'and the hope that he has returned to God.' writes Helen Ransom. Well if he hasn't - wot a total waste of time for the old pontiff.

I fail to see anything that the pope has done for young people. No ordination of women, no contraception, no abortion, no action on priestly paedophilia; just the usual 'women have their place' rhetoric which is apparently to breed and not much else.

A celibate male does not make for a healthy understanding of human frailty.

Next pope s/b a black lesbian - who is far from celibate.

Xena, John Paul II has provided a black and white world view for young (and old) people who need certainty in their lives. His views concur with those who need rigidity in the way they view the world. For people who can't cope with the unknown or the fact that life is not neat nor certain, the late Pope has given them what they want. I'm talking about those who believe if you live your life according to ancient texts (or rather, your interpretation of them) good things will happen and everything will be alright.

Of course, life is not like that. We have non-heterosexual people, we have non-believers, bad things happen to good people and nobody really knows what happens when you die. It is a shame young Catholics cannot cope with the messiness of life and random, meaningless events that crop up. But that's their problem. So long as they don't inflict their beliefs on others they can think what they like. It is weird, though, how people who never knew John Paul II personally now feel bereft. But that is the consequence of following a leader without questions and without criticism.

People felt bereft when Diana died also. Totally amazing to me but there you go.

I agree David, it is the complexity and bewildering array of choice available to young people today that means some of them look for certainty and a clear way of telling right from wrong. So difficult to think these things through rationally.

The Catholic church also offers that air of authenticity - it is so 'old'. The priests wear such lovely costumes and all that ritual is quite seductive and meaningful to the lost and lonely.

If I was going to turn religious I think I'd go for Catholicism rather than an American-style evangelical church. All that falling down and talking in tongues, and those bad guitar players!

Molly, I'd go for the Quakers - gay friendly and everyone shuts up and lets you think. No bad music or priests crapping on.

It is dismaying that many young people appear to need direction in their lives. Why can't people create their own direction? Why can't people embrace uncertainty and randomness? Why do they need to attach themselves to celebrities? In regard to the last point, the consequences are quite upsetting. John Paul II dies because he human like everyone else and people are traumatised. Maybe some critical and analytic thinking is in order here.

The content of the comments so far would tend to indicate that contraception & abortion could be valued as restrospective instruments...no Luke Skywalkers to save these Darth Vaders!

Let's hope you are all correct on judgement day, if there is one...

David, everyone needs direction in their lives and everyone who finds that direction does it on their own. A young person turning to the Church is doing exactly that – finding their own direction in life.

Uncertainty and randomness is everybody’s lot in life. No one really knows where they’ll be in 10 years time. Life would be pretty dull if you did. The only certainty people want is that they’ll be able to pay their mortgage or rent every month, and that they or their loved ones aren’t going to drop dead at any tick of the clock. Even these things are pretty uncertain, yet people continue to take out mortgages, get married and have children. My view is that life is uncertain and random and most people embrace life.

I haven’t seen too many who could be described as “traumatized” by the death of the Pope. It’s pretty bad when people can’t shed a tear for the passing of someone whom they respected and admired.

Having said that, it’s interesting to see that beneath that generally sensible and compassionate exterior there lurks in our DavidJS at least a small piece of dark, cold, flint.