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LATIN AMERICA:
Serene Farewell to Wojtyla
IPS
Correspondents
MONTEVIDEO (IPS - Latin America
Desk), (IPS) - Mexico became the
capital of mourning in Latin
America over the death of Pope
John Paul II Saturday, while
governments in the region --
home to almost half the world’s
Catholics – expressed their
condolences, regardless of their
political bent.
The region was marked by decrees
of national mourning, flags
flown at half-mast and
presidential speeches praising
Karol Wojtyla, especially his
work in favour of peace in the
world -- even Cuba's socialist
government, which described the
Pope as a "good friend".
Another common element was the
resignation with which the
region's Catholics received the
news, flocking en masse in
silence and calm to churches and
cathedrals, which rang their
bells in mourning every 15
minutes.
In Mexico, the Latin American
country that received the most
visits from John Paul, hundreds
of mourners, many of them
weeping, gathered around the
statue in the atrium of the
Basilica of Guadalupe.
It was in the Basilica that the
Pope expressed his devotion to
Our Lady of Guadalupe, who he
addressed as the "Queen of
peace".
Despite the overall climate of
respect, above and beyond
religious differences, there
were a few discordant notes. The
prayers of the faithful gathered
in the Metropolitan Cathedral,
in the centre of Mexico City,
were interrupted by loud music
from a musical show that had
earlier been organised by the
city government.
"It's a lack of respect for our
pain, they won't let us
concentrate on our prayers, we
are in mourning and the people
out there should at least turn
the volume down," an indignant
woman told IPS, with tears in
her eyes.
Mourners also flocked to the
residence of the papal nuncio,
where the Pope stayed on his
visits to Mexico.
In the cathedral, mourners
commented to IPS that the Pope
had left behind a legacy of
humanism.
"He was a man who changed the
history of humanity, advocated
for the poor, asked forgiveness
for past errors of the Church
and always supported young
people," said Teresa Hernández,
who was in the cathedral with
her entire family.
Local radio stations reported on
crowds gathering in towns and
cities all over the country,
like Morelia, in the southern
state of Michoacán, where
hundreds of children lit candles
on Friday and Saturday, as a
symbol of hope "to light the way
for the Pope" on his final
journey, and along with their
parents formed human chains to
pray.
In Guadalajara, in the western
state of Jalisco, Cardinal Juan
Sandoval asked the faithful to
place ribbons with the colours
of the Vatican -- yellow and
white -- outside their homes in
a sign of mourning, as well as
the black crepe ribbons with
which the Catholic community
traditionally expresses
mourning.
Sandoval also called for a
procession through the streets,
to the Cathedral of Guadalajara.
President Vicente Fox broadcast
a condolence message to the
nation at 17:00 local time.
In Argentina there were also
widespread expressions of pain
and mourning over the death of
the 84-year-old Pope, while his
two visits to the country were
widely remembered.
John Paul went to Argentina for
the first time in 1982, in the
midst of the war with Britain
over the Malvinas/Falklands
Islands, in an attempt to broker
the peace.
Shortly after his visit, the de
facto military regime that ruled
Argentina at the time
surrendered.
The pontiff returned in 1987,
after the mediation of his
delegate, Cardinal Antonio
Samoré, headed off an armed
conflict with Chile over a
border dispute in the Beagle
Channel.
The Metropolitan Cathedral,
located on the historic Plaza de
Mayo in Buenos Aires and just a
few metres from the government
palace, was overflowing with
Catholics since Thursday, when
the Pope's health took a sharp
turn for the worse.
The rector of the cathedral,
Father Jorge Junor, commented in
his homily Saturday that John
Paul had said just a few days
before his death that "I am
happy, you should be happy too."
He also urged the faithful not
to cry.
"We must respect his will," the
Argentine cardinal added a few
minutes before the news of his
death came out.
The Basilica of Luján, where the
faithful pray to Argentina's
patron saint, the Virgin of
Luján, was another centre of
mourning.
Many mourners openly expressed
their grief in the days before
the Pope passed away. One
elderly woman, drying her tears
in a Buenos Aires church, said
"This reminds me of when my
father died."
But this Saturday, there was a
greater sense of tranquility
among the people praying in the
churches, after several days of
vigil and following events in
St. Peter's Square in the
Vatican on television.
The government of Néstor
Kirchner, which experienced some
tension with the Roman Catholic
hierarchy in the past few weeks
over the government's decision
to sack a military bishop,
decreed three days of national
mourning and ordered the flag to
be flown at half-mast, although
he left the decision to cancel
activities or public events up
to the individual organisers.
Next week, Argentine
Vice-President Daniel Scioli and
Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa
will attend the funeral rites in
the Vatican.
The Cuban government also issued
a message of condolence. "We
always saw, and will continue to
see, Pope John Paul II as a
friend, someone who cared about
the poor, who fought
neoliberalism and who struggled
for peace," said Foreign
Minister Felipe Pérez Roque in a
communiqué issued to the foreign
press.
He added that the Cuban
government and people had
received the news of the Pope's
death with "great sadness", and
announced that a high-level
delegation would travel to Rome
to attend the funeral.
By contrast to the heavy
international coverage given to
the Pope's worsening health and
his death over the past few
days, Cuba's government-run
press gave it little emphasis.
On Friday night, however,
Cardinal Jaime Ortega,
archbishop of Havana, made a
rare appearance on Cuban state
television to report on the
deteriorating health of the
pontiff and invite the faithful
to pray for him.
John Paul visited Cuba Jan.
21-25, 1998, when he held mass
in several cities and met with
President Fidel Castro, who he
had already received in the
Vatican in November 1996.
His visit was declared
"historic" and contributed to a
thaw in the relations between
the government and the Catholic
Church.
Pérez Roque said his country
would always recall with
gratitude the Pope's visit, his
friendly words and his statement
"against the economic blockade
suffered by our people," which
John Paul had described as
unjust and ethically
unacceptable restrictive
economic measures imposed from
outside.
The foreign minister said
relations between Cuba and the
Vatican are "normal, marked by
respect and cooperation."
In his televised message,
Cardinal Ortega also recalled
the Pope's visit to Cuba, where
he came "as a messenger of
truth, hope and love," and was
able to say things that "not
everyone shared".
"As he said farewell, President
Castro thanked him for all of
his words, even those that he
did not agree with," said the
archbishop of Havana, who will
travel to Rome as a member of
the College of Cardinals.
Milagros Rodríguez, a follower
of santería, a religion of
African origin that is widely
practiced in Cuba, told IPS that
she was "greatly moved" by the
news of John Paul's death
because "he was a very just and
humane man."
"He tried to create unity among
nations and above all what
mattered to him were values,"
she added.
In Chile, three days of national
mourning were declared, while
the government named Foreign
Minister Ignacio Walker to head
the delegation that will attend
the funeral in Rome.
"Chile has a double debt of
everlasting gratitude towards
the Pope, because he was the
architect of peace, preventing a
fratricidal war from breaking
out with Argentina, and he came
to show us that the route for
returning to democracy was
peaceful political action," said
the president of the
co-governing Christian Democracy
Party, Adolfo Zaldívar.
Socialist President Ricardo
Lagos, meanwhile, called the
Pope "a tireless fighter for
peace, liberty, dignity and
human rights" during his 26
years as the head of the
Catholic Church.
"John Paul II had a special
affection for Chile, which was
expressed during difficult
moments and times of joy. That
affection was manifested in
actions and in unforgettable
moments."
Lagos underlined that the pope's
mediation in the border dispute
between Chile and Argentina was
essential "in the face of the
danger of a war between
brothers," and highlighted John
Paul's interest in the
construction of democracy, "with
his urgent reminder that the
poor cannot wait."
The Catholic Church in Uruguay,
where the late pontiff visited
twice, will hold official
religious ceremonies Sunday,
while the faithful gathered in
their parish churches to mourn
on Saturday, since previously
scheduled weddings were being
held as planned in the
Metropolitan Cathedral.
Socialist President Tabaré
Vázquez designated his wife,
María Auxiliadora Delgado, an
actively devout Catholic, to
head the Uruguayan delegation to
the funeral in the Vatican.
Referring to a visit he made to
Rome in the 1990s, Vázquez said
he had taken home a statement by
John Paul: no matter what
political ideology a government
follows, it must strive above
all to be humane.
*With additional reporting by
Adrián Reyes in Mexico, Marcela
Valente in Argentina, Patricia
Grogg in Cuba, Darío Montero in
Uruguay and Gustavo González in
Chile.
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