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CNN Live Today

Pope John Paul II Due to Land in Beloved Homeland of Poland

Aired August 16, 2002 - 12:19   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In just a few minutes, Pope John Paul II is due to land in his beloved homeland of Poland, and given his age and increasingly fragile health, many fear it just may be his last trip home. Of course, they said the same thing back in 1999, when the pope spent 12 days touring the nation. This time, he'll be keeping to the Krakow area, where he was ordained as a priest in 1946.
CNN's Chris Burns is there, and we've got him on the telephone to give us the sense as to what kind of the preparations that are being made as it looks as though, his plane has landed, the pope's plane has landed.

And so, Chris, what kind of preparations or who just might be standing by among those to await the pope's arrival?

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka, the chartered Al Italia jet with Pope John Paul II has just landed in Krakow Poland. Waiting for him along the tarmac are thousands of people, as you can see, flying their flags of Poland, as well as the papal flags. Thousands of people turning out, of all ages, as well as the polish president, Alexander Kroznevsky (ph), the primate (ph) of Poland, archbishop and Cardinal Joseph Glemp, and the Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Fransico Marchowsky (ph), along with others who will be greeting him.

There are also an honor guard. The anthems will be played of the Vatican And the Polish nation. Prime Minister Lesheck Miller (ph), I was just told, is also there. So a very, very high-level delegation greeting him. He is seen by millions of poles as the liberator of Poland, the leader who really helped to galvanize and give the spiritual impetus to the movement to shed Poland of communism, to shed Poland of Soviet domination, and in fact when Poland became the first noncommunist government in 1989, that really did lead and break the dam, and lead to the breakdown of the Soviet regime and the Soviet bloc.

So really he is seen as a liberator, and even by others here as an uncrowned king of Poland.

But a very emotional trip, because the pope is 82-years-old, suffering from Parkinson's Disease, suffering from debilitating arthritis. In fact, we will watch in moments, in a few moments, to see whether he is able to walk down the steps of this Al Italia jet. As in some of his previous trips last month to the Americas, he was at times unable to walk down the steps. So trips are becoming increasingly difficult for the pope. However, this is seen as an extremely important visit. The highlight, according to the Vatican, during his four-day visit here, is to dedicate a sanctuary of divine mercy. However, most of his stuff will be stopping along, retracing his path. This is where he grew up. This is where he became priest, bishop, archbishop before he went on to the Vatican, so he is really retracing his steps in a very steps nostalgic revisiting of where he came from, and the Polish nation -- much of the Polish nation is really going to be watching.

In fact, more than 10 percent of the country of 40 million are expected to turn out to see the pope in these next four days. He will be giving an open air mass on Sunday. He will be visiting another sanctuary. He'll be visiting his family tomb of his mother, father, and brother. He will helicopter past his hometown, his birthplace of Vadaveci (p), an extremely emotional visit, both probably for the pope and also of course for millions of Poles who see this as the last, they see -- many here see this as their last chance to bid him goodbye, at least as pope -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And, Chris, you mentioned that open air mass that is scheduled to take place on Sunday. Some 2.5 million people are expected to turn out for that. And preparations are still under way to get ready for the crowds and for the pope delivering that mass.

What kind of preparations, given his frailty, have been made there at the airstrip? We are seeing so many thousands are waiting for him. You mention, because has been so frail in recent trips, we have been seeing him almost propped up and held up. What preparations have been made here for him to be able to, you know, manage?

BURNS: Absolutely, Fredricka. He really is -- his mind, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and many say is extremely sharp. He is struggling with his body, his increasingly debilitated body, and it will be interesting to go see whether he is able to walk down those stairs. However, there are other times when he is escorted down stairs.

He travels in a pope mobile, sometimes also on a motorized cart. So it will be interesting to see how much willpower he has, how much physical power he has, However, in previous trips, and especially perhaps in this trip, will you see him -- you could see him uplifted by the power of this audience, and this could very well happen. We will see in moments. We will get an indication of how strong the pope is.

He has been resting at Castle Gondolfo (ph), the summer retreat for the pope in Italy in the last few weeks after his trip to the Americas. So he -- and it was also said he looked in good shape in his last audience with Catholics at Castel Gondolfo (ph) in recent days. So however, the Polish government is of course very much -- has prepared for the pope's visit.

One-hundred and forty doctors have been mobilized, of course, not only for the pope, but also for these millions of people that are expected here. Altogether, about 20,000 police, soldiers emergency workers, doctors have been mobilized to deal with the crowds, and of course also to make for a smooth visit by the pope. Interesting that the government has banned alcohol and firearms in recent days. In Poland, the number of car accidents -- 20 percent of car accidents are blamed on alcoholism. So they've been taking strict measures here, even banning these cream cakes here that the pope likes and that people would buy out of fear that there could be food poisoning in this what has been warm weather in recent days. The clouds aren't breaking. People have been out right now. It has not been raining. So it could very well be that millions of people turn out, and the Polish government has prepared for that.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you very much, Chris Burns, for joining on the telephone.

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