Mourning..

Monday, April 04, 2005

The world is mourning for the loss of a great person. I’m not a Catholic and I do not know much abt the Pope before the news of his health a few wks ago. Sometimes he did appear on tv when he was hosting the visits of some world leaders or he went to visit them. However, after the news of his death broke out today, all news broadcasting stations are covering the ceremonial at Holy See including experts view of the Pope and the commendable things he has done.

I knew that he was shot by a Turkish man in 1981 and he took 2 months to recover. But what I didn’t know was the unbelievable thing he had done after his recovery. He actually visited the shooter in his cell the first thing he was discharged. He didn’t visit the man just for the world to see, to put on a show of forgiveness. One can actually see his sincerity when he touched the man’s arm gently while talking to him. It was something which ordinary ppl like us couldn’t have done. The unconditional forgiveness. The man himself was touched and cried while he watched the Pope leave.

The Pope was remembered as a person who encourages peace, unity and justice and many believe he’s the one who brought the fall of communism. A man who had a lot to offer and gave a lot but did not expect or want anything in return. Many world leaders respected him and they sent their condolences when they learnt his death. He came to s’pore once but obviously I dunno abt it cos at tt time I was only 1 yr old. Everywhere he went, he would be received warmly by thousands or millions of ppl. In his dying moments, ppl gathered ard the Basilican Square to pray for him. Ppl in the rest of the world were praying relentlessly for him too. He was one of the longest reign Pope and the first non-Italian Pope (he’s Polish) for nearly 500 yrs. This goes to show how much the other cardinals respect and support him.

A great, loving, caring, passionate person who will be a legacy and missed sorely by the rest of the world. Even though I’m not a Catholic, I do respect him greatly. He a figure of hope and peace. Any cardinal who’s going to succeed him as the Pope will have a great task to mount. The process of selecting the new Pope is exactly like what Dan Brown has described in his book “Angels and Demons”. He actually met the Pope while writing this book with the help of a friend. I’m sure it was a memorable experience for him. Anyway, the Pope has finally gone to the house of Fathers.
travelled around the world at 3:05 PM