“Toronto, the appointment of John Paul II”. that’s the headline that La Croix of 23/7 dedicates to the 17th World Youth Day now being held in the Canadian city; it is being attended by over 200,000 young people from all over the world. “Nothing could have dissuaded John Paul II from participating in the WYD”, comments Yves Pitette, who adds: “Each time the occasion has presented itself over the last few months, he has explicitly repeated his invitation to the young people he has met to meet him in Toronto. Once again last Sunday, on the eve of his departure for Canada, the Pope, speaking in Castelgandolfo, renewed the invitation he has regularly repeated in his discourses, audiences and Angelus addresses ‘to continue a common pilgrimage of brotherhood through the planet’ (…). John Paul II is exhausted but strongly feels the power of this moment of witness that WYD symbolizes. Young people have the power to restore strength to him, as we have been able repeatedly to verify, and he reciprocates by encouraging them for the future”. “The last gamble of John Paul II”, is the front-page headline in Le Monde (24/7) in a report on WYD in Toronto. The author, Henri Tincq, confesses he is “torn between admiration and pity“. With his 97th international journey (which comprises not only Canada, but also Guatemala and Mexico), explains the paper’s Vatican correspondent, “the Pope is engaging in a triple gamble: with himself first of all, with the young, and with the world. The scale of this challenge for an 82 year old man is impressive. For years, he has been battling against disease but also against the rumours alleging that he is by now a lame duck pope, incapable of governing his Church, and destined to resign (…). The WYD have always been a way of challenging also adult society. And the last challenge of the Pope in this journey will be that of attempting, once again, to make his weak voice heard and understood throughout the whole world”. As a gloss on John Paul II’s journey to Canada, the same French daily also contains a survey on the “religious convictions” of European youth: according to the data of a research project conducted in 12 EU countries, membership of the Church continues to decline in the 18-29 age group. On the other hand, the number of those who declare they believe “in God, in hell and in the life after death” is simultaneously increasing. The German press is scrutinizing the popularity of John Paul II among the young: “ A man without fear of the future“, headlines the Franfkurter Allgemeine Zeitung ( FAZ) of 23/7. “ It must be really important reasons” that prompt the pope “ to leave the Vatican: the young and America, both of vital importance for the future of the Catholic Church“, writes Heinz-Joachim Fischer. “ Ever since his election” the Pope “ has spoken of courage and has transmitted courage. This word is like a connecting thread that can be followed through the years, also through the political crises. And it is just a man fearless of the future that is clearly sought by the hundreds of thousands of youngsters at Toronto and by millions of people throughout the world“, points out Fischer. The German press also devotes ample coverage to the spreading scandal of paedophile priests, triggered off by a reportage in the weekly Der Spiegel (cf. SirEurope no.28/2002). Cardinal Karl Lehmann, archbishop of Mainz and president of the German Episcopal Conference, intervenes in a personal capacity in the FAZ del 22/7: “ The shock is so profound because the errors of individuals strike an institution that has constantly defended propriety in sexual relations and is now being tarred with the same brush“. “ When children and adolescents are entrusted to the Church he continues the abuse of trust is intolerable and inexcusable, both morally and juridically“. Lehmann also expressed the hope that the German Episcopal Conference would approve appropriate measures “ as soon as possible“: “ Perhaps in this way it will be possible to regain the trust we have lost“, concludes the cardinal. The Spiegel of 22/7 dedicates its cover story by Ralf Beste, Ulrich Deupmann, Horand Knaup, Ralf Neukirch and Gabor Steingart to the situation of the SPD, Schröder’s party two months before the elections. “ The party of the Chancellor, tired, without ideas and clearly devoid of personnel with charisms, is in crisis and even many in the upper echelons of the party are standing by without participation. So great a sense of discouragement has not been seen for a long time, in a campaign that began from a position of strength but that has been pursued in the course of the last few months in an atmosphere of impending failure that refuses to go away“.
