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As a child I had almost no direct contact with Catholicism. My family attended a small backwoods fundamentalist congregation -- The First Church of Hellfire and Damnation, or something to that effect -- and the preacher would often mention the Pope and Catholicism in one of his “Identifying the Antichrist" sermons. The Antichrist was hard to pin down and his identity invariably rotated between one of the select “heathen" groups: Chinese communists, the Russians, secular humanists, New England Senators. The Pope, though, was the favored candidate for ushering in the End of Days. And the “Whore of Babylon” was indisputably the Catholic Church.

This Jack Chick-style anti-Catholic bias was regrettably prevalent in rural Texas during my childhood. Fortunately, it never took root and as I grew up, I became more intrigued by both John Paul II and the Catholic Church. Over the years I’ve engaged more directly with Catholics and the teachings of the RC Church and my admiration and appreciation continues to grow.

Indeed, I’m often amazed when I consider how my thinking is shaped by Catholic social thought, the Just War tradition, and Natural Law theory. Although I do not always find myself in complete agreement, the Catholic perspective often causes me to rethink my views on such matters as contraception, IVF, just wages, and the death penalty.

As attached as I am to my own theological traditions (Reformed, Baptist, evangelical) there are many issues where they have historically come up short. In fact, I would argue that there are dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of areas in which we evangelicals should acknowledge a debt owed to our Catholic brothers and sisters.

Consider, for instance, three areas in which our fellow Christians within the Catholic faith have led the way:

I was nine-years-old the first time I heard about the Pope. My family attended a small backwoods fundamentalist congregation � The First Church of Hellfire and Damnation, or something to that effect -- and the preacher would often mention the Pope in one of his “Identifying the Antichrist" sermons. The Antichrist was hard to pin down and his identity invariably rotated between one of the select “heathen" groups: Chinese communists, the Russians, secular humanists, Episcopalians. The Pope, though, was the favored candidate for ushering in the End of Days.

But then I saw the new Pope, John Paul II. Since this was the man who would be ushering in Armageddon I figured I should pay attention. I was glued to the TV, watching as the new pontiff stood waving and smiling in front of thousand of Catholics. That�s when I noticed that something wasn’t quite right with this guy. He didn�t have the charming smile of “The Beast" like our pastor had warned. John Paul�s smile was warm, kindly, and sincere. In fact, this new leader of the Catholics seemed genuinely sincere and could even pass for a Christian to those who didn�t know better. But even as a child I understood that this guy couldn’t be the Antichrist. For one thing, he was Polish. The Beast could be Russian or German or some other nationality that John Wayne would fight. But the Antichrist couldn�t be Polish; Poles just aren’t that scary.

Fortunately, the Jack Chick-style anti-Catholic bias of my childhood never took root and as I grew up, I became more intrigued by John Paul. Over the years my admiration grew and he earned a place in my pantheon of heroes. I’m not a Catholic and I continue to have deep-rooted, irresolvable theological differences with Catholicism. Yet I can set all of that aside long enough to admire one of the greatest men of our time and to pay tribute to the passing of my hero.

Here are a few of the reasons this evangelical admired John Paul:

Earlier this year Marc Balestrieri, a Los Angeles based expert in Canon Law, the legal code used by the Roman Catholic Church, filed a formal "case for heresy" against Kerry for his support of the right to abortion. After being brushed off by the Boston Diocese, Balestrieri travelled to Rome to seek clarification from the Vatican on the issue.

�I went to Rome in person to submit two critical questions to the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith,� said Balestrieri. �The first: Whether or not the Church�s teaching condemning any direct abortion is a dogma of Divine and Catholic Faith, with the denial or doubt of that dogma constituting heresy. The second: Whether or not the Church�s teaching condemning every right to abortion is a dogma of Divine and Catholic Faith, with the opposite error to that dogma heresy.�

While in Rome he was met by a representative from the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith who asked Rev. Basil Cole, O.P. to provide a formal response. On September 9th, Rev. Cole contacted Balestrieri to inform him of his delegation to answer the two questions. Three days later, the written Response was issued.

The Response states that any Catholic who denies or doubts the two main conclusions, after knowing of their existence, commits "heresy." The Response also holds that the dogmatic force of the two propositions is �manifest,� meaning that the conclusion is not a matter of a theologian�s personal opinion, but a non-negotiable Articles of Faith. In other words, Rev. Cole is claiming that the Response is binding because it simply restates infallible teachings of the Church.

The letter is significant because it represents the first time since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that such a clear reply was provided by an official associated with the Vatican. Drafted under the auspices of the official Vatican Congregation with competency to decide doctrinal questions, the response concludes:

An aristocratic Brit who was kidnapped by pirates at the age of 16, sold into slavery, escapes, becomes a priest, returns to Ireland and face off against hordes of Druids�Patrick isn�t your typical Saint. Mark Roberts has more on the �Real St. Patrick.�

And you thought St. Patty�s day was all about green beer and parades�

Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard law professor and member of the President’s Bioethics Council, has been chosen by Pope John Paul to lead the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences making her the highest-ranking female adviser in the Catholic Church.

Glendon, who specializes in comparative constitutional law in America and Europe, international human rights, and bioethics, is a respected antiabortion scholar and has become a leading opponent of gay marriage. Even her colleague Alan Dershowitz speaks highly of her. "If a woman could be made pope, she'd be my candidate," Dershowitz said. "She brings to bear all the best of religion and secular thinking. Whenever I get upset about religion, which happens from time to time, I think about Mary Ann Glendon and I remember the virtues of a religious perspective."

So why is this noteworthy? For two reasons: 1) Because conservative Christians should always be encouraged when one of our own gains such a position of influence and 2) because it will tick off all the right people -- critics of the Bioethics Council, cultural elites, the faculty of Harvard, and liberal Catholics from Massachusetts. What more could you ask for?

This is one of those times that I wish we evangelicals had a Vatican of our own.

Proving that they have no regard for the First Amendment, The California Supreme Court has ruled that Catholic Charities must include birth control coverage in its health care plan for workers even though it is morally opposed to contraception. The Court ruled that since the charity was not a �religious employer� it was not exempt in the same way that churches would be. Ironically, the decision punishes the organization for trying to do the right thing:

In the ecumenical spirit of Evangelicals and Catholics Together, Tim from Christus Victor and I have been debating doctrinal issues in order to better understand each others beliefs. This is the second discussion following the three part series on Salvation. These posts will probably be of little interest to those who are bored by theological arguments but for anyone else, we welcome you to jump in and add your opinion.

This is my initial response to Tim�s post on baptism:

Howard Dean supporters -- known affectionately as Deaniacs -- are a different breed. You may have seen them in Iowa and New Hampshire, or on Blog for America and admired their evangelical fervor. This is a group that truly believes.

Perhaps, you've wondered what you could do to become one of the wild-eyed, slightly demented true believers that make Deadheads look like poseurs. Well, now there's an answer. Catholics for Dean (a group that proves the religious are not immune to cognitive dissonance) shows how you can take the Steps to Faith. Not in God, of course, but in something more meaningful:

I was nine the first time I heard about the Pope. My family attended the First Church of Hellfire and Damnation and the preacher would often mention the Pope in one of his "Identifying the Antichrist" sermons. The Antichrist was hard to pin down and his identity invariably rotated between one of the select "heathen" groups: Chinese communists, the Russians, secular humanists, Episcopalians.

But then I saw the new Pope, John Paul II, on TV. Since this was the man who would be ushering in Armageddon I figured I'd better pay attention. I watched as he stood in front of thousand of Catholics, waving and smiling and noticed that something wasn't quite right. It wasn't the charming smile of "The Beast" that Brother Bob had warned his flock against. It was more of a sly grin. In fact, this new John Paul seemed like he was a nice guy Heck, he might even pass for a Christian. Surely this guy, I thought, couldn't be the Antichrist. After all, he was Polish. The Beast could be Russian or German but not Polish. Poles just aren't scary.

As I grew up, John Paul continued to intrigue me and I watched him closely. Over the years my admiration grew and I considered him to be one of my heroes. I'm not a Catholic and I have deep-rooted, profound theological differences with Catholicism. Yet I can set that aside long enough to admire one of the greatest men of our time.

So here are a few things this evangelical admires about John Paul: