self absored

Many of you wonder why I haven't addressed the Popes death. Some were relived to read something not mentioning it, while others were waiting for me to bring it up. It is difficult to say the least. The Catholic church and I have a long and drawn out history, and we disagree on so many things. The use of contraceptives is a major issue for me.
I have heard many of my fellow students address the issue in all their ignorant glory as "The Pope is dead.. who fucking cares...". How do I explain to them the signifiance of this event? How do I get past thier anger at religion? So many of my friends are angry at Christianity for so many things. They find Catholics the most orthodox (at least for now) and they are taking it out on the Pope right now.
Just because you don't agree with someone doesn't mean you can't think they were an amazing person. The Pope was human, and had his faults, but he did so much for the world. He spoke out again the war in Iraq, he helped Italy get in to the EU, he helped the Berlin wall fall. In a world that sometimes seems so full of madness and hostity he was the voice of reason to many people. Many noncatholics came to him for advice and guidance. Over 2 million extra people are in Rome right now, the people waiting to see him is over 2 miles long. Millions of people are thinking about him, it is amazing how one man can touch so many lives.