June 26, 2004

WASHINGTON--Pope John Paul II and Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are among the 2004 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Hinckley appeared at the White House ceremony June 23 on his 94th birthday, while Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the papal representative to the United States, stood in for the pontiff.
 
"Millions of Americans reserve a special respect for Gordon B. Hinckley, who still works every day as president of the Mormon church," President Bush said.  "He's always shown the heart of a servant and the gifts of a leader.  His church has given him its highest position of trust, and today, this wise and patriotic man receives his country's highest civilian honor."
In a statement released upon learning he would receive the award, Hinckley said he shared the honor with others in his church.

"I am profoundly grateful," he said. "In a larger sense, it recognizes and honors the church which has given me so many opportunities and whose interests I have tried to serve."

The president personally presented the pope with the medal when he visited Vatican City on June 4. During the East Room ceremony, Bush described the pope as "a world leader who is known, respected and loved as perhaps no other figure of our time."

He added that John Paul's 26 years as leader of the Roman Catholic Church have prompted global improvements. "From his days as a young seminarian to this very hour, he's been a foe of tyranny, a minister of true authority, and a person of great wisdom and kindness and moral courage," Bush said.