36: St. John Paul II and Ronald Reagan: The Friendship That Changed History—Dr. Paul Kengor

Most people are unaware of the mutual admiration and friendship John Paul the Great had with President Reagan. With differing on Christian teachings, they were acutely aware they had the same Teacher. Both survived close-up attempts at assassination, both immediately forgave their attackers, and both were passionate about bringing down the godless Soviet Communist leviathan that Reagan tagged, “the evil empire.” Their partnership, based on moral authority and transcendent truth, did bring down the Soviet Union and all its pomps and works. Yes, there were other players in that drama, and one of them is Ven. Fulton Sheen. Another is Our Lady of Fatima. That’s right. Fatima. As you’ll find out, not only did President Reagan learn about Fatima and its prophetic message about the spread of Russia’s errors from his dear friend the Polish Pope, he (Reagan) identified his life work in some way as being involved in a divine plan, which he nicknamed “DP.” The fascinating details are found in Kengor’s definitive double biography, A Pope and President: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20the Century. This is a really interesting conversation with a natural born story teller and historian, Paul Kengor, complete with plenty of sidebar excursions into Things Sheen.   Don’t forget to Subscribe to the show in YouTube, as well as the podcast so you can get the weekly show updates. Please leave an honest review of the show in iTunes or Stitcher.  Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated!