Hi neighbors. This week has seen the passing of the pope. Pope John Paul served as head of the Catholic Church for more than 30 years.

The Vatican and Italy had more people show up than they had room for. Airlines were flying in packed full from all around the world. Other people arrived by trains and busses, car or by foot. Many camped out and stood in lines that seemed miles long for a glimpse of the pope's body.

Clearly he was well loved by his followers and respected by those of other faiths. Now another pope will have to be selected.

Hopefully the funeral service will go well without any terrorists intervention. I am writing this column on Thursday, so the funeral has not happened as of yet.

On television yesterday they were lamenting the fact that security checks had been almost nil on the millions of people passing through the city streets to view the pope. The crowds are turning into a logistical as well as a hygiene nightmare for Rome.

For the funeral many of the streets of Rome are supposed to be blocked off and vehicles will not be allowed any where near the Vatican. For security and simply because the press of human bodies doesn't allow vehicle traffic.

Another big event that will be a security guard's nightmare is the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla. Although that event won't be as well attended, nor perhaps held as dearly in memory as the people.

Unfortunately, either of these events would appear as excellent targets to a terrorist group that hates Christians or those friendly to America. Let's hope nothing horrible happens at either event.

The marriage of Prince Charles effects mostly the people of the United Kingdom. At least for now. When (or if) he becomes king who he is married to might make a lot of difference to other countries.

I wonder if the Queen didn't cut a deal with the prince...offer him freedom to marry Carmilla in return for him agreeing for her (the Queen) to bypass him for the throne and give it instead to Prince William.

Charles wouldn't be the first British monarch to trade the throne for love. Perhaps Prince Charles would just as soon be done with the whole thing and try to have a quiet life for the remainder of his years.

From what I've seen on television, the British public have very mixed feelings about Carmilla's potential to some day become the queen of England.

All this monarchy business is very tiring for most Americans to keep track of, or keep interest in. I'm glad we can change rulers every few years and not have to memorize their lineage back several hundred years.

At least their lineage is well recorded. A struggling genealogist's dream is to connect to a royal line and have all that work done for them.

When things happen that affect the entire world, like the death of the pope, or changes in other governing circles, it is encouraging to see every one turning out for the event and sharing their feelings.

Seeing people crowding into Rome to pay their respect to the pope offers a window into the common needs we all have but often hide from each other.

Many of us have no problem crying over tragedies of nature like devastating tsunamis or earthquakes. Recognizing our human weaknesses and dependence on each other during a disaster is often easier than recognizing our joint need to share spiritual ideals.

No matter a person's beliefs, lineage, government or family associations, when one person takes the role of leadership, they become a common factor shared by all. When that leader is gone, all feel the vacuum to some extent.

Because the pope lead a group of people from almost every nation in the world, his loss will be felt around the globe. Everyone should be allowed to mourn that chooses to do so. I read that Catholics in China held secretive masses when they heard the pope had died.

The flip side of a country run by one religion, Communist China is a country where religion of any type is barely tolerated by the government. Glad we have a constitution that prohibits mixing church and state.

Until the next time friends remember; you don't have to be British to have an opinion on the royal family and you don't have to be Catholic to mourn the passing of that church's leader. Humanity shared may be the real epiphany of being human.