JP and Ronnie

The passing of Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan in the same year underscores a great coincidence of history: Nearly three decades ago, two men shared the same view of communism and the same vision of ending it, and they both stepped onto the world stage at roughly the same time

reports Fox News (watch the video).

"What the two men shared is that they were simply unimpressed with communism's claim to represent human nature and to represent inevitability," said Radek Sikorski, former Polish deputy foreign minister.