Cardinal Meisner writes from Rome to the German Committee” ” in Cologne” “
The death of John Paul II has not failed to arouse reactions and condolences also in the German Committee that is organizing the 20th World Youth Day (WYD) in Cologne, from the 16 to 21 August, preceded by the preparatory days in German dioceses from 11 August. The hope of seeing John Paul II in Cologne had never faded among the organizers of WYD, not even in the worst moments of the Pope’s illness. This is testified by the numerous declarations on the matter and by the posters and web pages on WYD, dominated by the figure of the smiling Pope who greets “his young people”. Nonetheless the German committee is continuing to prepare as best it can the days in August, which could perhaps be the first major meeting of the new Pope with the youth world. And as the archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, remarks, “there cannot exist a finer entrance for a new Pope into the dimension of the universal Church and of the pastoral mission than the meeting with the youth of the world”. “WE REMAIN SERENE”. “I wish to send to the WYD Office my cordial greetings and my blessing before the bier of the Holy Father, who now rests in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome”: so begins the statement released on 5 April by Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, the city that will host the next WYD in August this year. Meisner made his reflections during a moment of prayer before the bier of John Paul II in the Clementine Hall: “The Holy Father invited the youth of the world to Cologne; now he has gone to heaven, leaving the archbishop and the young alone. But when the saints reach heaven, their radius of action and their intensity is multiplied. For that reason I am consoled and remain serene, thinking that from heaven the Pope will see to it that a WYD will be held in Cologne that shall have no equals”. Reporting that at the end of the translation of the Pope to the Basilica many cardinals had assured him of the presence in Cologne of still greater numbers of youth, the cardinal continued: “I firmly believe in the fact that the new Holy Father will exploit this great occasion by making Cologne the destination of his first journey abroad. For a new Pope, there cannot exist a finer entrance into the dimension of the universal Church than the meeting with the youth of the world”. “WE SHALL CONTINUE OUR WORK”. “With the death of Pope John Paul II, the youth of the world have lost one of their greatest supporters”, said Heiner Koch, general secretary of WYD in Cologne 2005. “The Pope introduced World Youth Days into the life of the Church and by so doing developed a central element of his pontificate. From the announcement at WYD 2002 in Toronto that the next WYD would be celebrated in the archdiocese of Cologne, the various authorities responsible for the event, and then the more than 200 staff of the organizing office, have tirelessly worked to prepare this event and especially the visit of John Paul II. His greatest desire was in fact to come to Cologne from 18 to 21 August 2005. Our work was supported by the great faith of the Holy Father and for this we wish to thank him. Youth and believers throughout the world are united with the authorities and staff of WYD in the sadness we feel for his death. May the Lord grant Pope John Paul II the peace he deserves! We shall continue our work in preparing WYD with the blessing and protection of the Pope who is no longer with us”. Meisner’s opinion is shared by Father Ulrich Hennes, WYD Secretary, who underlined “the great mourning” of the young for John Paul II. “Despite that, WYD staffers are working flat out. The enthusiasm for WYD is as great as ever. We feel called to continue the task that the Pope entrusted to us and charged us to carry out”. “A LEGACY THAT IS ALSO A TASK”. For his part Matthias Kopp, WYD spokesman, declared: “The young and dynamic John Paul II, example for the new generations and admonisher at the world political level, has left us a legacy that is also a task. Future WYDs will remember and pay tribute to the Pope. With the death of John Paul II, the world has lost a personality, and the young a friend”.
