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Pope John Paul II
http://www.bbfans.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=17880		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  milly [ 01 Apr 05, 21:22 ]
Post subject:  Pope John Paul II
Quote:

Pope John Paul II's health has taken a turn for the worse, the Vatican said.
His breathing is shallow, his blood pressure is low and he is having difficulties with both his heart and his kidneys, a spokesman said.

Millions of Catholics around the world have been praying for the Pope, and a special Mass was being held for him as the latest news was announced.

The Vatican has made three statements in one day and seems to be preparing Catholics to expect the worst.

Cardinals - who will elect a new pope - are arriving in Rome from all over the world, the Italian media have reported.




I think he doesn't have long.

I was brought up a catholic and while I don't agree with alot of catholic doctrine, I think this pope has been a truly great and honest leader who seemed to genuinely care about people. I saw him in Liverpool years ago as a small child and witnessed the effect he had on people, they really adored him.
Author:  grimfandango [ 01 Apr 05, 21:29 ]
Post subject: 
Poor fellow, I'm not religious in the slightest but I'm saddened to see him so ill.
He seemed to be a decent man and I'm sure he'll be missed by many when he does pass away.
Author:  gerbilgranny [ 02 Apr 05, 0:19 ]
Post subject: 
I have been a practising (some day I just might get it right!) Catholic all my life - and what strikes me most about the reaction to the Pope's illness is the generosity and kindness of people of other faiths and none.

I feel sorry for a man like him who is dying - but on the other hand, how many people get to have the support of millions in their final hours? I believe that for 'ordinary' people who are sick and dying, he has been someone with whom they can identify - how many old, sick, or dying people do we normally get to see in the media?

I find all the 'hierarchy' business a bit difficult to comprehend - I don't think that my religion is the 'one true faith' - that would be daft! I think John Paul II has tried to do the right thing, but even he is a product of his upbringing, and while I admire his constant hard work and steadfastness, I am not convinced that everything he says is what God says. That probably makes me some sort of heretic - but I am not alone. There are lots of Catholics (including clergy) who wouldn't necessarily agree with the Pope's teachings.

The bottom line - God is not a Catholic, Protestant, Jew, or Muslim - but thanks are due to (a) John Paul II, for taking his duty so seriously (like QE2!), and all those 'non-Catholics' who have shown such respect.
Author:  milly [ 02 Apr 05, 23:09 ]
Post subject: 
BBC
Quote:
Pope John Paul II has died at the age of 84, after becoming one of the longest-serving pontiffs in history.
The Pope died at 2137 local time (1937 GMT) on Saturday following a series of worsening health problems including heart failure.

Prayers are being said in St Peter's Square, where many thousands of people are gathered to pay tribute.

Author:  Gaz [ 03 Apr 05, 4:29 ]
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I've all but lost my faith, but the Pope was a good man, and I hope his beliefs see him through.
Author:  HOS [ 03 Apr 05, 19:00 ]
Post subject: 
so will the new pope be a woman and will she allow the use of condoms :D

I think I best keep out of this thread :roll:
Author:  Liisi [ 04 Apr 05, 9:08 ]
Post subject: 
I feel sad about his death, even though I'm lutheric and the pope has no significanse to me religiouswise. He was a great and influentiall man and I have to respect his strong oppinions allthough I desagree on many of them. He had so many people to wish him well in his last moments he must have done a lot of things right. I hope he now is where he believed he would be.
Author:  JimD [ 04 Apr 05, 13:14 ]
Post subject:  Cardinals set date for Pope's funeral
James Sturcke and agencies
Monday April 4, 2005

The funeral of Pope John Paul II will be held at 10am (0900 BST) on Friday April 8, a Vatican official said today.
Cardinals agreed the date and time at a meeting today at the Vatican. The "princes of the Catholic church" were meeting today to plan the Pope's funeral and begin the long process of finding his successor.

The members of the college of cardinals gathered in the Bologna Hall of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace at 10.30am (0930 BST). It was the first time they had met since the pontiff's death on Saturday evening. Among their first tasks, after taking an oath of secrecy, was to open John Paul II's will and any other final documents he may have prepared for them.

The papers are likely to reveal whether John Paul wished for his remains to be interred in the crypts beneath St Peter's Basilica, where most popes are buried, or in his native Poland.

The funeral will be held before the cardinals begin the process leading to the secret election of the Pope's successor. Under church law, the election cannot begin until at least two weeks after the Pope's death.

This afternoon, the body of John Paul is expected to be taken from an inner sanctum of the Vatican, where it was displayed yesterday for prelates, ambassadors and other dignitaries, to be laid in state in St Peter's. This morning Vatican employees filed silently past the body to pay their last respects.

Later, the prime minister, Tony Blair, attends vespers at Westminster Cathedral in London to commemorate the Pope.

Up to 2 million mourners are expected in Rome to pay tribute to John Paul, who reigned for 26 years. Rome authorities were scrambling to make preparations for the huge influx of visitors. Police were putting up crowd control barriers in the city centre and medical tents had been erected. With most accommodation booked up, camp beds were being set up in sports halls across the city for pilgrims.

John Paul is understood to have set detailed instructions regarding his funeral for the college of cardinals in papers he drafted in 1996. The cardinals must also arrange the destruction of John Paul's fisherman's ring and the dyes used to make lead seals for apostolic letters - formal gestures meant to symbolise the end of his reign and to prevent forgeries.

As they begin a series of preparatory meetings, the cardinals will be quietly sizing each other up for the task of electing the 265th successor to St Peter, the first pope. The so-called conclave, held in utmost secrecy with all cardinals confined to the Vatican until a decision is reached, must begin 15 to 20 days after a pope's death.

John Paul was 58 when the cardinals elected him in 1978, as the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. He appointed all but three of the 117 cardinals entitled to attend the conclave, but there is no guarantee his legacy of conservatism will continue into the new reign.

The Pope died on Saturday of septic shock and cardio-circulatory collapse, but he had been struggling with declining health for many years. He was 84.

Yesterday, his body lay in state in the Vatican's frescoed Apostolic Palace, dressed in crimson vestments and a white bishop's mitre, his head resting on a stack of gold pillows. A rosary was wound around his hands and a staff was tucked under his left forearm.

"Today, while we weep for the departure of the pope who left us, we open our hearts to the vision of our eternal destiny," Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's "prime minister", said in his homily yesterday.

"For a quarter century, he brought the gospel of Christian hope to all the piazzas of the world, teaching all of us that our death is nothing but the passage toward the homeland in the sky."

Yesterday, officials in Rome held an emergency meeting, while the civil protection department and the city hall were working at full speed to discuss preparations for the expected influx of mourners.

"We are expecting from 1 to 2 million pilgrims in Rome, but we can't really predict how many will arrive," a cabinet minister, Roberto Calderoli, said afterwards.

Some measures are already in place. The large boulevard leading to St Peter's has been closed off to private traffic for days. Police have been patrolling the area rigorously, while ambulances have been on standby to aide the pilgrims.

Security measures are expected to be stepped up, with news reports saying that as many as 10,000 police might be deployed. Leonardo Da Vinci airport is expected to be partially closed to private aircraft when world leaders start arriving for the funeral.
Author:  Liisi [ 04 Apr 05, 19:09 ]
Post subject: 
So it'll be a huge newsday on friday then; one wedding and one funeral :-?
Author:  Liisi [ 04 Apr 05, 19:11 ]
Post subject: 
Nope, sorry! Just read the news about the wedding beeing held on saturday. Good call.
Author:  JimD [ 04 Apr 05, 19:48 ]
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The 'Nationals' are spitting as the 'Sundays' are going to use all the best 'Wedding' pics and Stories. ::lol:: ::lol:: ::lol:: ::lol::
Author:  pikeylass [ 05 Apr 05, 17:41 ]
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Spookily enough I'm reading angels and demons at the mo...... :-?
Author:  JimD [ 06 Apr 05, 21:59 ]
Post subject:  Italy asks pilgrims to stay away
Wed Apr 6, 2005 08:34 PM BST

ROME (Reuters) - Italian authorities have appealed to pilgrims to stay away from the centre of Rome, saying it was saturated and any newcomers would have no chance of seeing Pope John Paul's funeral.

Guido Bertolaso, head of crowd control for the funeral, told reporters well over 1 million people had already flocked to Rome for Friday's funeral, whose normal population is around 3 million, and urged faithful to go to a special camp on the city outskirts.

"The city centre cannot take the arrival of any more faithful," said Bertolaso on Wednesday. "Anyone arriving tonight or tomorrow will have no possibility of following the funeral at St. Peter's."

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
Author:  Madeline [ 08 Apr 05, 18:00 ]
Post subject: 

Charles shakes hands with Mugabe at funeral


The Prince of Wales shook hands with the Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe at the Pope’s funeral today.

Charles, who was seated one place away from the president, was “caught by surprise” when Mugabe leaned over to greet him, Clarence House said.

President Mugabe side-stepped a European Union travel ban to attend the service in Rome.

His presence was condemned as an insult when it emerged yesterday with one Euro MP describing it as a “flagrant breach of the EU travel ban”.

President Mugabe has just won an election in which criticism of Britain and Prime Minister Tony Blair was a main plank of his party’s campaign.

The validity of the election has also been questioned by observers.

Last year British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was condemned after he shook hands with the president at a United Nations summit in New York.


A Clarence House spokesman said: ``The Prince of Wales was caught by surprise and not in a position to avoid shaking Mr Mugabe's hand.

“The Prince finds the current Zimbabwean regime abhorrent.

“He has supported the Zimbabwe Defence and Aid Fund which works with those being oppressed by the regime.

“The Prince also recently met Pius Ncube, the Archbishop of Bulawayo, an outspoken critic of the government.”

It was thought Charles shook Mr Mugabe’s hand as part of the service. breakingnews
Author:  Bonzo [ 08 Apr 05, 19:21 ]
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I love the way when someone dies they become a fantastic person who is perfect. I feel empty at the news of his death it doesn't effect me at all. Cept that another right wing old fart has died, his views on contraception are scray, and with his influence irresonspible. He probably has killed people with his statements on contraception.
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