AmericanPapist Comments
Hi, Thomas ...
Y'know, I almost laughed at that comment further down in your post for the picture of the Holy Father as he was watching the film.
It's just that I remember the day it happened. My sister was watching the news and the next thing I knew, she was saying to us that John Paul had been shot. Like the rest of the world, we saw the photos of him falling back onto his seat, and the Popemobile tearing through the Piazza. But we didn't see the blood on his white cassock, although I remember catching a glimpse of a large, red stain on the seat next to the driver -- it was, and still is, a chilling sight.
Joseph Ratzinger wasn't working at the Vatican back then ... but he had already been approached by John Paul about a place in the Curia, and they already knew and respected each other's work. Over the years, John Paul came to look upon him as a "trusted friend", which speaks volumes, given the legendary atmosphere of intrigues that people say is part of everyday life at the Vatican. And I imagine that it was John Paul's support -- both moral and official -- that saw Joseph Ratzinger through some of his most difficult years at the helm of the CDF.
So it must have been a terrible wrench for Benedict XVI to see -- in truly horrific detail -- what his friend had to endure 25 years ago. I think I'd be stupefied too, if I were "taken back" to that terrible moment, and I could "see" the blood on my best friend's chest and stomach, and his life draining away with every passing second ...
It's said that Andrew Young, the former US Ambassador to the UN, was about to deliver a speech before the General Assembly that May morning in 1981 -- he was going to speak on the problem of violence, but before he could begin, a UN staffer walked up to him and whispered something in his ear. Turning to the Assembly, Mr. Young gathered up his papers, announced that John Paul had been shot, and said "I have nothing more to say about violence."
Sometimes I think we all lost a part of ourselves on that day ...
Hey Thomas! Go watch cardinal George and other figures talk about John Paul II (it's very emotional) om CNN free video. View John Paul II remembered video on the top video menu.
Good day
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