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- Three questions….to
Jacques Gaillot
We have seen at the Pope's death a fervour
and a strong interest in the media for the event. Some have criticized
this interest…is it only explained by the personality of
John-Paul II?
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John-Paul II was an impressive man.
In him the man did outdistanced his function. He was a Pope who
went beyond the boundaries of the Catholic Church to reach human
beings. |
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- His gifts for the media world did
extraordinary well. In all his travels he made contact with the
people. At the time of his death, many thought that it was their
turn to come to him. The liturgy of the funerals, with its sacred
rites, was held on Saint Peter's square and brought a kind of
fascination. For this striking event, the human community was
allowed to fraternize for a short moment. It was a ceremony that
gave to this crowd without boundaries the joy of getting together.
Such a planetary event is rare, a sport event or the Church can
only give this opportunity to humanity today.
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- We saw this unbelievable image:
three American Presidents (Bush, father and son, with Clinton)
kneeling by the remains of the dead Pope… Georges W Bush
a protestant and President of the most powerful country in the
world! This image is a major historic event, how can it be explained?
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- It was really astonishing, something
never seen before. When Georges Bush was kneeling by the coffin
of the deceased Pope, I was thinking that he could say to himself:"
How this Pope could have gathered more people than I? How his
influence has been greater than mine? How his speech could have
reached so many young throughout the world? And …I am the
President of the most wealthy nation and the most powerful!"
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The three kneeling Presidents could have thought and recognized
for a short while that power was about to serve not to dominate,
that the power of a country could not come from his army or its
nuclear weapons and that the wealth of a nation could be an insult
to the misery of people from other nations.
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- When this interview will be published
we will know the name of the new pope… What is your ideal
portrait for a successor to John-Paul II?
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- Great hope has been expressed for
the new pope. The choice of a pope of transition and aged will
be disappointing. The legacy of John-Paul II will not be easy
to assume. If the new pope comes from Europe, he will be compared
to his predecessor. If he comes from another continent, it will
be another matter. He will not be object of comparison.
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I would like that we could say of the
new pope "He is the hope of the poor" If he is the
advocate of the poor, he will know how to reform the Church with
liberty. |
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- For me I will welcome in faith the
pope from the conclave as the successor of Peter, the pope that
God gives today to his Church and to the world.
(Interviewed by Olivier Galzi)
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