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CNN Sunday Morning

Pope's Helicopter Arrives in Toronto

Aired July 28, 2002 - 08:56   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to take you back to Frank Buckley, who's standing by in Toronto, where this helicopter which is carrying the pope is now arriving -- Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Catherine, we'd like to immediately take you to the picture from the camera that is focused now on the helicopter that we believe is carrying the pope. This is the navy blue helicopter that has carried the pontiff as he's traveled around the Toronto area. We just had, right before the arrival of this helicopter, three military escort helicopters and then one medical helicopter, which has shadowed the pope wherever he has traveled.

It appears he is arriving on the scene now, about to fly right around the Downsview Lands area here, Downsview Park. He is circling around the back side. It will fly over, it appears, the entire crowd, a crowd that is estimated to be in size of 650,000 people, at least that's the number of young people we were told slept overnight here in the park. They are expecting that as many as one million people will be here for the mass, which is expected to get under way about 45 minutes after the pope touches down here.

We can tell you that what is touching down here right now is rain. The pilgrims who have come from 170 nations are -- who have spent the night here in really a Woodstock-like environment are -- have been, I don't know if you'd say enjoying Toronto, at least last night. They have been sleeping in rain and mud and really having some pretty tough conditions to deal with.

Joining me again, John Allen from the "National Catholic Reporter." This is always a special moment, isn't it, when the pope arrives?

JOHN ALLEN, "NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER": Yeah. And the Vatican planners really like the symbolism of the pope coming in from the clouds, you know, descending from the sky. And as we're seeing, his helicopter is sort of doing a fly-over of the crowd.

And you hear in the background, the choir is doing the hallelujah, because this is the moment for which these pilgrims have been preparing, you know, the arrival of the holy father, and it's the release of all the cold and the frustration and the wet and the damp and the discomfort of sleeping on the ground, and this is what it's all been about. And so you can sort of see all of that build into this moment when the pope touches down, and if things hold to form, we will see the pope get in his popemobile and sort of do a drive through the crowd, which would be their first sort of facial contact with the pope. And he will wave and sort of set the crowd on fire.

And it's almost like your own slow papal wave. You'll hear it moving across the crowd as he reaches section by section of the crowd. And then finally he'll look around the stage and he'll come out on stage and there will be another burst of applause when he first sets foot onto the stage.

BUCKLEY: Let's talk as a technical matter what will happen here. as we see, the helicopter on what appears to be final approach. What will happen? The helicopter will land, and we will not actually see the pope disembark from the helicopter, is that correct?

ALLEN: No, that's right. We will not get a shot of the pope getting out of the helicopter. He will be assisted out of the helicopter, and he will then be assisted into the popemobile, which, as you know, by the way, it's a new popemobile at this time, it's a brand new machine, donated by the DaimlerChrysler corporation, with the license plate SCV6 (ph), which stands for Vatican City State 6, so it's the sixth popemobile, with the gold hubcaps, because gold is the papal color. And then that will loop him through the crowd, and it will bring him sort of in a U, and it will bring him down right below where we are, actually. And then once again, we will lose sight of him when he disembarks and is being brought onto the stage.

BUCKLEY: And you know, we were talking to some of the organizers about this when he first arrived in Toronto, about this business of not seeing the holy father as he disembarks from the aircraft, that it would be done outside the view of the cameras. Tell people, is that sort of just an understanding that is reached with journalists? Why is it that the pope does this outside of the view of cameras?

ALLEN: Well, I'm not sure it's an understanding reached with the journalists. I mean, I think obviously we would prefer to be able to see what's happening, but I think, you know, part of this is a bit of discretion on the part of the Vatican, that obviously, given his age, given his weakness and his physical limits, it is, frankly, quite difficult for him to get in and out, and sometimes, you know, he does not look at his best. And I think they would prefer for us to, you know, to see him when he's not sort of struggling to do these sort of ordinary human tasks that can be very difficult for him.

BUCKLEY: And just to update everyone, the pope has touched down here at Downsview Park. You can see the welcoming party coming out now to greet the pontiff, and then he will, as John was saying, transfer over to the popemobile, which, if people don't know, is glass-enclosed and he won't be subjected to the elements, unless he chooses to be.

ALLEN: Yeah, that's right. And I expect today, they are going to have the top up on the popemobile. You may have seen, Frank, just a moment ago, we got a quick shot. You can see the rolling platform. That will be rolled out to the helicopter. This is a device the Vatican has essentially invented in the last several years as John Paul's inability to walk has grown. This is how they sort of get him from point to point to short distances. It's a mobile platform with three steps and they have a bar on either side that he can hold onto as he is being rolled. It's made of very highly polished brass and it actually has the papal seal on the ends of those handrails on both sides.

BUCKLEY: There is a great deal of discussion about that platform and whether or not we would see the pope walking at all during his visit here to Toronto. And of course, he surprised everyone -- I would imagine you as well -- right from his first steps onto Canadian soil, literally, when he walked off that Al Italia (ph) aircraft.

ALLEN: Yeah. I mean, the pope can walk. It's not an issue of inability, really, so much as it is very fatiguing for him, it's difficult. And so in order to save his energy, they try not to put him through it if they can avoid it.

But I'll tell you, Frank, I was getting off the papal plane with a colleague -- I was actually one of the last couple of people off -- and we were standing more or less at the foot of the stairs, and I saw the lift that they have been using to get him on and off the planes these days going up, and then it stopped midway up. And then we saw the pope's private secretary pop out the top of the aircraft and a colleague said me, "John, he's not going to come down the stairs, is he?" I said, "there's absolutely no way he's coming down the stairs." And then 30 seconds later, there he was, proving once again that the pope loves to confound those who think they have him figured out.

BUCKLEY: And you have a sense, much more so than I would or any regular journalist, of how the pope thinks. Does he make decisions like that based on some sense that he wants to defy expectations?

ALLEN: Yeah, I think there is a sort of humorous side to the pope's personality that loves to sort of tweak those who think they have sort of got it all boiled down and know what he is going to do.

But also, you know, this is a very serious decision, based I think in part in his own assessment of what he's capable of, I think also based in part he wanted to set a tone for this trip.

BUCKLEY: Let me just say, we are looking at Jean Chretien, the prime minister of Canada. The pope having met with the prime minister yesterday and was also welcomed to Canada by the prime minister when he first arrived.

So we will throw it back to you for now. The pope has arrived here at Downsview Park for the mass, which will begin in approximately 40 minutes -- Thomas.

CALLAWAY: All right, Frank, thank you. It's Catherine, and great job out there, and we will be back with you a little bit later on and get an update on the mass that's going on. An incredible crowd standing there, despite the rain, waiting for the arrival of the pope.

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