Pope Wraps Up Canada
Pope John Paul II bid farewell to well-wishers Monday, climbing up a stairway to the papal plane after a Canadian visit in which the reenergized pontiff defied the declining health that stoops and slows him.
Despite blistering heat and humidity, Pope John Paul walked up the 20 steps to his jet at the Toronto airport for his trip to Guatemala.
About 100 pilgrims who took part in last week's huge Stations of the Cross at World Youth Day were on hand for the brief farewell ceremony for the Pope.
One reporter who has covered the Pope for 20 years says John Paul displayed more strength and vigour on this trip than has been seen in years.
The 82-year-old pope's plane then took off for Guatemala, where he will canonize a 17th-century missionary, the second stop on an 11-day trip that also will take him to Mexico, before he returns to the Vatican on Thursday.
John Paul came depicted as a frail old man perhaps unable to withstand the rigors of providing spiritual guidance to Catholic pilgrims joining him for World Youth Day.
Instead, the pope showed he remained the theological and moral compass of Catholicism, speaking publicly for the first time Sunday on the sex scandals rocking the church and urging the young to make Jesus Christ and his teachings their model in life.
Before the trip, the 97th of his papacy, aides had questioned whether he was up to it. With a strong voice and renewed vigor, John Paul showed he was.
While condemning the sexual abuse of children by priests, he told people at a soggy, muddy outdoor Mass concluding World Youth Day that young believers should not let the actions of a few sway their faith.
"If you love Jesus, love the church. Do not be discouraged by the sins and failings of some of her members," John Paul said.
"The harm done by some priests and religious to the young and vulnerable fills us all with a deep sense of sadness and shame," he continued.
"But," he said, emphasizing that word, "think of the vast majority of dedicated priests and religious whose only wish is to serve and do good."
"Be close to them and support them," the pontiff said to cheers from the vast crowd, which was basking in sunshine after spending all night outside and getting drenched by morning rainstorms.
His comments satisfied many in the crowd, answering their questions about how to deal with the sexual abuse accusations that have engulfed the Catholic Church in the United States. About 300 of the 46,000 priests in the United States have been taken off duty this year because of sex abuse allegations.
John Paul spoke clearly and at times forcefully during the three-hour Mass, faltering only at the end when he grew visibly tired, slurred some words and lost his place in his text.
From his first appearance in Canada, stubbornly walking down the steps from his plane Tuesday instead of using a lift as in recent trips, the pontiff showed he was coming to lead the 200,000 young Catholics from 170 countries registered for World Youth Day.
Urging the young to be "apostles of the third millennium," the pope said Sunday they should use their youthful spirit to follow and spread the teachings of Christ and the church.
A huge congregation, including Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, sprawled over a former airfield in north Toronto that had been converted into an outdoor church with a 160-foot cross towering above. Vatican officials said Toronto police estimated the crowd at 800,000, which the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said was the largest gathering in the nation's history.
Despite his resolve, the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and hip and knee ailments forced John Paul to use a cart pushed by aides on the stage. He veered from his prepared text at one point to refer to his age, dropping a reference to being "a bit tired" when he said, "You are young and the pope is old, 82. It's not the same thing as 22 or 23."
In announcing the next World Youth Day would be in Cologne, Germany, in 2005, the pope neglected to add, as he has in the past, that he hoped to attend the event.
Meanwhile, thousands of Roman Catholic faithful covered Guatemala City's streets with carpets of pine needles, sand and flowers Monday, building an ornate path for Pope John Paul II as he flew to Guatemala to canonize Central America's first saint.
Pilgrims lined avenues waiting for the pope to arrive in Guatemala Monday afternoon. The 82-year-old pontiff planned to celebrate a Mass on Tuesday canonizing Pedro de San Jose Betancur, a 17th-century Spanish missionary who dedicated his life to helping prisoners, abandoned children and the handicapped in Guatemala.
After the Mass on Tuesday, the pope was scheduled to leave for the last leg of his 11-day trip, traveling to Mexico where he will canonize Juan Diego as the church's first Indian saint. Juan Diego is known for his vision of an olive-skinned Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531.