I think the consensus in the liberal community is that Pope John Paul II leaves a mixed legacy. While he spoke against war, reached out to the Jewish faith, and made the college of cardinals more racially diverse, he failed to embrace liberation theology, condoned the population explosion, and didn’t do more to crack down on the wide-ranging pedophilia scandal.
The Vatican may have also had a financial scandal. I’m not saying I believe it or agree with it, but I respect the source. The book
Mark Lombardi Global Networks, which I reviewed March 02, 2005, had this to say about the Pope and his predecessor:
"The extraordinarily liberal Pope John Paul I discovered the corrupt dealings of the Vatican bank soon after being installed as pope on August 27, 1978, and immediately asked Cardinal Jean Villot, papal secretary of state and head of the papal Curia, to begin an investigation into the Vatican’s financial operations. John Paul died a month later, the morning after informing Villot of the proposed far-reaching changes he would be announcing the next day, including the ‘resignations’ of Villot and other members of the Curia implicated in the scandal, as well as the head of the Vatican bank. In flagrant disregard of Italian law, which does not permit embalming less than twenty-four hours after death, John Paul I’s body was prepared for burial less than twelve hours after he died, and none of his blood or organs were removed, as is customary in Italy, an act which over the years has helped to feed rumors about the possibility of his being poisoned. As the next residing pope, John Paul II (1978-[2005]) might have instigated the thorough review of the Vatican bank that his predecessor intended, but he chose instead to disregard rumors of foul play, thus leaving Sindona to continue his operations for several more years."
