Makings Of A Papal Production
This reporter's notebook was written by CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey.
When he addressed the 230,000 people who had gathered in a field outside the town he considers home, Pope Benedict XVI began by saying how much their presence proved the theme of his trip that "those who believe are never alone". He would not, the pope said, have imagined how much work it took to make the whole thing possible.
The words were written well before he got there, of course, but were all the more valid for that. Being pope is like being president — the office-holder does not have to worry about the details that plague everyday life: no keys to remember, change to carry, shopping lists to make, credit card or utility bills to pay. Not even schedules, routes and venues are a problem; someone else ensures all that. Thus it may well be something of a minor revelation for the pope to see the efforts of others on his behalf spread before the stage.
For the Mass in Regensburg, Germany, and every other papal visit venue, miles of plastic police line tape is strung to keep pilgrims on the right path. Hundreds of police have to be transported and told where to stand along the roads.
One wonders what would happen if there was a civic emergency of any kind. Every ambulance and fire truck for miles around seems to be parked wherever the pope turns up. What he might need a fire truck for beggars the imagination.
At every venue there are massive tents for the hundreds of volunteers — hundreds of port-a-potties to place and service. The facilities for the media include canteen-style catering and Internet connections, and the buses that bring us to those facilities have police escorts to clear the way.
Convenience for us, and the papal entourage, naturally means inconvenience for someone else. In the interest of speedy transport and security, roads are blocked off and traffic disrupted. It is always the same — which begs the question of why anyone other than the pilgrims in sandals and ubiquitous purveyors of papal kitsch would want one of these things to happen in their town.
Many here in Regensburg explained both their tolerance and interest by pointing out that Benedict was certainly the only German pope they would see in their lifetime, and as such his visit was, if nothing else, an historical occasion worth observing.
In the town of Allotting, where Benedict came to pay homage at an allegedly miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary and address seminarians, bright sunshine and warm temperatures helped bring out the faithful and the curious. Backpacks decorated with plastic yellow and white papal flags, bicycles, sandals with socks, portable folding chairs and Benedict neckerchiefs all added to the color of what many seemed to be treating as much as an outing as a day of worship. It was Monday, but if anyone other than vendors was at work, there was no evidence of it.
There was no alcohol sold until the papal Mass was over. But given that it all took place before noon, that wouldn't seem to have been a burden. The rationale behind the no-booze rule was that some people might have one too many and become boisterous, which could disturb the dignity of the occasion. As soon as the ceremonies were concluded, however, the cafes were thronged, with tall glasses of fine, foam-topped Bavarian beer much in evidence.
The normally shy and retiring Benedict certainly seemed to be enjoying his time in Germany. He even has the papal wave down to a blessing rather than pro forma rhythm.
"The Pope is extremely content about the way things are going," chief Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi noted in a visit to one of the media tents. "Looking at him close up, it's clear that he is totally at home."
Perhaps, but he is also a theological scholar who heads a 2,000-year-old institution — and just as the Lord "moves in mysterious ways," so, too, does the Vatican still sometimes speak.
A remark by Benedict to seminarians that more of their calling were needed to become "laborers for God's harvest," followed by a reference to Russia as a place where "a great harvest could be reaped" seemed an unusual example of timing. It came only a few days before talks were to resume on reconciling differences between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches — one of which is the Russian church's contention that the Vatican is engaged in trying to "steal" its faithful.
But given the way this papacy appears to be proceeding, there is little reason to think it was anything other than carefully considered, even if those considerations escape mere chroniclers of the utterances.
It was handshakes that summed up the tone and in many ways spirit of the "nostalgic" pilgrimage of Benedict XVI to his homeland.
In Munich's Cathedral of Our Lady, hundreds of people stood for up to two hours, pressed together in the hot, humid, lifeless air, to see and hear the pope conduct a vespers service.
As he made his way in, smiling and seeming more relaxed and comfortable than at any point in his now 17-month-old papacy, Benedict worked the crowd lining the aisle.
Politicians call such moments "grip and grin," although they are generally more like "touch and brush and grin" — making as brief contact as possible with as many of the outstretched, grasping fingers as is polite and useful.
But as Benedict properly shook the hand of a well-wisher, the next person in line waited patiently, smiling and eager, but with no hand even proffered let alone thrust forth for its brush with glory, until the figure in white was ready to reach for it
Maybe that explains why on the two public occasions when Benedict met his ailing 82-year-old brother Georg, who is also a priest, the two did not hug; they merely shook hands.
The politeness, or reticence, could be explained simply by noting that this is after all Germany, land of efficiency, discipline and order, polite even in dissent. There were, for example, no demonstrations by opponents of the Vatican's policy on abortion, celibacy and the ordination of women. Demonstrations require a permit here, and none were granted for this visit. Some work it seems, is not done for the pope.