Friday, March 14, 2003
Pope's antiwar stance brings avalanche of E-mail support By JOHN THAVIS CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
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THE VATICAN will soon issue this special set of 25 stamps to mark the 25th anniversary the election of Pope John Paul II. The set features a stamp illustrating each year of his pontificate with' a photo. The 1981 stamp shows the assassination attempt made against him that year. He was elected pope Oct. 16, 1978. (eNS photo from Vatican)
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Vatican celebrates pope's anniversary with stamp set By JOHN NORTON CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE VATICAN CITY - The Vatican plans to celebrate the quarter-century anniversary of Pope John Paul II's election with a 25-stamp set that includes one image commemorating the 1981 assassination attempt against him. The stamps, bearing a photographic image from every year of his papacy, will be released March 20, and each has a face value of .41 euros - about 44 cents - the Vatican's stamp and coin office said. The stamp dedicated to 1981 reproduces the famous blackand-white photograph of the pope crumpling into the arms of aides in his popemobile after being shot by a Turkish gunman in St. Peter's Square. The other 24 stamps are color images and include the pope's unprecedented visit to Rome's synagogue and his meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Cuban President Fidel Castro. The Vatican stamp and coin office said the set was intended as a tribute to the "constant and tenacious" activity of the pontiff. His activity "has been primarily spiritual, but became history through the political, social and h'uman effectiveness of this pope who is so firmly resolved to live his earthly experience among the people and with the people, seeking to understand their problems and trying to solve them," it said. The Vatican said it was print-
ing 250,000 sheets of the spe- prayer service for peace in the ..: cial stamps, which were also Balkans. - His first Mass in the newly being co-issued by Poland. For the anniversary, the Vatican of- restored Sistine Chapelin 1994. - His 1995 speech to the fice also will issue 200,000 silver stamps bearing the pope's United Nations in New York. - His 1996 speech at the Berimage and a face value of 2.58 euros (US$2.79), as well as lin Wall. - His 1997 visit to Sarajevo, 20,000 commemorative enveBosnia-Herzegovina. lopes. - His 1998 visit to Cuba. The images selected for each - The 1999 opening of the year are: - Pope John Paul's first ap- jubilee year. - The vigil during World pearance to the public after his Youth Day 2000 in Rome. Oct. 16, 1978, election. - The 2001 closing of the - His 1979 visit to then-comholy door at St. Peter's Basilica. munist Poland. - His 2002 visit to Italy's Par- His 1980 visit to France. - The 1981 assassination at- liament. The stamps may be pre-ortempt. ......:... His 1982 visit to the Marian dered from Ufficio Filatelico e Nuntismatico,GovelDatorat~ shrine at Fatima, Portugal. - The 1983 opening of a holy 00120 Vatican City, Europe. Information on ordering the year. - His 1984 visit to the Italian stamps is available by faxing the office at: 011-3906-6988president's residence. - The first World Youth Day 3799. !r-' -=-=, i, . in 1985. - His 1986 visit to Rome's synagogue. ! " . , ._ - The 1987 opening of a I 1i 'I ").".,.' Marian year. - His 1988 address to Euro- II pean institutions in Strasbourg, "'. France. !i - Gorbachev's 1989 visit to Ii the Vatican. - The pope's 1990 embrace ii of a leprosy patient in GuineaBissau. - The 1991 special assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops. - The 1992 publication of the "C;atechism of the Catholic Church." . _ - The 1993 Assisi, Italy, _ L ___._----_. _
VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II's frequent appeals against a war in Iraq have made him a lightning rod for peace sentiment worldwide - and he has the E-mails to prove it. Hundreds of E-mailed messages were arriving daily at the Vatican in early March, offering support for the pope's antiwar statements and encouragement for further peace moves, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said. Navarro-Valls lifted a stack of 1,500 E-mails that arrived in a 36-hour period March 1-3. "They are from Christians and Muslims, Americans and Europeans. Many of them believe the pope is the single world leader who can prevent a war," the papal spokesman said. One writer who called himself a political conservative cited estimated casualties of
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half a million Iraqis in case of war and said he hoped the world would listen to the pontiff's warnings against the use of armed force. Another asked the pope to act as a human shield against U.S. attack in Iraq. Some quoted the Bible in support of the pontiff. "You're the only one who can end this madness," wrote one U.S. correspondent. Not a single E-mail in the weekend stack was critical of the pope's recent pronouncements, Navarro-Valls said. What made the cyber-correspondence even more amazing was that the pope does not have an E-mail address. So where are the people sending their electronic messages? To the only E-mail link on the Vatican's www.vatican.va site: the page where journalists can request accreditation at the Vatican press office.
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