A Pope of Unity but Also Division

The pope stuck by his convictions on a number of sensitive subjects which brought him and his church into the firing line of liberals and social groups. His far-reaching influence, particularly in the developing world, has been blamed for failing to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

He maintained throughout his papacy that the Roman Catholic Church believed abstinence and fidelity within marriage, and not condoms, were the best way to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, a message seen by health organizations in particular as an irresponsible one.

"The Holy See ... believes prevention through education about the sacredness of life and the correct practice of sexuality, that is chastity and faithfulness, is necessary above all other things in order to prevent this disease responsibly," the Pontiff said during one of his last visits abroad in Spain in January.

The Catholic Church opposes condoms in all except the rarest of circumstances because they are a form of contraception, which it believes prevents the God-given gift of life. The pope held the church's hard line that promoting the use of condoms to fight the spread of AIDS fostered what he saw as immoral and hedonistic lifestyles and behavior that will only contribute to its spread. There were even reports that the church was sending out messages in Africa that condoms actually caused HIV/AIDS.

The pope's stance on same-sex relationships was also a source of conflict. The pope referred to homosexuality as "part of a new ideology of evil, perhaps more insidious and hidden, which attempts to pit human rights against the family and against man." He was staunchly opposed to gay marriage and publicly expressed his concerns that governments around the world were being put under pressure to legalize same-sex unions.

Gay rights groups accuse pope of complicity

Peter Tatchell, of gay human rights group OutRage, said in a statement in the wake of the pope's death: "History will judge the Pope harshly. His opposition to the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV has condemned millions of people to die an agonizing, needless death."

"Millions of children in developing countries are orphans; having lost their parents to Aids because of the Pope’s anti-condom dogma," Tatchell added. "Pope John Paul II waged a ceaseless war against the human rights of women and gay people; opposing the right of women to control their own fertility; blocking women’s equality in the church; and endorsing state-sponsored discrimination against lesbians and gay men."

Many hope for a new liberal Pontiff

Gay Catholic group Rainbow Sash hoped the next pope would take a more liberal view on homosexuality. "There's a lot of gays and lesbians out there who have a strong faith and a strong commitment to the church and they are still continually cut out of the loop," spokesman George Barbary said in the group's own statement. "That's an important message that's been lost and one can only hope for change."

The Polish pontiff was also staunch defender of traditional Church policies on women, refusing to consider ordaining them as priests, enforcing contraception decrees and opposing abortion.

"A fifth-century pope in terms of who women are"

"He will go down in history as a pope who didn't understand and who wasn't friendly to women," Frances Kissling, president of the liberal Washington D.C.-based activist group Catholics for a Free Choice, said of John Paul in a statement. "He couldn't have slammed the door shut more loudly on the question of the ordination of women. He will go down as a fifth-century pope in terms of who women are."

The Vatican was rounded on by women in 2004 for issuing a long-awaited document on men and women that charged that feminists were "adversaries of men" who undermined families and paved the way for acceptance of gay marriage.

Parallels between abortion and Holocaust

The pope's views on abortion may have endeared himself to the Christian right in the United States but angered and dismayed many others around the world. John Paul accused governments which allowed abortion of committing murder on a huge scale, even at one stage drawing parallels between abortion and the Holocaust.

"There is still, however, a legal extermination of human beings who have been conceived but not yet born," the pope wrote in his book Memory and Identity. "And this time, we are talking about an extermination which has been allowed by nothing less than democratically elected parliaments."

Pedophile priest problem tainted papacy

Pope John Paul also presided over one of the most damaging scandals that the Catholic Church has had to face in modern times: pedophile priests. Scandals, resignations, confessions and expulsions rocked the church in the United States, while similar cases came to light across Europe.

Some critics accused the pope of heading a cover-up. The Catholic Church has always been reluctant to make sexual abuse problems public, preferring to deal with the issue internally, or as many believe, not deal with it at all. Critics accused the church of moving pedophile priests between parishes instead of dismissing them which was no solution to the problem. The pope responded by declaring a policy of zero tolerance for priests found guilty of pedophilia.

Staunchly opposed to euthanasia

The pope was also scathing in his views on euthanasia. On one visit to the Netherlands, the pope chose an appearance at the Dutch parliament to condemn the country's policy on assisted suicide and called for all Dutch catholics to uphold the church's view: "The Holy See has made known its clear position and invites Catholics in the Netherlands always to show their absolute respect for human life, from conception to natural death," the pope said.

Recently, just shortly before his health took a fatal turn for the worst, the pope called the doctors, campaigners and government officials who were instrumental in allowing brain-dead American Terri Schiavo to die "murderers".