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Public veneration for “good Pope John”
Pentecost Sunday ceremony
About 30,000 people were in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, June 3, as the mortal remains of Blessed John XXIII were brought in a solemn procession to the altar where Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass for the feast of Pentecost.
It was a quiet, respectful crowd—somewhat smaller than anticipated—that gathered in St. Peter’s Square as Cardinal Virgilio Noè, the archpriest of the Vatican basilica, led the procession that brought the body of the former Pope to the altar. The body of “good Pope John,” which had been discovered to be incorrupt, was carried in a bronze and crystal open casket. The former Pope—who had died exactly 38 years earlier—was clad in white papal vestments; his features were plainly visible, although his face was covered with a thin wax mask.
After the ceremony in St. Peter’s Square, the remains of Blessed John XXIII were brought inside the basilica and placed in front of the Altar of Confession, where the public could pay their respects to the former Pontiff through the remainder of the day. Then on Sunday night the casket was transferred to a new resting place near the altar of St. Jerome, just off the central aisle of St. Peter’s.
In his homily during the Mass for Pentecost, Pope John Paul said that it was appropriate to pay homage to John XXIII, who convened Vatican II, on the feast of the Holy Spirit, since “the Holy Spirit was the protagonist of the Council.”
However, John Paul continued, the greatest gift that Pope John XXIII gave to the Church was not the Council, nor his reputation for humor and good will. “The most precious gift left by Pope John to the People of God was himself: his witness of sanctity,” he said.
As he recalled his predecessor, Pope John Paul II remarked that “from his first days in the seminary, he let himself be molded each day by the action of the Holy Spirit.” That humble openness to God’s will, the Holy Father said, was the key to his “unforgettable” character and to “the good will with which he won over the People of God and so many other men of good will.”
The Pentecost Sunday ceremony attracted attention not only because of the popularity of Blessed John XXIII, but also because of the surprising discovery that his body was not corrupt after 38 years in the grave. That discovery—which was made in January, but kept quiet by Vatican officials until the story leaked to the public in March—was taken by many Catholics as a miracle. Cardinal Noè referred to the preservation of the late Pontiff’s body as “a providential coincidence, a sign of divine favor and holiness.”
The man who embalmed John XXIII, however, was not stunned by the news that his body was preserved. In an interview with the Italian monthly Famiglia Cristiana, Dr. Gennaro Goglia insisted that the true “miracle of John XXIII” was not the preservation of his body but “his spiritual and Christian richness, and his great humanity.”
The Pope’s embalmer revealed that he was disappointed by the decision to cover the face of John XXIII with a wax mask. “In my view that was not necessary,” he said, adding that the mask “gave a bit of the look of a statue.” His own preference, he allowed, was that “the faithful should have had the chance to see the face that is so familiar to so many people, and so well loved.”
On June 2, the day before the exposition of the late Pontiff’s remains, Vatican Radio interviewed another man who had vivid recollections of the death of John XXIII. Msgr. Loris Francesco Capovilla, who is now 84, had been a private secretary to Pope John. Msgr. Capovilla observed that the Sunday ceremony in which the body of John XXIII was transferred to a more prominent resting place in the Vatican basilica was not unprecedented. In fact, he reminded the radio audience, John XXIII had presided at a similar ceremony for the re-burial of St. Pius X in 1959.
Papal trip to Armenia set
Major ecumenical implications
Pope John Paul II will travel to Armenia in September, a Vatican envoy has confirmed.
After a May 11 audience with the Holy Father, Bishop Stephan Zurbriggen—the Swiss-born diplomat who serves as papal nuncio in Armenia —said that the papal visit would probably take place September 24 to 26, although the plans are not completely fixed. Bishop Zurbriggen said the Pope would visit Armenia “just after the ceremonies for the consecration of the new cathedral in Erevan.” Those ceremonies are set to take place in the capital city on September 23.
Pope John Paul had planned to visit Armenia in July 1999. Those plans were postponed when the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin I, became critically ill; the Armenian patriarch—who had become especially close to John Paul, and issued the invitation for the Pope to visit Armenia —died just days after the papal visit would have occurred.
Since that postponement, the Pope has mentioned several times that he still hoped to visit Armenia. Ecumenical ties between the Holy See and the Armenian Apostolic Church have been particularly strong, and the new leader of that Church, Karekin II, had renewed the invitation for a papal visit.
The Armenian Apostolic Church dates back to the year 506, when the Christian leaders of that region broke away from the Catholic Church over disagreements with the doctrines put forth by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Those theological disputes have since been resolved, and Pope John Paul II and Karekin I jointly signed a document affirming that the two churches have reached accord on the Christological issues that originally caused their separation.
Today the Armenian Apostolic Church—which is not tied to the Eastern Orthodox churches—is frequently viewed as a potential mediator in disagreements between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow. The Armenian Church enjoys friendly ties with both Rome and Moscow.
Patriarch Aleksei II of Moscow will be in Erevan on September 23 for the dedication of St. Gregory’s Cathedral. Vatican sources suggest that the Pope may delay his visit until the day after that ceremony in order to avoid an awkward situation; Patriarch Aleksei has refused to meet with the Holy Father. It is also possible, however, that the timing of the papal trip will furnish a new opportunity for diplomats seeking to arrange a “summit” meeting between the Pontiff and the Russian Patriarch.
The Pope’s trip to Armenia might also furnish the occasion for him to visit nearby Kazakhstan, to which he has received several invitations.
Quiet birthday
Pope turns 81
Pope John Paul II celebrated his 81st birthday quietly on May 18, breaking from his normal work schedule only long enough for a small slice of birthday cake.
Last year, as he marked his 80th birthday in the middle of the Jubilee year, the Holy Father was involved with the Jubilee for priests, celebrating with thousands of priests from around the world. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano also marked the occasion by printing birthday greetings and best wishes from a number of world leaders including Yasser Arafat, Ehud Barak, Mikhail Gorbachev, Kofi Annan, Lech Walesa, and Hosni Mubarak, Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, and the Russian Orthodox Metropolian Kirill of Smolensk.
This year there was very little attention paid to the Pope’s birthday, either at the Vatican or in the Italian press. In previous years, the birthday gave journalists an opportunity to write speculative stories on the Pontiff’s health. Particularly in 1996, when John Paul had undergone an appendix operation that triggered rumors of more serious illness, reporters questioned whether the Pope could continue to carry out his duties. However, as he continues to meet a very busy schedule in the 23rd year of his pontificate, such stories have lost their currency.
Pope meets Anglican leaders
Cites Toronto meeting
Pope John Paul II met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, for a private talk at the Vatican on June 1.
In public remarks that he made when he greeted the head of the Church of England, the Holy Father said that he had been pleased to learn about the success of a meeting of Catholic and Anglican leaders that took place in Canada last May. The meeting, arranged to take stock after 30 years of official ecumenical work, “will bear fruit in a deeper understanding and reconciliation between Anglicans and Catholics,” the Pope predicted.
Anglican-Catholic ecumenical activities formally began in 1970, after a previous Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, met with Pope Paul VI and launched the project. The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission has been meeting steadily since that time. In January of this year another step was taken with the creation of a new group to promote missionary cooperation between the two denominations. This group will include both Catholic and Anglican bishops, including Archbishop Carey and Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.
Preparations for bishops’ synod
Working document made public
The Vatican has released the instrumentum laboris, or working document, that will guide the discussions of the Synod of Bishops this autumn.
This meeting, the 10th general assembly of the Synod of Bishops since Pope Paul VI convened the first post-conciliar meeting in 1967, will focus on the topic: “The Bishop as Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Hope of the World.” About 300 bishops will take part in the discussions, to be held in Rome from September 30 to October 27.
The instrumentum laboris is a 130-page document, divided into five chapters. This working document reflects the results of a questionnaire sent by the Vatican to all of the world’s bishops last year. The instrumentum laboris, which lays out in detail the duties of the bishop toward his particular diocese and the universal Church, will serve as the basis for the Synod’s discussions.
The document presents an overview of the challenges that face the Church today, and portrays the bishop as a focus for hope among Christians. It points to “signs of vitality and hope” within Catholicism, noting in particular the growth of the faith in Africa and Asia. The working document encourages bishops to be bold, “without fear of giving their life for their flocks,” and to rely on the help of the Holy Spirit in confronting difficult problems. It also lists specific concerns, such as the need to promote collegial solidarity among bishops, the risks of discouragement that Church leaders will face, the problem of facing unjust criticism, and the need to maintain proper concern for the bishop’s own physical and psychological health.
“A bishop is never alone,” the instrumentum laboris points out; and all bishops are part of a communion around the See of Peter. It deals with the role of the episcopal conference, and the functions that can be performed by retired bishops. The fourth and longest chapter of the document concerns the bishop’s role within his own diocese, and his relationships with the priests, deacons, religious, and laity of his particular Church. The final chapter is devoted to the bishop’s work as an evangelist. Through missionary work, ecumenical dialogue, inter-religious cooperation, and public work for justice and peace, the bishop is called to spread the message of the Gospel.
At a press conference held to introduce the instrumentum laboris to reporters in Rome, Cardinal Jan Schotte, the secretary general of the Synod, emphasized the importance of the Synod, but also pointed out some of its limitations. The role of the Synod was discussed at length during the recent extraordinary consistory of the College of Cardinals [see story, page 27]. Some cardinals suggested that the Synod should meet on a regular basis—perhaps every year. Others pointed to the Synod as the means of achieving more collegial government of the Church. Cardinal Schotte acknowledged that the role of the Synod should evolve, so that the bishops can provide more guidance to the universal Church. However, he also cautioned that the Synod is a consultative rather than legislative body.
Cardinal Schotte explained this distinction to reporters by distinguishing between a Synod and a general council of the Church. “The council brings together all the bishops, and thus it can make decisions,” he said. “The Synod brings together a small group of bishops, who cannot make decisions for the others.” Underlining the point, he reminded reporters that “we do not have a parliamentary system.”
The proper role of the Synod, the cardinal observed, is to make suggestions to the Pope rather than to set policies by itself. On the other hand, he agreed with the cardinals who had suggested more frequent meetings of the Synod. In fact, Cardinal Schotte pointed out that he had made a similar suggestion. Still, the secretary-general of the Synod observed that there are practical problems with the Synod, which could limit its role. He observed that his predecessor, Cardinal Josef Tomko, had taken note of the same practical difficulties. First, there are so many participants in a Synod (about 300) that it is difficult to give everyone an adequate chance to express his views. Second, the Synod generally lasts for about a month: a long time for a bishop to be away from his diocese.
Cardinal Schotte offered a suggestion on how the Church might address these concerns: by creating a new body, which he called an “extraordinary synod,” that would bring together the presidents of the 112 episcopal conferences around the world. The more limited number of participants would facilitate broad discussion, he said, and the “extraordinary synod” could be brought together more frequently to serve as a sounding board for Church leaders.
Critique of globalization
Poverty as a sign of failure
Speaking to UN representatives at a May meeting in Brussels, a representative of the Holy See argued that the spread of intense poverty demonstrates the moral weakness of the global economy.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who headed a Vatican delegation to the UN conference on impoverished nations, remarked: “The number of countries where the people live in great poverty is growing, which shows that, despite the potential for progress, the globalization process has not been beneficial.”
The global economy fails to help undeveloped countries, Archbishop Martin said, because “these countries are encouraged to open up their own markets, but the goods they produce are often blocked by protectionist barriers.” The archbishop insisted that the wealthier countries have the capacity, as well as the obligation, to open up their markets to these products, and to provide the technical assistance that would enable poor countries to compete on an even basis.