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Pope draws strength at Lourdes unease, but discovered how to offer comfort to the sick, “and now the Pope himself needs this comfort from the maternal hand of Mary,” Cardinal Barbarin said. Continued on page 2
JPII shares physical weakness of pilgrims while praying at Shrine By Cindy Wooden LOURDES, France (CNS) — Sharing the physical weakness of thousands of his fellow pilgrims at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Pope John Paul II prayed for comfort for those who suffer, for the protection of every human life and for peace in the world. Although he was fine for most of the August 14-15 pilgrimage, his initial visit of the weekend to the Massabielle grotto, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous, was emotional and difficult. Pushed in his wheeled throne to the grotto and helped to his knees, the Pope was able to stay erect for less than a minute. He began to slump over, and his private secretaries came to his assistance, lifting him back into his chair. Although the person needing assistance was special, the scene was repeated thousands of times over the weekend as teen and young adult volunteers known as “hospitaliers” pushed wheelchairs, lifted the sick with gentle care and used blue “chariots” — similar to rickshaws — to transport those unable to walk up and down the town’s streets. The text the Pope had prepared to read at the grotto was read instead by retired French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, a longtime Vatican official. Father Raymond Zambelli, rector of the shrine, offered the Pope water from the grotto’s spring, holding the glass up to the Pope’s lips. He told reporters later that the Pope was visibly moved, but also quite tired, which was why Cardinal Etchegaray was asked to read his text. Greeting the sick, the Pope’s text said, “With you I share a time of life marked by physical suffering, yet not for that reason any less fruitful in God’s wondrous plan.” In his text, the Pope said he always has relied on and benefited from the prayer offerings of those who suffer. He asked the sick to join him “in offering to God, through the inter-
Drawing to a close? Cardinal Danneels says Pope's health “seriously weakened"
Candles and torches flicker in a view from the front of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and the Basilica of the Rosary during the traditional nighttime procession at the Marian shrine in Lourdes, France. Pope John Paul II turned Photo: CNS/Reuters out for the procession, which he watched from the terrace of the Notre Dame guesthouse. cession of the Virgin Mary, all the intentions of the church and the world.” Waiting for the Pope at the grotto on the shore of the Gave River, French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon, head of the
French bishops’ committee for the pastoral care of the sick, said Pope John Paul’s obvious tenderness for those who suffer “is a strong message to new priests and bishops.” The Cardinal told reporters that
in the Pope’s recent autobiography, Get Up, Let Us Go, he said he initially had been very uncomfortable around sick people, never knowing what to say or what he could offer. The Pope not only got over his
Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels has said that Pope John Paul II's health has deteriorated and that he may be near the end of his life. The 84-year-old Pope, who has Parkinson's disease and severe arthritis, visibly struggled as he wound up an emotional visit to the French miracle shrine of Lourdes on Sunday. A crowd of about 200,000 listened to his words from a field near the grotto where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a peasant girl in 1858. "It was one of the most moving celebrations ever," Cardinal Danneels, told the Belgian daily Het Laatste Nieuws last Sunday. "The Pope's health has seriously weakened. When the Pope says: 'I end my pilgrimage here', that could mean two things. That, at least was how people listening to him in the field interpreted it. It was almost his goodbye to Lourdes and maybe also to his life," the cardinal added. Danneels told Belgian VRT radio the Pope's comments about the end of his pilgrimage "may point to something deeper". "It could of course mean that it is not something that will happen tomorrow or next month but that he does consider that the end is approaching," he added. The Pope, whose speech is often hard to understand, no longer walks in public and has to be wheeled around in a special chair.
Beginnings
The Child
Perth
Witness
YOUTH Gathering in Cathedral a smashing success! Page 11
GIRLS LOSE OUT AGAIN Birth control gone mad Pages 8&9
CATECHISTS to gather for national conference Page 5
BACK IN HARNESS Fr Groeschel returns to work Page 16