Area church leaders praise pope
Evangelical Christians — who often find disagreements with Catholics on doctrinal points — found common ground with Pope John Paul II when it came to abortion and end-of-life matters.
“We spoke the same heart language on life issues — both the unborn and the elderly in that all life has value,” said Derek Duncan, senior pastor at East 91st Christian Church. “We just have an affinity with him on that we believe the same things that way. That was probably pretty important in establishing bridges in our community.”
Duncan said the pope did well in highlighting what Protestants and Catholics have in common. And he plans to ask his church members today to pray for the Catholic Church and that it will find a successor who shares his convictions on life and devotion to Jesus Christ.
“I think he was actually a really amazing man,” Duncan said. “It is a real sad loss for the faith community in my opinion.”