Praise for the pope came quickly from leading members of Congress.
"Today we lost a hero of our age," said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas. "He was more than a good and holy man: he was a lion."
The top Democrat in the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) of California, called the pope "a man of God, and he was also a man of the people. He was a source of hope to so many."
Added former President Ford: "Both an upholder of tradition, and a breaker of tradition, Pope John Paul II did as much as anyone to liberate the victims of Communism. He was loved by all, even those who did not belong to his church. He will be mourned by the entire human family."
Friday night, before the pope's death, Vice President Dick Cheney expressed gratitude for "the good life" of the priest from Poland who was once forced into slave labor by the Nazis. The pontiff, Cheney told a Marine Corps law enforcement gala in New York, became "a lifelong foe of tyranny and a fearless champion of human freedom and a culture of life."
"John Paul II has been a voice of salvation for the lost, compassion for the weak, and respect for life in all its seasons," Cheney said. "In times of strength and in this time of suffering, the pope has been a man of unfailing courage and grace, an extraordinary moral leader, an example to all humanity. "
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