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CNN Live Sunday
Pope Canonizes Five New Saints
Aired May 04, 2003 - 16:25 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Pope John Paul II returns to Rome. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church canonized five new saints during a weekend visit to Spain. CNN's Jim Bittermann says the stop was also a test of the new high-tech gear designed to make the aging pontiff's work easier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After nine months off the road, Pope John Paul's brief weekend trip to Spain was in many ways a dry run. One, to see if the new devices the ailing pope now depends on can work outside the Vatican. Because of his arthritis, he made nearly the entire trip without standing, except for a few moments during national anthems and other brief ceremonies.
Even when he now celebrates mass, it is with the aid of a hydraulic chair to lift him above the alter. But this was a test of Vatican schedulers who had to juggle protocol essentials around the most economic use of the pope's time and energy, now depleted by his Parkinson's disease. Even the pope's messages have been honed to essentials. This trip, they were, too. He told young people they should be workers for peace and against war, a message received with cheers from the crowd. Some of them had taken in Spain's giant demonstrations against the war in Iraq.
And his second point went to Spaniards in general, urging them not to forget the catholic roots. A straight forward appeal in a nation with a proud catholic past, but a nation which many local churchmen say is today turning its back on religion. In a rare departure from his prepared text, the pope argued that even in modern society, a person can still be a devout believer. John Paul emphasized the point with his proclamation five new Spanish saints, 20th century figures, perhaps easier for modern Catholics to identify with. You, too, can be a saint, one banner proclaimed to the crowds.
(on camera): The pope has now named 470 saintly examples for his followers, traveled abroad 99 times, urging them not to forget Christianity. He may be old, one newspaper here wrote, but he can still deliver a strong, moral message.
(voice over): There are more trips on the pope's schedule. More saints to be declared. His energy may be limited, but his aims are not. A friend of the pope told a reporter recently, his vision has been his life. His life has been his mission. They will cease together.
Jim Bittermann, CNN, Madrid.
(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 May 4, 2003 - 16:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Pope John Paul II returns to Rome. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church canonized five new saints during a weekend visit to Spain. CNN's Jim Bittermann says the stop was also a test of the new high-tech gear designed to make the aging pontiff's work easier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After nine months off the road, Pope John Paul's brief weekend trip to Spain was in many ways a dry run. One, to see if the new devices the ailing pope now depends on can work outside the Vatican. Because of his arthritis, he made nearly the entire trip without standing, except for a few moments during national anthems and other brief ceremonies.
Even when he now celebrates mass, it is with the aid of a hydraulic chair to lift him above the alter. But this was a test of Vatican schedulers who had to juggle protocol essentials around the most economic use of the pope's time and energy, now depleted by his Parkinson's disease. Even the pope's messages have been honed to essentials. This trip, they were, too. He told young people they should be workers for peace and against war, a message received with cheers from the crowd. Some of them had taken in Spain's giant demonstrations against the war in Iraq.
And his second point went to Spaniards in general, urging them not to forget the catholic roots. A straight forward appeal in a nation with a proud catholic past, but a nation which many local churchmen say is today turning its back on religion. In a rare departure from his prepared text, the pope argued that even in modern society, a person can still be a devout believer. John Paul emphasized the point with his proclamation five new Spanish saints, 20th century figures, perhaps easier for modern Catholics to identify with. You, too, can be a saint, one banner proclaimed to the crowds.
(on camera): The pope has now named 470 saintly examples for his followers, traveled abroad 99 times, urging them not to forget Christianity. He may be old, one newspaper here wrote, but he can still deliver a strong, moral message.
(voice over): There are more trips on the pope's schedule. More saints to be declared. His energy may be limited, but his aims are not. A friend of the pope told a reporter recently, his vision has been his life. His life has been his mission. They will cease together.
Jim Bittermann, CNN, Madrid.
(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
