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Thousands Celebrate Pope John Paul II in Rome
Aired October 16, 2003 - 15:14 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.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Tens of thousands of pilgrims crowded into Saint Petersburg Square today to celebrate Pope John Paul II's 25th anniversary as head of the Roman Catholic Church. The crowd broke into applause as the pope was wheeled out for the anniversary mass. Though his voice wavered at times, he participated in all parts of the service. And in his homily, he gave no indication that he might resign.
With me now from Vatican City to talk more about today's anniversary celebrations is Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles.
Cardinal, thank you so much for joining us.
CARDINAL ROGER MAHONY, LOS ANGELES ARCHBISHOP: It's good to be with you.
CROWLEY: For the non-Roman Catholics out there, give us some idea of the import of today's celebration and then maybe a little bit about the impact of this pope in the larger world.
MAHONY: Well, Pope John Paul II has served for 25 years.
He's been truly a world leader, in terms of speaking out hope and encouragement for people. His impact has been tremendous. He was involved, really, in the fall of communism. He's seen many new nations emerge. But he's also had the sad experience as all of us of many wars and conflicts.
But the importance of today is to look back over 25 years and thank God for those years. It's kind of like being with your grandfather. There's that sense of respect and awe as your grandfather comes to the sunset years of his life and you show your appreciation to your grandfather.
CROWLEY: Well, let me ask you on that score. I noted that, in a CNN poll -- and I don't suppose religious leaders like polls any better than politicians do -- but there was a poll the other day that showed that 51 percent of American Catholics believe that this pope will one day be made a saint. But 50 percent also said they thought he should step down for health reasons.
Do you hear that? Is this something that cardinals have talked about? I mean, how does that play out inside the church?
MAHONY: No, one doesn't hear that kind of discussion here. This pope is so committed to living out God's plan for him. And while he has the strength and believes he can still serve the people, he intends to do so. But there's really no discussion about him stepping aside at this time.
CROWLEY: And what can you tell me of the role of the pope for American Catholics? We also found that a lot of them, particularly women, women Catholics, felt that this pope was out of step with modern times. But, of course, that's also his strength. How does he walk that line, or has he?
MAHONY: Well, really, since the days of Jesus Christ, the pope's -- the church has generally been out of step with modern times, in the sense that the gospel and the message of Jesus Christ is countercultural. It always has been. But the pope keeps calling us to be faithful to the gospel, where we really find true freedom and true peace in our lives.
CROWLEY: Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles at the Vatican now, we thank you so much for joining us.
MAHONY: Thank you so much. God bless you.
CROWLEY: Here in the U.S., the image and political influence of Catholics have evolved through the years.
CNN's Bruce Morton has more on the evolution of views towards Catholics in public life and the opinions of American Catholics toward their church.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Generations ago, Catholics were immigrants, part of the working class and Democrats. That's changed.
DAVID WALSH, PROFESSOR, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY: That's a function of the way in which the Catholic community has become so integrated into the American population as a whole. They're no longer outsiders.
MORTON: And they're important swing voters now. Non-Hispanic Catholics voted for Bill Clinton, for George W. Bush in 2000.
Peter Steinfels, a Catholic himself, has written a book about American Catholicism.
PETER STEINFELS, AUTHOR: The growing number among them are independents. And the shrinking number are those who identify themselves as strong party members of either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. So, that certainly identifies Catholics in general as a swing vote.
MORTON: When John Kennedy ran for president in 1960, he had to spend a lot of time explaining that, as president, he would not be taking orders from Rome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN F. KENNEDY, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am sure that, here in this state of West Virginia, that no one believes that I'd be a candidate for the presidency if I didn't think I could meet my oath of office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORTON: Now, John Kerry is a Catholic. Have the voters even noticed?
WALSH: It's really kind of just a by biographical detail about candidates right nowadays, whether they're Catholic or not.
MORTON: It sometimes matters. The Vatican sent out a letter telling Catholic politicians to oppose efforts to legalize gay marriage. Kerry, who supports civil unions, but opposes same-sex marriages, said that was inappropriate. "It's important not to have the church instructing politicians," he told "The Boston Herald."
How much attention do Catholic voters pay to the church and this pope, conservative on social issues?
STEINFELS: Many of them talk about their Catholic education and some of them talk about the prayers and homilies that they hear at Sunday mass. But they put into third place the leadership, either from their parish or from their bishops and from the pope.
MORTON: Walsh thinks the pope influences some Catholics on some issues.
WALSH: Amongst the more traditional Catholics, certainly John Paul II has had an important role, I think, in terms of energizing them and focusing them on certain kind of bottom-line issues, particularly the life issues.
MORTON: Abortion and the death penalty, which he opposes.
Still, the bottom line is, American Catholics are swing voters and both parties will be working hard to win their votes in 2004.
Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 16, 2003 - 15:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Tens of thousands of pilgrims crowded into Saint Petersburg Square today to celebrate Pope John Paul II's 25th anniversary as head of the Roman Catholic Church. The crowd broke into applause as the pope was wheeled out for the anniversary mass. Though his voice wavered at times, he participated in all parts of the service. And in his homily, he gave no indication that he might resign.
With me now from Vatican City to talk more about today's anniversary celebrations is Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles.
Cardinal, thank you so much for joining us.
CARDINAL ROGER MAHONY, LOS ANGELES ARCHBISHOP: It's good to be with you.
CROWLEY: For the non-Roman Catholics out there, give us some idea of the import of today's celebration and then maybe a little bit about the impact of this pope in the larger world.
MAHONY: Well, Pope John Paul II has served for 25 years.
He's been truly a world leader, in terms of speaking out hope and encouragement for people. His impact has been tremendous. He was involved, really, in the fall of communism. He's seen many new nations emerge. But he's also had the sad experience as all of us of many wars and conflicts.
But the importance of today is to look back over 25 years and thank God for those years. It's kind of like being with your grandfather. There's that sense of respect and awe as your grandfather comes to the sunset years of his life and you show your appreciation to your grandfather.
CROWLEY: Well, let me ask you on that score. I noted that, in a CNN poll -- and I don't suppose religious leaders like polls any better than politicians do -- but there was a poll the other day that showed that 51 percent of American Catholics believe that this pope will one day be made a saint. But 50 percent also said they thought he should step down for health reasons.
Do you hear that? Is this something that cardinals have talked about? I mean, how does that play out inside the church?
MAHONY: No, one doesn't hear that kind of discussion here. This pope is so committed to living out God's plan for him. And while he has the strength and believes he can still serve the people, he intends to do so. But there's really no discussion about him stepping aside at this time.
CROWLEY: And what can you tell me of the role of the pope for American Catholics? We also found that a lot of them, particularly women, women Catholics, felt that this pope was out of step with modern times. But, of course, that's also his strength. How does he walk that line, or has he?
MAHONY: Well, really, since the days of Jesus Christ, the pope's -- the church has generally been out of step with modern times, in the sense that the gospel and the message of Jesus Christ is countercultural. It always has been. But the pope keeps calling us to be faithful to the gospel, where we really find true freedom and true peace in our lives.
CROWLEY: Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles at the Vatican now, we thank you so much for joining us.
MAHONY: Thank you so much. God bless you.
CROWLEY: Here in the U.S., the image and political influence of Catholics have evolved through the years.
CNN's Bruce Morton has more on the evolution of views towards Catholics in public life and the opinions of American Catholics toward their church.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Generations ago, Catholics were immigrants, part of the working class and Democrats. That's changed.
DAVID WALSH, PROFESSOR, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY: That's a function of the way in which the Catholic community has become so integrated into the American population as a whole. They're no longer outsiders.
MORTON: And they're important swing voters now. Non-Hispanic Catholics voted for Bill Clinton, for George W. Bush in 2000.
Peter Steinfels, a Catholic himself, has written a book about American Catholicism.
PETER STEINFELS, AUTHOR: The growing number among them are independents. And the shrinking number are those who identify themselves as strong party members of either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. So, that certainly identifies Catholics in general as a swing vote.
MORTON: When John Kennedy ran for president in 1960, he had to spend a lot of time explaining that, as president, he would not be taking orders from Rome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN F. KENNEDY, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am sure that, here in this state of West Virginia, that no one believes that I'd be a candidate for the presidency if I didn't think I could meet my oath of office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORTON: Now, John Kerry is a Catholic. Have the voters even noticed?
WALSH: It's really kind of just a by biographical detail about candidates right nowadays, whether they're Catholic or not.
MORTON: It sometimes matters. The Vatican sent out a letter telling Catholic politicians to oppose efforts to legalize gay marriage. Kerry, who supports civil unions, but opposes same-sex marriages, said that was inappropriate. "It's important not to have the church instructing politicians," he told "The Boston Herald."
How much attention do Catholic voters pay to the church and this pope, conservative on social issues?
STEINFELS: Many of them talk about their Catholic education and some of them talk about the prayers and homilies that they hear at Sunday mass. But they put into third place the leadership, either from their parish or from their bishops and from the pope.
MORTON: Walsh thinks the pope influences some Catholics on some issues.
WALSH: Amongst the more traditional Catholics, certainly John Paul II has had an important role, I think, in terms of energizing them and focusing them on certain kind of bottom-line issues, particularly the life issues.
MORTON: Abortion and the death penalty, which he opposes.
Still, the bottom line is, American Catholics are swing voters and both parties will be working hard to win their votes in 2004.
Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
