Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The “people of John Paul II” was back in Saint Peter’s Square today for the thanksgiving Mass co-celebrated by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone and some 30 cardinals. An additional 150,000 joined the 250,000 people who already paid their respect to the body of Pope John Paul II inside Saint Peter Basilica until 3 am, when the building was closed.
In Card Bertone’s words, John Paul II was a “man of faith”, a “pastor”, a “witness” and a “saint”, a pope who “gave the Catholic Church not only an unprecedented universal projection and world-wide moral authority, but also, especially with the celebration of the great jubilee of 2000, a more spiritual and biblical vision, centred on the word of God.” Thanks to him, “the Church was able to renew itself, start a ‘new evangelisation’, intensify ecumenical and inter-faith ties, and find the path for a fruitful dialogue with the new generations.”
A man of faith who “expressed himself especially through prayers, John Paul II was a true defender of the dignity of every human being, and not a mere fighter for political-social ideologies. [. . .] For him, every woman and every man was a daughter and son of God, independently of his or her race, skin colour, geographical and cultural origin, or even religious faith. [. . .] We all saw how he lost everything that one could humanly lose, his physical strength, body expression, the ability to move, even speak. [. . .] At that point, more than ever, he offered his life and mission to Christ, because only Christ can save the world. He knew that his physical weakness showed more than ever Christ at work in history. Offering his suffering to Him and the Church, he gave us a final, great lesson in humanity and surrender into the arms of God.”
“A pastor who rooted in himself the sense of mission, the commitment to evangelise and proclaim the Word of God everywhere, shout it from rooftops.” He did so in ways “so credible and transparent that he taught us how to live the faith and defend Christian values, above all life, without any difficulties or fears.”
“Today, we can thank the Lord for giving us a witness like him, so credible and transparent, who taught us how to live the faith and defend Christian values, starting with life, without any difficulties or fears.”
More governments and public figures are expressing their participation in the beatification. In a message to Benedict XVI, South Korean President Lee Mung Bak said, “the government and people of Korea remember the two visits John Paul II made to the country, and cannot forget his love for the Korean people and his prayers for peace on the peninsula.”
The president used the occasion to invite Benedict XVI on an official visit to South Korea, adding that the visit would be of great help to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and South East Asia.
