The Papal Spectator/Doom in Denver
Shiflett, Dave
As Pope John Paul II descended from his plane at Denver's Stapleton International Airport (leaving his dog in the cabin, for some unknown reason), it was clear to even us non-Papists that a powerful...
...But what no doubt disturbed the activists most was that there were, comparatively speaking, very few of them...
...And don't forget Al...
...If you want equal justice for all," the pontiff said in his heavily accented English, "and true freedom and lasting peace, then, America, defend life...
...As the pontiff prepared to climb back into the plane that would take him home, he stood beside the vice president and condemned the "culture of death...
...John Paul went right to work...
...For some reason these remarks were not protested by Denver's sizable pagan community, which generally complains at such slights...
...Then he entered the plane, where his dog awaited him, and flew away...
...The president and his guests declined to clap at this point, but the Pope's fans, several hundred of whom were on hand, broke into wild applause...
...That is how we will know it is He...
...A review of the week's coverage, which included an adulatory front-page column by Denver Post editor Gil Spencer and headlines such as "It's Cool to Be Catholic," shows that the most interesting dissent story involved Sen...
...Al looked no more alive than usual as the Pope bid his farewell: "The culture of life means respect for nature and protection of God's work of creation...
...The high point in Denver came when Patricia Ireland, president of the National Organization for Women, took a swipe at one besieged group in her effort to whack the Holy Father...
...Nearly all activists are to be despised, of course, and when the Lord returns, His first act will be to gather them togetherand run them off a cliff...
...Lee Whitefield, a member of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, wore a shirt proclaiming "Christianity is stupid," a point undermined by subsequent remarks to a reporter: "Somalia is a Catholic country...
...In the hopeful spirit of the moment, one imagined that if Joycelyn Elders had been on hand, John Paul might have noted her crack about Catholics' love affairs with fetuses just before letting a big pontifical quid sail her way...
...After a few welcoming remarks by the president, the Pope began beating Bill and his tarmac guests (Pat Schroeder, Donna Shalala, etc...
...In your face again, Bill...
...On the other side of the theological divide, Marvin Simoneau sported a sign pronouncing that "Sodomy is Sin," which was soon grabbed by a homosexual activist and torn to pieces, whereupon it was immediately replaced by another sign with a sterner message: "God's word...
...No compromise...
...The sign-bearer carried on a fairly good-natured harangue while Wynonna sang about Jesus one moment and a "ready-made sex slave" the next...
...Ireland would say if women were made priests but forced to be celibate...
...Ireland's protest attracted about 200 people, while the Pope brought in 186,000—and 375,000 for the Papal Mass...
...Whatever else you want to say about him, the Pope enrages the right people...
...It wasn't that we had suddenly come to renounce the heresy of the monk Luther, nor did the presence of the Holy Father cause us to put newfound stock in the idea of succession, apostolic or otherwise...
...As Pope John Paul II descended from his plane at Denver's Stapleton International Airport (leaving his dog in the cabin, for some unknown reason), it was clear to even us non-Papists that a powerful harmonic convergence was about to get underway, and that we would be a part of it...
...After all, at the bottom of the steps, Bill Clinton awaited His Holiness, and a line of succession can be drawn straight back from this president to George Washington...
...Nobody does it better...
...Somalia's official religion, of course, is Islam, which Britannica proclaims is "nearly universal" there...
...In remarks delivered at the City of Brest park, she warned, "We're going to keep on defying and protesting and challenging the Catholic hierarchy...
...Catholic feminists pagans...
...The sort of convergence we were about to experience had more to do with the Pope's unsettling effect on what might be called the activist community...
...The most dynamic of all signs, however, was to appear during alarge outdoor concert for the Catholic pilgrims put on by Wynonna Judd: "Repent and abandon the harlot's apostasy," it read...
...In your face, Bill...
...over the head...
...While numerous other Colorado pols were on hand to meet the president on his arrival, Campbell opted for a motorcycle gathering at the Buffalo Chip campground in Sturgis, South Dakota, where the major activity (according to one columnist), was a game called "Bite the Weenie," in which a biker navigates under a mustard-covered hot dog suspended from a string while his passenger attempts (no hands allowed) to bite off as much as possible...
...They feel very, very strongly about these things...
...Activists' wounds were only salted by the ecstatic local media, which took less notice of the dissidents than one would normally expect...
...Those starving children are part of Vatican policy...
...Ben Nighthorse Campbell...
...We're going to keep it up until the Pope stops calling U.S...
...In a special way it means respect for human life from the first moment of conception to its natural end...
...The activists driven to the streets by John Paul's visit tended to be foot soldiers in the gonad wars—homosexuality (accept), priestly pedophilia (reject), female priests (promote), even celibacy (no good...
...And one was also led to wonder what Ms...
...Normal people who disagree with the Catholic Church's stand on these and other issues recognize them as wonderful justifications for Sunday morning golfing or fishing, but activists are not happy if not making noise...
...There were also a few atheist activists on hand...
Vol. 26 • October 1993 • No. 10
