Pope appears to faithful via video
ROME -- Pope John Paul II's suffering kept him physically away from his flock on Good Friday, but he appeared to the faithful via video, adding poignancy as Christians reflected on the suffering of Jesus.
The faithful who gathered at the Colosseum for the Way of the Cross procession cheered and waved torches as the 84-year-old pontiff appeared in profile, sitting alone at the chapel watching the ceremony on a television screen under the chapel's altar. He did not speak and his face could not be seen.
The pope sent a message to the crowd that was read by his vicar for Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini. In it, John Paul said he was spiritually among those at the Colosseum recalling Christ's last hours.
''I also offer my suffering, so that God's design is completed and his word walks among the people," he said in the message. ''I am near all those who in these moments are tested by suffering. I pray for each of them."
Vatican TV had installed huge screens at the Colosseum to allow the pope to appear via video linkup from the Vatican, but officials waited until the last minute to decide on the pope's appearance, depending on his health. It was the first time he has not appeared in public for Good Friday services.
Thousands of people gathered for the Colosseum procession on the most solemn day of the church calendar. A torch-lighted cross was set up on the plateau overlooking the Colosseum where the pope has sat in past years.
''We will miss him but we know he's here, even if not physically," said Cecilia Paolombo, a 20-year-old Italian who was distributing torches.
The pope used to carry a lightweight wooden cross during the Colosseum procession, which symbolically traces Jesus' path to the Crucifixion. The pope stopped the practice in 2001 because of his difficulty in walking.
Good Friday services also were held yesterday in the Middle East. In Jerusalem, Christians from around the world gathered in the Old City for a procession along the Via Dolorosa, following the path that Jesus is believed to have taken on his way to be crucified.
With the election of a new Palestinian leader and promising moves toward reconciliation, pilgrims have returned to Jerusalem in large numbers.
The pontiff's physical suffering has been evident for years as he battled Parkinson's disease and crippling hip and knee ailments.
But it has worsened with the effects of breathing problems that prompted two hospitalizations and surgery to insert a tube in his throat last month.
John Paul has been absent for the major events of Holy Week, although he has appeared silently at his studio window twice this week and has delivered messages telling the faithful that he is spiritually near them as he recovers.
The pope has not spoken in public since shortly before he was released from the hospital March 13, and his only commitment during Holy Week is to deliver a blessing on Easter Sunday.
John Paul watched Holy Thursday services recalling the Last Supper of Christ on television at his Vatican apartment, and he relinquished another cherished tradition yesterday morning when he did not hear confessions of the faithful in St. Peter's Basilica.
US Cardinal James Stafford stood in for John Paul for an afternoon meditation service in the basilica. The preacher for the papal household, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, delivered the homily and ended with a prayer that the pope recover quickly.
In his sermon, Cantalamessa railed against ''The Da Vinci Code," saying the best-selling novel was an example of ''literary and artistic parasitism" in a sex- obsessed society.
Cantalamessa made his comments in a sermon to cardinals and other Vatican officials during a ''Passion of the Lord" service. While not mentioning the Dan Brown novel by name, he made several clear references to it.
''In an unending stream of novels, films, and plays, writers manipulate the figure of Christ under cover of imaginary and nonexistent new documents and discoveries," he said. ''This is becoming a fashion, a literary genre."
Material from Reuters was included in this report.
