Pope John Paul II: The Pope Who Stood Against Communism | Leo & Layla | PragerU Kids

foreign what's up Leo I saw that you were super down in the dumps when you got home I don't know if down in the dumps even cuts it I'm underneath the dumpster at this point what happened today in math class Miss Calder told us about a new grading policy they want to start using in order to level out the playing field they're planning on lowering the grading scale so that more kids can start getting A's and B's when they haven't actually earned them isn't that crazy oh man I know how hard you are to keep your grades up what are your classmates think about the new change the kids who never study or turn in any of their work are so excited they can probably keep on doing what they're doing but now they're gonna get better grades that's so unfair I totally agree there's got to be a better way to go about this rather than just lowering the standards you ready to use the history app to visit someone who might be able to help us at this point I can use all the help I can get thank you [Music] we have a very difficult history especially in the course of the last few centuries the painful experiences of our history have sharpened our sensitivity in the field of the fundamental Rights of Man and of the nation particularly the right to freedom and to have freedom of conscience and religion we think about our future and the future begins today wow listen to the crowd they really loved what he was saying you can say that again it sounds like people are even calling him your Holiness oh here he comes do we look okay this guy's a big deal welcome children it has brought me so much joy to come to my native Poland to preside over mass today it's so nice to meet you your Holiness my name is Layla and this is my little brother Leo we've actually time traveled from the future to learn how to deal with things that are unfair wonderful to meet you Leo and Layla my name is Pope John Paul II you've traveled to the right place because my homily today was all about the importance of fighting the ultimate Injustice and what is that right now in Poland as well as other parts of the world we are fighting against the major evil that is communism you know I've been hearing a lot about communism and socialism on the news back home a lot of younger people really want the United States to try it the youth in America are supporting communism in the future Lord in heaven above that means our fight is far from over we still have a lot of work to do what makes communism so bad again it is a political system that does not recognize God where individual people are nothing and instead the government owns everything Communist governments are against private property travel and even freedom of speech individual people are not cared about and they have no rights that sounds pretty bad indeed my child it destroys countries and harms many many people societies collapse morally intellectually and economically unfortunately communism has surrounded me my entire life ever since I was a little boy really how come growing up in Poland we were surrounded by evil on both sides Nazi Germany to the west and the Communist Soviet Union to the east yikes that does sound really rough you're telling me when I was attending University my score was closed down by Nazi troops the Germans had invaded Poland from the west and 16 days later the Soviet Union invaded us from the East it was a very frightening time super scary I knew I wanted to become a priest but I had to continue my studies in secret why'd you have to do that at the time people of the Jewish faith as well as non-jewish Leaders which included priests were either taken to concentration camps or killed by the Nazis that's terrible but I don't get it why were they trying to hurt people who practice religion because their children like the Communists the Nazis did not believe in God either they were a government set on controlling people and people of Faith challenge that control and that is what communism still sets out to do it aims to stomp out any type of individuality and any type of freedom and religious Faith so that people put their faith in this state instead of God in its own way communism is its own religion just a Godless one but as you witnessed here today there are still many believers who continue to put God above all else which is a direct threat to the Communist plan you are very brave to become a priest in a time when you could have been put in some real serious danger thank you Layla I just remember witnessing the horrible things the Nazis did first hand especially against many priests it showed me the real meaning of the priesthood and I became more devoted than ever wow I think I would have been too scared to keep going I knew the Lord had a special purpose for me and that he would always be with me after World War II ended I finished my religious studies and became a priest in 1946 I became a bishop in 1958 an Archbishop six years later and I was made a cardinal in 1967 then in 1978 I made history by becoming the first non-italian pope in more than 400 years as the leader of the Catholic Church it is very important for me to travel the world to spread the message of Faith peace freedom and non-violence and it sure sounds like communism is the opposite of that correct communism claims to level the playing field for all citizens in a society by making everyone equal and through much fear and violence they take away rights until everyone is equal equally controlled to a communist it is fair when nobody is free to rise above what the government allows that makes me think about what's happening at my school my teacher is sort of forcing all of us to be equal and thinks that lowering the standards will help struggling students do better and I think that's totally unfair I work really hard to earn my grades and now these kids are going to get A's for doing the bare minimum ah that is a great comparison Leo now let me ask you this if your classmates will earn good grades without doing the work do you think you will continue to work as hard as you do now hmm I haven't thought about that but I guess not why would I keep working so hard to study when I'll just get the same grade as someone who does nothing exactly communism crushes talents and the work ethic of the individual while in contrast systems that are in place in the united states allow for each person to experience success when they work their hardest I guess some Young Americans don't realize how good we actually have it that is very true Leila there is so much to thank God for each and every day especially you children who live in America you make sure you're saying your prayers of things every day you're right we won't take it for granted but it's especially important for you now Leo to speak out against this Injustice at your school do not remain silent stand up for what is right even though that isn't always the easiest thing to do I know but I'm nervous I feel like I'm in this fight all alone you're not alone Leo I've got your back and you're never truly alone because God always stands behind and protects those who fight for good over evil and for right over wrong yeah but how do I even get started pay attention to your classmates at school there are always people who agree with what is right like when I joined forces with another leader who is also very vocal against communism President Ronald Reagan we both shared the values of fostering peace and promoting Justice freedom and compassion in a world that is still filled with the forces of evil we met President Reagan he's awesome I can see why you two work together President Reagan was also a very influential and powerful person Hmm this is giving me an idea Leo do you think there's someone at school you could partner with to make your opinion known maybe one of the super popular kids who agrees at this new grading system is totally bogus what about Johnny Sanchez what are you saying I'm not cool enough to take this on by myself I mean kinda but I also think two heads are better than one by teaming up you the voice of the Nerds and Johnny the voice of the cool kids I really think you two could have some serious impact it's true the more people you have who can stand up to Injustice with you the better it will be for your cause thank you your Holiness your fight has really pumped me up to take action keep up the good work you're welcome Leo Be not Afraid and go in peace to love and serve the Lord bye I'm really proud of you Leo you and Johnny Sanchez made a great team speaking up the school board meeting today it went better than I thought and joy and I worked together really well we wrote out what we wanted to say about the new grading policy and hopefully proved our point to the school board that lower and the standards won't really help anyone it'll actually just kill the motivation of the hard-working students just like Pope John Paul said and just like Pope John Paul you stood up against something that was clearly wrong and did you hear all the Applause at the end of your guy's speech it was almost as loud as the crowd we heard at the mass in Poland no way but I was happy to see that a lot more people than I thought were on our side do you think the school board will change their mind is the pope Catholic I mean he is but I don't see what that has to do with what I'm talking about [Laughter] oh Leo if you liked time traveling with Leo and Layla watch more of their Adventures at prageru kids.com and parents don't forget to subscribe