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Kurt Sansone was present at the world youth gathering with Pope John Paul in Denver back in 1993. Here he shares his views on John Paul’s image and message
It had been a cold night with the occasional drizzle but at the break of day the inclement weather soon made way for sweltering heat. An anxious crowd of almost 200,000 youngsters waited for Pope John Paul to be flown in by helicopter at Cherry Creek State Park in Denver where he was to celebrate mass with pilgrims from all over the world.
A loud cheer went up in the air as soon as the big screens alongside the tribune broadcast the first shots of an approaching helicopter. Waving handkerchiefs, holding banners and chanting hymns reminiscent of a football stadium atmosphere the crowd greeted the man in white as it would have greeted a pop star.
And John Paul did not let the youngsters down; he acknowledged the cheers, swayed to the tune of the chants and communicated in a personal tone. The more the crowd erupted in applause and cheer the more energy John Paul seemed to draw from the human sea in front of him. It was a gruelling four-hour ceremony unlike any other mass I have ever attended.
That Sunday, 15 August 1993 is iconic of John Paul’s papacy. There was a churchman speaking of life and greeted like a pop star. Preaching against the “culture of death”, abortion and euthanasia, John Paul urged the youth present to go forth and preach from the roofs of their cities the beauty of life.
A day earlier a Cessna aeroplane chartered by an American pro-choice organisation flew over the skies of Denver trailing behind it a large banner criticising the Catholic Church’s views on abortion.
The Pole who secretly studied theology during the Nazi occupation of Poland would not stay put within the confines of the Vatican. Just a year after being ordained Pope, John Paul visited his home country, Poland during which he gave his blessing to the underground pro-democracy movement Solidarity.
It was his attempt at crafting a new image and scope for the papacy that had up to then been an Italian job for over 450 years and with a diminishing influence on the global stage.
Just like a pop star on tour, John Paul travelled widely. But a pop star needs a song and that came in 1994 when a recording of John Paul reciting the rosary in Latin was set to music and sold commercially. Similarly, the pope’s responses to 20 pertinent questions put to him by an Italian journalist were published in a book that became a best seller.
John Paul’s behaviour was outside tradition. He adapted the papacy’s image to the whims of the times as they developed. But his swaying to the world youth gathered in Denver, a scene I saw repeated two years later in Loreto Italy, was heavily counterbalanced by the conservative message John Paul sounded when it came to women’s rights, contraception, stem cell research, artificial reproduction and abortion.
The same man who gave a voice to those living in oppression in Communist Eastern Europe and the poor in the Third World was less of a liberal when it came to loaded moral issues. John Paul chose to cement the Church’s conservative attitude on the ordination of women priests, contraception and scientific research into artificial reproduction stamping papal authority on all those churchmen and women who dared depart from Rome’s central teachings.
John Paul’s contention against Communism was its erosion of people’s dignity. And for this towering historic figure, dignity also had to be protected from liberalism and materialism.
It is John Paul’s untiring predications to alter the Western world’s assumptions on human life and his constant calling for the protection of the traditional family irrespective of who his audience was, be it the President of the United States or a cheering crowd of youngsters, that make him a pop icon as much as his joyous performances at the numerous ‘concerts’ in various countries.
Those young boys and girls gathered in Denver enjoyed John Paul’s performance and felt the warmth of his presence. For many he was a spiritual figure to look up to in admiration. Irrespective of whether those present agreed with John Paul’s views it was refreshing to see a world figure speak his mind against abortion in a country where such a practice had been legal for years.
And that is John Paul: an icon in many ways. Admired for not fearing to say what he wants to say but criticised for not having the courage to evolve the Church’s views on contentious moral issues.
Third longest Pontificate
On March 14, 2004, his pontificate overtook Leo XIII's as the third-longest pontificate in the history of the Papacy, after Pius IX and St Peter. The length of his reign is in marked contrast with that of his predecessor Pope John Paul I, who died suddenly after only 33 days in office (and in whose memory John Paul II named himself).
PAPAL RECORDS
Globe trotter
Since the start of his Pontificate on October 16, 1978, Pope John Paul II has completed 104 pastoral visits outside of Italy. Pope John Paul II was also the first Pope to visit Malta, not only once but twice.
Prolific writer
John Paul II has written 14 encyclicals, 15 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions and 45 apostolic letters. The Pope has published five books.
Prolific Saint maker
John Paul II has beatified 1,338 persons and made another 482 saints.
Record Number of Cardinals
He has held 9 consistories in which he created 231 cardinals.
Greatest Audience
To date, more than 17,600,000 pilgrims have participated in the General Audiences held on Wednesdays. More than 8 million pilgrims visited the Vatican during the Great Jubilee of the year 2000 alone.
Political Pope
John Paul II held 738 audiences and meetings with Heads of States and 246 audiences and meetings with Prime Ministers.
Youngest 20 Century Pope
Elected Pope at the age of 58, Pope John Paul II is the youngest pope elected since Pope Pius IX in 1846.
kurt@newsworksltd.com
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