John Boehner, April 1, 2005

Every so often the world has a chance to witness the emergence of great leaders -- heroes - who together struggle on against seemingly impossible odds towards a common goal. The history books speak volumes of the relationship between President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Forged in the turmoil of the Second World War, the bond between these two men was instrumental in the preservation of the very freedom we enjoy today.

The relationship of President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II deserves similar reverence. The two adorned the cover of Time Magazine in 1992 with the headline, "Holy Alliance." The twin pillars of western civilization, they stood against the inhumanities and dangers of communism, and together brought about the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Pope John Paul II (born Karol Wojtyla) and Ronald Reagan were each extraordinary men from the start. Wojtyla was born in Wadowice, Poland in 1920. As a schoolboy he was both an excellent student and an athlete who loved skiing, hiking, kayaking and swimming. He began studying for the priesthood under Nazi occupation in Poland, and furthered his academic studies and parish work under communist rule. He became an ordained priest in 1946, and in 1958 was named auxiliary bishop of Krakow. Already in the early 60s he was a visible leader taking public stands against communism.

On October 16, 1978 Wojtyla ascended to the papacy as Pope John Paul II. When his election was announced, Yuri Andropov, head of the KGB, warned the Politburo that there could be trouble ahead. Shortly thereafter in 1979, the Pope returned to communist Poland to throngs of admiring onlookers. Speaking to a crowd of one million (officially atheist) people he pressed them on the need for change. "You are men," he said. "You have dignity. Don't crawl on your bellies."

Ronald Reagan wrested life from a hard but happy childhood and took it upon himself to live as most men can only hope. He excelled in athletics, saved 77 people as a lifeguard, earned degrees in sociology and economics, was a radio announcer for the Chicago Cubs, had a successful acting career, became California’s governor, and finally served as America’s 40th President.

Reagan’s candor was equally inspirational. While speaking in West Berlin, he - against advice from the State Department and others - urged Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall." His optimism was eternal. Early in his first term he said to a crowd at Notre Dame, "The years ahead will be great ones for our country, for the cause of freedom and the spread of civilization. The West will not contain communism, it will transcend communism. We will not bother to denounce it; we'll dismiss it as a sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages are even now being written."

Of course, other figures played a large role in ending the Cold War. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, also a close friend of President Reagan’s, instituted free market reforms that served as an example to countries suffering from the debilitating effects of socialism. President Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic has said, "Reagan's truth-telling - together with the examples of Thatcher’s economic success and Pope John Paul's moral strength - gave millions of people courage to rise up when the opportunity for change came."

But as representatives of the two things the Soviet Union actively sought to undermine -- western civilization and spirituality -- President Reagan and Pope John Paul II stand alone. Joseph Stalin once scoffed, "How many divisions does the Pope have?" He didn’t need any. Together with an American President the Pope sewed the seeds that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the crumbling of the "Evil Empire."

Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II are two heroes to which the world owes a debt of gratitude. Like Roosevelt and Churchill before them, their relationship was pivotal in securing the liberties we enjoy today. May we keep them both in our thoughts and prayers, and may history remember their commitment to a world and a nation in which all people enjoy full freedom and individual opportunity.

Congressman John Boehner, a Republican, represents Ohio's Eighth Congressional District, which includes Miami, Butler, Preble, Darke, and Mercer Counties.