Saturday, April 9. 2005
Poor and the powerful of the earth together
"Cuban President Fidel Castro, who was not present, accused Bush of "hypocrisy" for attending the funeral, saying the Pope had been a fierce critic of capitalism's abuses."
Pope Mourned at Emotion-Filled Funeral
Fri Apr 8, 2005 05:55 AM ET
By Philip Pullella and Crispian Balmer
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The poor and the powerful of the earth rubbed shoulders to say their last goodbye to Pope John Paul on Friday as the Vatican staged one of the most momentous funerals in history for the Polish Pontiff.
Pope Mourned at Emotion-Filled Funeral
Fri Apr 8, 2005 05:55 AM ET
By Philip Pullella and Crispian Balmer
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The poor and the powerful of the earth rubbed shoulders to say their last goodbye to Pope John Paul on Friday as the Vatican staged one of the most momentous funerals in history for the Polish Pontiff.
Hundreds of thousands of people packed into a windswept St. Peter's Square applauded as the main celebrant at the Mass, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, said the Pope was already in heaven, assured of eternal life with God.
"We can be sure that our beloved Pope is standing today at the window of the Father's house, that he sees us and blesses us," Ratzinger said in his sermon.
With the great bells of St Peter's Basilica tolling in mourning, 12 pall bearers carried John Paul's simple cypress coffin, emblazoned with the papal emblem, out of the church.
The choir started the service by singing the Latin prayer: "Grant him eternal rest, O Lord, and shine your light on him forever."
The coffin was laid on the steps of the vast church, where more than 26 years ago Karol Wojtyla first emerged as pontiff to stun the world with his vitality and charisma. He died last Saturday.
Four kings, five queens and at least 70 presidents and prime ministers attended the open-air service to pay homage to a man who helped bring down the Iron Curtain, urged unity between faiths and stamped a strict orthodoxy on his own Church.
A red book of scriptures laid on the Pope's coffin fluttered in the blustery wind as Ratzinger, leading 165 red-robed cardinals, spoke.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims poured into the Vatican hoping for a glimpse of the ceremony, turning St. Peter's Square and surrounding streets into a sea of fluttering flags -- many in the red-and-white colors of the Pope's native Poland.
Police struggled to hold back the crowds as they surged forward and many faithful fainted from the emotion.
"He was a saint," said Gabriele Bisceglie, a 29-year-old salesman from Turin. "I came to thank him and ask him for small favors to help me in my life."
"Our whole world will be different now," said 18-year-old Beata from Poland, tears rolling down her cheeks as the Pope's coffin emerged into weak sunlight. "I don't know what we will do without him to lead us."
Up to 2 million more people watched the service on giant television screens around Rome -- pictures that will be broadcast to a potential world audience of billions.
ROME SHUTDOWN
John Paul died after a decade of suffering and sickness, unleashing a worldwide outpouring of grief within the Roman Catholic Church and beyond.
His crimson-robed body lay in state in St. Peter's Basilica for four days, bringing millions of pilgrims streaming through the Vatican in an epic vigil that almost paralyzed Rome.
Among 2,500 dignitaries of all faiths and races invited to the Renaissance square were President Bush, whose limousine sported Vatican and U.S. flags, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Britain's Prince Charles and various Arab leaders.
"Maybe today will make us hope of a future of peace, not of conflict and hatred," Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said in an interview in Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Cuban President Fidel Castro, who was not present, accused Bush of "hypocrisy" for attending the funeral, saying the Pope had been a fierce critic of capitalism's abuses.
Italy closed the airspace over central Rome and called in extra forces, anti-aircraft missiles and patrol boats to guard the funeral.
Away from Vatican City, Rome was quiet on Friday as authorities ordered all public offices, schools and museums to close and banned cars from the roads.
FAR FROM ROME
Catholics who could not get to Italy instead bid farewell to the Pope in myriad services around the world.
"It is almost like being there in Rome," said Georgina Vega, a primary school teacher, at a Mass in the Basilica de Guadalupe, Mexico's holiest shrine. "Being here with a candle, sharing the warmth with others, transports me there."
In Asia, four huge screens were set up in Manila's Luneta Park, where John Paul celebrated mass with 5 million Filipinos during his second visit to the country in 1995.
"The rally is a call not only to Catholics but to Muslims, Buddhists, Christians of all sects," said Father James Reuter, head of media at the country's Catholic Bishops Conference.
Up to 1 million Poles were expected to watch the funeral on giant screens in Krakow, the city where Wojtyla was archbishop before becoming Pope.
For a Pope who traveled the equivalent of 30 times the circumference of the earth during his reign, his last journey will be the shortest.
After the funeral mass, his coffin will be carried back into St. Peter's Basilica and laid to rest in a crypt after first being enclosed in a zinc coffin and finally an oak casket.
A brief history of his life has been placed next to the body, along with coins minted during his pontificate.
CONCLAVE
Roman Catholic cardinals will open a conclave on April 18 to elect a new Pope.
John Paul's successor faces the daunting task of leading 1.1 billion Catholics in an era marked by tension between religions, between science and ethics, between doctrine and social pressure to change and open up to contraception, women, married priests.
"This Pope has had a problem, and it will be the problem of the future, to have unity in diversity," said Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels, seen by some as a possible pope candidate.
(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy, Estelle Shirbon, Rachel Sanderson, Tom Heneghan, Sophie Hardach, Jane Barrett, Phil Stewart and Steve Holland in Rome and the Vatican city)
Link to ooriginal article
"We can be sure that our beloved Pope is standing today at the window of the Father's house, that he sees us and blesses us," Ratzinger said in his sermon.
With the great bells of St Peter's Basilica tolling in mourning, 12 pall bearers carried John Paul's simple cypress coffin, emblazoned with the papal emblem, out of the church.
The choir started the service by singing the Latin prayer: "Grant him eternal rest, O Lord, and shine your light on him forever."
The coffin was laid on the steps of the vast church, where more than 26 years ago Karol Wojtyla first emerged as pontiff to stun the world with his vitality and charisma. He died last Saturday.
Four kings, five queens and at least 70 presidents and prime ministers attended the open-air service to pay homage to a man who helped bring down the Iron Curtain, urged unity between faiths and stamped a strict orthodoxy on his own Church.
A red book of scriptures laid on the Pope's coffin fluttered in the blustery wind as Ratzinger, leading 165 red-robed cardinals, spoke.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims poured into the Vatican hoping for a glimpse of the ceremony, turning St. Peter's Square and surrounding streets into a sea of fluttering flags -- many in the red-and-white colors of the Pope's native Poland.
Police struggled to hold back the crowds as they surged forward and many faithful fainted from the emotion.
"He was a saint," said Gabriele Bisceglie, a 29-year-old salesman from Turin. "I came to thank him and ask him for small favors to help me in my life."
"Our whole world will be different now," said 18-year-old Beata from Poland, tears rolling down her cheeks as the Pope's coffin emerged into weak sunlight. "I don't know what we will do without him to lead us."
Up to 2 million more people watched the service on giant television screens around Rome -- pictures that will be broadcast to a potential world audience of billions.
ROME SHUTDOWN
John Paul died after a decade of suffering and sickness, unleashing a worldwide outpouring of grief within the Roman Catholic Church and beyond.
His crimson-robed body lay in state in St. Peter's Basilica for four days, bringing millions of pilgrims streaming through the Vatican in an epic vigil that almost paralyzed Rome.
Among 2,500 dignitaries of all faiths and races invited to the Renaissance square were President Bush, whose limousine sported Vatican and U.S. flags, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Britain's Prince Charles and various Arab leaders.
"Maybe today will make us hope of a future of peace, not of conflict and hatred," Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said in an interview in Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Cuban President Fidel Castro, who was not present, accused Bush of "hypocrisy" for attending the funeral, saying the Pope had been a fierce critic of capitalism's abuses.
Italy closed the airspace over central Rome and called in extra forces, anti-aircraft missiles and patrol boats to guard the funeral.
Away from Vatican City, Rome was quiet on Friday as authorities ordered all public offices, schools and museums to close and banned cars from the roads.
FAR FROM ROME
Catholics who could not get to Italy instead bid farewell to the Pope in myriad services around the world.
"It is almost like being there in Rome," said Georgina Vega, a primary school teacher, at a Mass in the Basilica de Guadalupe, Mexico's holiest shrine. "Being here with a candle, sharing the warmth with others, transports me there."
In Asia, four huge screens were set up in Manila's Luneta Park, where John Paul celebrated mass with 5 million Filipinos during his second visit to the country in 1995.
"The rally is a call not only to Catholics but to Muslims, Buddhists, Christians of all sects," said Father James Reuter, head of media at the country's Catholic Bishops Conference.
Up to 1 million Poles were expected to watch the funeral on giant screens in Krakow, the city where Wojtyla was archbishop before becoming Pope.
For a Pope who traveled the equivalent of 30 times the circumference of the earth during his reign, his last journey will be the shortest.
After the funeral mass, his coffin will be carried back into St. Peter's Basilica and laid to rest in a crypt after first being enclosed in a zinc coffin and finally an oak casket.
A brief history of his life has been placed next to the body, along with coins minted during his pontificate.
CONCLAVE
Roman Catholic cardinals will open a conclave on April 18 to elect a new Pope.
John Paul's successor faces the daunting task of leading 1.1 billion Catholics in an era marked by tension between religions, between science and ethics, between doctrine and social pressure to change and open up to contraception, women, married priests.
"This Pope has had a problem, and it will be the problem of the future, to have unity in diversity," said Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels, seen by some as a possible pope candidate.
(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy, Estelle Shirbon, Rachel Sanderson, Tom Heneghan, Sophie Hardach, Jane Barrett, Phil Stewart and Steve Holland in Rome and the Vatican city)
Link to ooriginal article
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