NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- In a powerful homily delivered at the funeral of Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, Pope John Paul II paid homage to the former Vatican Secretary of State, saying he was a "builder of peace" whose diplomatic contacts-- especially with the regimes of the former Soviet Union-- were an enormous service to the Church.

      The Holy Father also pointed to the late cardinal's generosity and spiritual vigor, mentioning that he had been the quiet benefactor of troubled children in Rome, and that he had celebrated the Eucharist daily for 60 years. "What intimate consolation there is in the thought that he was and always remains a priest of Christ, a minister of the bread of life," the Pope said.

      In his diplomatic work, the Pope continued, Cardinal Casaroli had been a "wise servant of peace," and "a shining example of those who work for justice, whom Jesus called blessed because they will be called sons of God."