St. John Paul II’s private conversations with Polish and Soviet leaders contributed to the peaceful end of the Soviet regime in eastern Europe, and his worldwide outreach brought greater visibility to the Roman Catholic Church. He engaged in acts of interfaith reconciliation with Judaism and Islam, promulgated a new catechism (1992), and canonized nearly 500 saints.
What were St. John Paul II’s accomplishments?
What is the difference between Christianity and Roman Catholicism?
Christianity is a world religion that stems from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus. Roman Catholicism is the largest of the three major branches of Christianity. Thus, all Roman Catholics are Christian, but not all Christians are Roman Catholic. Of the estimated 2.5 billion Christians in the world, about 1.3 billion are Roman Catholics. Broadly, Roman Catholicism differs from other Christian churches and denominations in its beliefs about the sacraments, the roles of the Bible and tradition, the importance of the Virgin Mary and the saints, and the papacy.
