On the positive side, Curran says the pope "strongly supports the equality of men and women in marriage and expressly opposes any subordination of the woman to the man."

The church has no way to recruit enough of them, short of allowing the ordination of women and married men - a change that rank-and-file American Catholics support but one that the current pope and his hierarchy fiercely oppose.

As you note, the pope does not oppose the use of umbilical-cord stem cells.

The pope opposes homosexuality, but I don't know why, as I think everyone should have free will.

In a reference to the Iraq war - which the pope opposed - he added, "I think that he thought that you shouldn't initiate war, even against oppressive leaders, until there was some immediate human tragedy pending."

The pope also opposed the first gulf war, in 1991.

To the Editor: The Catholic clergy now carefully monitoring the way politicians act and citizens vote should ask voters to oppose all politicians who voted in favor of, or otherwise supported, the war against Iraq, which both the pope and the United States bishops opposed as an unjust war.

The pope and bishops opposed the attempt but failed to stop it entirely.

President Bush has been keenly solicitous of Catholic swing voters and Pope John Paul II has more than returned the embrace: when Mr. Bush visited here in July, the pope warmly praised Mr. Bush's opposition to abortion rights and kept silent on the president's support for the death penalty, which the pope opposes.