

Since the mid-80s though, my thoughts on religion are much different. I don’t care much for the scripted sense that the Catholic church (and others) services and rituals are so thick with. It’s a little sense of being led someplace en masse, and anybody’ll tell ya, I don’t do that well.

In any case, it’s a sad, sad time, and I do believe that the world will be a little less kind place without John Paul II around. And, that’s something that will be missed.