- Title: NIGERIA: POPE JOHN PAUL II CELEBRATES MASS ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF ABUJA
- Date: 23rd March 1998
- Summary: NEAR ABUJA, NIGERIA (MARCH 23, 1998) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. SV POPE JOHN PAUL II IN POPEMOBILE MAKING ITS WAY THROUGH CROWDS 0.07 2. SV PULL OUT LV OF POPE IN MOBILE 0.24 3. GV/LV OF CROWDS, POPE-MOBILE ARRIVING (2 SHOTS) 0.52 4. LV/SV CHIEFS AND SENIOR CHURCH REPRESENTATIVS CELEBRATING ARRIVAL OF POPE (2 SHOTS) 1.04 5. SV POPE ARRIVING ON PODIUM, WAVING TO CROWDS 1.22 6. GV OF CROWDS 1.25 7. LV OF PODIUM 1.35 8. SV POPE SEATED, WIPING HIS FACE 1.45 9. CU/LV CHILDREN WALKING UP TO PODIUM (3 SHOTS) 2.17 10. MCU POPE JOHN PAUL ON PODIUM 2.26 11. SLV/LV BIBLE BEING CARRIED BY SENIOR CLERICS, PLACED ON DAIS (2 SHOTS) 2.35 12. SV POPE JOHN PAUL ADDRESSING CROWDS, CALLING FOR GREATER DEMOCRACY, RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THE PEOPLE (ENGLISH)/LV CROWD (3 SHOTS) 3.26 13. PAN OF PODIUM 3.36 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 7th April 1998 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: ABUJA, NIGERIA
- City:
- Country: Nigeria
- Reuters ID: LVA46U3XY4ZMR1CKDNQFJDT2SPTY
- Story Text: Pope John Paul, winding up his three-day trip to Nigeria, has told a crowd of hundreds of thousands that the dignity of the human being and fundamental rights had to be the cornerstone of a new and better Nigeria.
The Pope, celebrating a mass on the outskirts of Abuja on Monday (March 23), said the Roman Catholic Church preached justice and love and insisted on duties as well as rights, of citizens, employers, employees and government.
"Respect for every human person, for his dignity and rights, must ever be the inspiration and guiding principle behind your efforts to increase democracy and strengthen the social fabric of your country," the 77-year-old Pontiff told a huge crowd of pilgrims estimated at nearly 750,000.
"The dignity of every human being, his inalienable fundamental rights, the inviolability of life, freedom and justice, the sense of solidarity and the rejection of discrimination: these must be the building blocks of a new and better Nigeria," the Pope said as scorching sun broke through the haze of sand clouds.
The mass mixed Roman Catholic ceremony with African traditional song and dance.Rhythmic drumming accompanied a choir of men and women dressed in gowns depicting the Pope's face and that of the Nigerian monk he beatified on Sunday.
In a procession to bring the bread and wine up to the altar for the high point in the Catholic mass, a score of young girls holding sheafs of dried grass, swayed and crouched in an elegant dance up the steps to the Pope's podium.
The Pope, who looked in good form despite the heat, was seen to be enjoying a dance performed by children at the end of the mass, touching the heads of the youngsters as they bobbed past him.
Through his words during the visit, the Pope has put pressure on Nigeria's military rulers to free political detainees and improve the state of human rights.The Pontiff conveyed the message directly when he spoke to military ruler General Sani Abacha on Saturday.
The Vatican has given Nigerian authorities a list of around 60 detainees, drawn up with the help of relatives, human rights groups and foreign governments, that it wants freed.
A Vatican spokesman declined to reveal the names on the list but he said it contained well-known prisoners.It is thought to include Moshood Abiola, detained after apparently winning 1993 elections, and leading opposition and trades union leaders.
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