Roman Catholic cardinals gather on Monday for the first time since Pope John Paul's death to organize a funeral expected to draw the greatest tide of pilgrims and heads of state to the Vatican in its history.
The body of Pope John Paul, who died on Saturday ending a historic but sometimes divisive papacy spanning 26 years, will be taken to St. Peter's Basilica later in the day for public viewing.
Some young pilgrims, eager to be the first to see the Pope's body, staked out positions in cobblestoned St. Peter's Square.
"If it hadn't been for this pope, I would have completely lost my faith. I always trusted him, and needed to come here today to see him," said 22-year-old Silvia Mazzacani, who took an overnight train from northern Italy.
The Pope's corpse, clad in crimson and white vestments, was put on view for the world by Vatican TV on Sunday. His face clearly showed signs of the physical suffering that racked him in the final days of his life.
News of his death brought the red-hatted princes of the Church rushing to Rome, their minds turning to the conclave set for later this month that will elect a new man to run the 1.1 billion-member Church.
U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick called the looming vote an "extraordinary responsibility."
At their first meeting on Monday, the cardinals were to decide the funeral rites and swear an oath to maintain strict secrecy about "all matters in any way related to the election of the Roman Pontiff."
Up to 200,000 worshippers gathered in St Peter's Square on Sunday to hear the Pope's own words read out at a Requiem Mass for the world's best known religious leader, who helped topple communism and stamped a rigid orthodoxy on his Church.
"It is love which converts hearts and gives peace," said the text, which was read out by an archbishop.
Hundreds of thousands of faithful will pay their respects when his body is transferred to the cavernous basilica on Monday before the funeral, which many believe will be held on Friday.
"It scares me to see a dead body but this is our pope and I have to say goodbye," said Roberto Comelli, who had spent all night at St. Peter's Square waiting to see the Pope's corpse.
'EXTRAORDINARY TEST'
Rome authorities are braced for as many as 2 million mourners, including more than 100 heads of state, in the largest such event the city has seen.
"For us it is an extraordinary test, of the most tremendous importance." said Mayor Walter Veltroni. Police began erecting barricades around St. Peter's Basilica.
Italy mobilized thousands of security forces to protect visiting dignitaries, who were expected to include President Bush.
The death of the Pope at the age of 84 unleashed an outpouring of grief far beyond the confines of the Vatican.
Tens of thousands took to the streets of his native Poland for open-air masses, and flags flew at half mast even in communist Cuba and above the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.
Arab militant groups Hamas and Hizbollah praised the Pope for his efforts to bring peace to that region.
"This pope will go down as John Paul the Great," said the Archbishop of Accra, Charles Palmer-Buckle, one of the bishops promoted on March 30 in John Paul's last round of appointments.
"The Long Farewell to 'John Paul the Great'," Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper said in a headline.
TEMPERED TRIBUTES
But the Pope's uncompromising stance on many social issues alienated many Catholics, especially in the developed world, who often ignored his unyielding views on sexual morality.
Some liberal Catholic commentators tempered their tributes by criticizing his traditionalist line on women, homosexuals and contraception and what they called his laggardly response to the scandal of child sex abuse by the clergy.
Andrew Greeley, a priest and novelist from Chicago, said John Paul had clearly "failed to restore the discipline of the church's traditional sexual ethic."
The conclave must start within 15 to 20 days of his death, drawing together 117 cardinals aged under 80 in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.
John Paul was the third longest-serving pope in 2,000 years of Christianity, meaning he was able to hand-pick almost all the cardinals who will enter the conclave, stacking the odds that his conservative teachings will not be eroded.
NOT A POLITICAL ELECTION
Several cardinals including Jean-Marie Lustiger of France said they had not made up their minds on John Paul's successor.
"I think it needs to be a man who is not similar to John Paul II -- it would be absurd to think such things -- but one who has the same qualities of love for truth, love for men," Lustiger said.
"It's not a political election. There's no party that wins or loses," said another French Cardinal, Bernard Panafieu.
Cardinal Jorge Medina of Chile said: "I want to vote for someone who is, above all, a shepherd. I'm not voting for a politician."
John Paul is expected to be interred in a crypt under St Peter's although there have been rumors in Poland that his heart might be buried in his homeland.
The cardinals will meet daily before the funeral, but could decide as early as Monday when to open the conclave.
|