What was Pope John Paul famous for?

A:

In some ways, Pope John Paul II opened the Catholic Church to the outside world. He was the first pope to leave Italy since 1809, and the first to visit the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia as pope. So one of his legacies is that the Vatican would become less insular in its view of the world. He apologised for some of the past wrongs committed by the Catholic Church, once again making the Church a little less defensive in protecting its version of history.

His legacy must also include his failure to reform the Church. Pope John Paul II became pope when the two great evils of clerical paedophilia and systemic corruption within the Catholic Church were becoming known. He had the responsibility to lead the Church out of this mire, but ultimately he failed.

John Paul II has been criticised for not recognising the full severity of the sex abuse cases until they erupted in America in 2002. It is said that he hindered the investigation into the charges of sexual immorality levelled against Father Marcial Maciel Degollado and allowed bishops to transfer paedophile priests from one parish to another instead of reporting their crimes to the authorities. John Paul is also accused of hindering Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who allegedly was attempting to prevent sex abuse.

Systemic corruption and financial malpractice were being identified at the highest levels within the Vatican, but far from showing leadership in dealing with these matters, he turned a blind eye.