BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: Today on RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY we look at the faithful, long, and influential life of John Paul II -- influential on the world as a champion of human freedom, influential on the Catholic Church as a defender of traditional faith. We remember the pope in his prime, a man of vigor and charm. We also recall his deepest beliefs.

John Paul II may be best remembered as a charismatic public man, pastor to the world, carrying his message of hope and human dignity to 129 countries. He was seen in person by more people than anyone else in history.

But this is how John Paul may be best understood -- through his interior life of prayer and scholarship.

GEORGE WEIGEL (Pope Biographer): More than any [other] human being in the 20th century, he embodied the Christian vision of the greatness of the human possibility. And he did that in the face of all of the awfulness of this century.

ABERNETHY: John Paul was, first and foremost, an evangelist, addressing the basic questions of life.

Mr. WEIGEL: His answer was that human beings were made for communion with God, had been intended for that communion with God from the beginning, had lost the capacity to be that, were redeemed from that incapacity through Jesus Christ, and now ought to live as if they were capable of being the friends of God. That is a remarkable statement -- a remarkable act of faith. But he believed that with every breath he took.

ABERNETHY: Karol Wojtyla was born in Poland in 1920, and learned first hand about oppression and tragedy. His mother, his brother, and his father all died by the time he was 21, but he grew up brilliant, charming, and athletic, strong enough to work in a stone quarry, and with talent as an actor and poet.

Under first the Nazi occupation, and then Communist rule, Wojtyla became a priest, studying in an underground seminary, and then a professor, with doctorates in both philosophy and theology. He was fluent in eight languages. Wojtyla rose quickly in the Church, became a cardinal, then Archbishop of Krakow. He was elected pope in 1978 -- the first Polish pope in history, the first non-Italian in 450 years.

Beginning just weeks later, John Paul returned often to Poland, preaching courage and hope as the Solidarity movement challenged Communism.

Reverend THOMAS REESE, S.J. (Editor-in-Chief, AMERICA Magazine): He was a godsend to have, this man who knew the Polish situation so well, who could work and support Solidarity -- who could work and support the people in Poland in their thirst and their quest for freedom. And start that landslide that began the fall of the Communist empire, the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe and ultimately in Russia itself. He played an extraordinary role. I think he will go down in history for that alone.

ABERNETHY: John Paul opposed Communism because it oppressed human dignity and freedom. He made his case most publicly at the United Nations in 1979.

Reverend J. BRYAN HEHIR (Scholar, International Relations): When he came to the UN one year after he was named, the first appearance on the world stage -- what does he talk about? It was human rights. And that set the direction of this papacy.

ABERNETHY: As he made especially clear at youth rallies, John Paul also opposed not only Communism but also much of Western liberal thought and practice, which he said also restricted human freedom. He said it contained too much materialism, relativism, and self-indulgence.

Reverend JOAN BROWN CAMPBELL (Protestant Leader): He was very worried about the role of popular culture and what it did to the spiritual life of young people -- this urge to buy and to bring pleasure to your life through purchases, through materialistic means, [he believed] was one of the most damaging things that can happen to young people.