POPE JOHN PAUL II: CANBERRA MASS

POPE JOHN PAUL II: CANBERRA MASSOn 24 November 1986, Pope John Paul’s plane touched down at Fairbairn Air Base onthe first stop of a wonderful Australian papal visit.The Pope recalled his 1973 visit as a Cardinal to Canberra and Queanbeyan – a visitwhich is still especially remembered vividly and fondly by the Polish community in thisarea.He told us that in his 1986 visit he was coming as a pilgrim, as a pastor to the Catholiccommunity, as a fellow Christian to all who believed in Jesus and as a friend to everyperson of good will.All those hopes materialized when in one short week, he met with Australia’s politicalleaders, the Governor-General (Sir Ninian Stephen), the Prime Minister (Bob Hawke)and the Leader of the Opposition (John Howard) here in Canberra;he uplifted the handicapped and disabled people in Brisbane;he danced with young people at the Sydney Cricket Ground;he donned a hard hat and met workers on the factory floor in the western suburbs ofSydney;he affirmed a skill-share program for unemployed people in Hobart;he sat in a class-room with primary-school children in Melbourne;in what was probably the highlight of his Australian visit at Alice Springs, heacknowledged the Aboriginal people as Australia’s first inhabitants, gave support fortheir land rights, affirmed their spirituality and culture as precious and not incompatiblewith Christianity; he stressed the need for reconciliation among all Australians;he upheld the dignity of old people in Perth on the final leg of his visit.Throughout his Australian visit he showed his deep commitment to ecumenism bymeetings and prayers with other Christian leaders.His 1986 Australian visit proved to be a microcosm of his 26 and a half years of papalministry.Many of us recall the Canberra Mass at the National Exhibition Centre for nearly100,000 people. The Mass celebrated by the Pope was for Justice and Peace, themes soconsistently part of John Paul’s teaching. It was earlier that year that the Pope had calledtogether in Assisi the world’s religious leaders – Christian and non-Christian to pray forpeace. At the Canberra Mass he reminded us that there could be no true and lasting peacewithout an underlying commitment to justice.Last Sunday morning we awoke to the news of Pope John Paul II’s death. At Mass thatday the Gospel gave us the first words of the Risen Lord to his disciples: “Peace be withyou”.Each year in his New Year Message, John Paul has given to the world his message ofpeace. He has reminded the people of the world as he did in Canberra that there can be notrue peace without justice, that we need to find inner peace with ourselves, that we mustseek peace with God and peace with one another.Many times in his pontificate he made direct appeals to world leaders especially intimes of war or the threat of war. I think especially of his consistent opposition to the

all make a special prayerful effort during this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unitywhich culminates at Pentecost on 15 May.This last week has been a momentous and moving time for us all. I wish to pay specialtribute to the media for the way in which you have enabled Australians and the world –Catholic and non-Catholic alike to focus on the outstanding life, achievements andholiness of a wonderful leader and an extraordinary human being. The depth and breadthof the coverage of Pope John Paul’s life and ministry has encapsulated a great legacy tohuman history.We will all have our deeply personal memories and emotions of this past week. But forall of us it has been a time of grace when we have thanked God for the second longestserving successor of St Peter, when we have reflected on Pope John Paul II as a peacemakerand a bridge-builder, as a holy man of God and as a shepherd of his flock who hasrevealed to us more clearly the face of Jesus and the unconditional love of God.Pope John Paul II has departed his life, but we continue to walk as a pilgrim peoplepraying on our journey with hope and confidence “The Lord is my shepherd, there isnothing I shall want.”(Bishop) Patrick PowerSt Christopher’s CathedralCanberra8 April 2005