Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter 
Pope John Paul II blesses the crowd from his apartment overlooking the Vatican's St. Peter's Square, March 27, 2005. An ailing Pope John Paul appeared at his window to bless the faithful on Easter Sunday but in a dramatic episode that brought tears to the eyes of many people, he failed in his attempt to speak.
THE PASSING of Pope John Paul II has evoked an abundance of tears, both of sadness and joy, from native Roman Catholic ministers.
Of sadness because a man they highly respected will be with them no more. But, of joy because they believe God
has called him home from his suffering.
"It created a deep emotional sorrow within my being. Like many others, I cried," lamented Monsignor Richard Albert, vicar of St. Catherine.
However, Archbishop Edgerton Clarke, retired Archbishop of Kingston, views the Pope's passing from a different vantage point.
HIGHLY EMOTIONAL PEOPLE ...
"I am not one of these highly emotional people ... (but) I do feel things. I have been expecting it because we could see signs. As a matter of fact, I rejoice that the Lord has taken him out of his sufferings," he explained.
Archbishop Clarke, pastor of Holy Rosary Catholic Church, added that the pope's death denotes the end of another era.
Archbishop Lawrence Burke also expressed this oxymoronic sentiment of sorrow yet rejoicing.
"It is a mixture of sadness and at the same time we are celebrating his life because of the witness he has given to the Church and world at large," said Archbishop Burke.
Archbishop Burke, who said he had a personal relationship with the pope, told The Sunday Gleaner that he too was anticipating the passing of the pope.
However, Archbishop Burke noted that the Psalm he read yesterday proved to be prescient.
"We knew it was coming ... The only time I was tearful was this morning while reading the Morning Prayer, it is almost as if they were written for the occasion (pope's death)," he said.
