Jonah Goldberg on JPII and the papacy

The always witty and perceptive Jonah Goldberg gives his perspective as a non-Catholic. He also traces the salutary effect the church has had on political culture in the west: "It was only in modern times, best symbolized by Napoleon crowning himself emperor of the French, that this external [religious] authority was firmly rejected in favor of his own will-to-power. It is no coincidence that Napoleon is widely considered the first modern dictator." Read it all.