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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JUNE 4, 1982
PAGE 10
Yesterday the people were walking to Bellahouston [ Park] before
the milkmen were up. so patiently all these hours in the blazing
sun, they waited. How they queued! ••.They could have been on
holiday. Correction. They were on holiday. Assuredly the most
memorable holiday of their lives. [ Then followed the newspaper's
account of the Pope's message and the hour-long mass.] •••A truly
historic day ended as the sun grew more and more merciful. Per
haps just one of the many banners had said it all, "Happy Just To
Be Here." It was a banner which we all knew also spoke for Pope
John Paul II, he's some man.
There is no doubt, as I looked out on the crowd, that they were there
precisely to see a man. Despite the Pope's message, which in some cases was
a strong exhortation to Catholics to be more true to their faith, complete
with references to God and Jesus Christ (even a reference to Christians as
being "co-heirs with Christ"), the crowd didn't seem to pay too much atten
tion to what he was saying. They were there simply to see him, to be in his
presence. That's why the newspaper called it a carnival.
Crowd's Intense Enthusiasm Contagious
On one particular occasion during the Pope's message, he referred to a
passage in Psalms 118, verse 24, "This is the day made memorable by the
Lord," applying it to that particular day and festivity. The Pope was
interrupted after that for at least eight minutes by applause, whistles and
cheers. This would die down for awhile and then there would be another
round of the same. He responded with his "holy gestures" with his hands,
after which chants would arise from all sections of the crowd, "John Paul,
John Paul, John Paul." Others then would begin to sing, "He's Got The Whole
World In His Hands."
After letting the crowd have its fun, he interjected with his own words out
side of the text of his speech, "For a few moments the Pope stops preaching
and you became preaching [sic]." After which of course the crowd responded
all the more and it started all over again. It truly was a carnival. How
ever, it impressed many, many people, including those who were not of the
Catholic faith.
On the flight to Paris from Glasgow, I talked with one NBC radio newsman,
Philip Till, who said that he was so impressed by the crowd's reaction dur
ing that eight-minute interruption that he had a lump in his throat. He
said he was not a religious man, in fact had not been in church since he got
married 11 years ago, but he had been truly impressed by the whole display.
(Even more of a display of emotion was evident the day before in Edinburgh
when the Pope spoke to a group of young people who interrupted him after
every sentence chanting and cheering and waving and hollering. It was very
difficult for him to continue with his message.)
Overall, it was a very powerful media event. The television reviewer for
the DAILY MAIL, Herbert Kretzmer, wrote in his newspaper's edition of May
31, 1982:
The holy man from Rome has been an almost inescapable presence on
the [TV] box since last Friday and his performances have proved
utterly riveting, even to unbelievers like me.