- Title: SLOVAKIA: A FRAIL AND TIRED LOOKING POPE JOHN PAUL ARRIVES IN BRATISLAVA
- Date: 11th September 2003
- Summary: (W5) BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA (SEPTEMBER 11, 2003) (REUTERS) SV/LV POPE JOHN PAUL II BEING WHEELED FROM THE PLANE (2 SHOTS)
- Embargoed: 26th September 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA
- Country: Slovakia
- Topics: General,Politics,People
- Reuters ID: LVA9Q6JHHYZLH830E9FD7ZJA693O
- Story Text: A frail and tired looking Pope John Paul has
arrived in Slovakia for a four-day visit and needed help to
give his arrival address.
Hundreds of followers gathered under clear autumn
skies on Thursday (September 11) to greet the 83-year-old
Roman Catholic leader as he arrived in Slovakia for a
four-day visit.
The crowd waved banners, many written in the pope's
native Polish, with messages of love and peace.
The pontiff, who suffers from Parkinsons disease and
arthritis, looked exceptionally weak and trembled
noticeably as he sat through the ceremony. He was unable to
complete his one-page arrival address on his own.
Aides made the decision on the spot to call upon a
Vatican official to continue the reading. After several
minutes of rest the pope then picked up the reading again
but his voice was cracking and barely audible at times.
The pope has in the past relied on other priests to
read part of his speeches in difficult languages but this
time the change appeared to be caused by fatigue as it was
in a Slavic language very similar to his native Polish.
"Dearly beloved, bring to the construction of Europe's
new identity the contribution of your rich Christian
tradition," Vatican Secretary Robert Urland said, reading
from the Pope's arrival address.
Although the pontiff's voice was not clear, the
message of the address, was clear and strong, telling
Europeans to maintain Christian values. It's a theme he
will repeat in a series of masses across the country that
will attract hundreds of thousands, especially from
neighbouring Poland.
The journey, his fourth and last foreign visit of the
year, comes a month before the 25th anniversary of his
historic election and weeks before a key meeting of EU
leaders in Rome.
The EU, which Slovakia joins along with 10 other mainly
post-Communist nations next May, is debating a draft
constitution. The politicians who drew it up chose to avoid
mentioning the word Christianity, referring instead to
Europe's cultural, religious and humanist inheritance.
And while governments in the West are mostly set to
secular norms, divorce and abortion are legal almost
universally, and gay marriages are becoming more frequent
the character of central Europe's future EU members is
still seen up for grabs.
The pope, though looking pale and tired, kept to his
schedule, meeting later in the day met with Slovak
President Rudolf Schuster and other leading political
figures. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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