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High and low the crowd swells to see the pope | |
MEXICO CITY (CNN) -- Pope John Paul II, addressing a crowd of roughly 1 million people, called for a more just society for Mexico's poor and indigenous people, and summoned Roman Catholics to confront the challenges of Protestant evangelism.
At a huge open-air Mass at Mexico City's car racing track, the pope said all the faithful should work toward helping the poorest in society. He urged the governing class never to forget the neediest.
John Paul welcomed indigenous people from across Mexico among the crowd, expected to be the largest gathering during his five-day trip to the Americas.
"The pope feels very close to you and admires the values of your cultures," said the pontiff, 78, speaking clearly in Spanish. The leader of the world's 1 billion Roman Catholics also called on "all the faithful of this nation to try to help and promote the most needy among you."
The pope said he would entrust to the Virgin of Guadalupe the hopes and desires of the indigenous peoples of Mexico "who hope to satisfy their legitimate aspirations and to carry out a progress to which they have a right."
In a country where the vast majority of people have been hit hard in recent years with the introduction of free market policies, the pope appealed to the nation to "build a more just and fraternal society in solidarity with those who have nothing and expect a better future."
Preserving Catholicism's power
John Paul, addressing significant inroads made by Protestantism in Mexico, urged his audience to ignore the seductions of what he called "fallacious and novel ideologies" and to spread the word of the Catholic Church -- a central theme of his visit.
"Don't fail to respond to the Master who calls. Follow him to become, like the apostles, fishers of men. Make Christ's word reach those who still do not know him," the pontiff urged. "The church needs more evangelizers."
The papal Mass was a powerful display of the aging pontiff's spell over this predominantly Catholic nation. "Mexico, always faithful!" chanted the crowd, intent on showing the pope that their affection hadn't diminished since his first trip here in 1979.
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| At an outdoor track the pope preaches to the faithful | |
Thousands more outside the packed racetrack grounds perched on sagging tree branches, stood on friends' shoulders or clambered onto loudspeaker stands to view the spectacle.
"It's worth it. To see the pope, anything is worth the sacrifice," said Miguel Duran, a 19-year-old Mexico City student who like thousands of others peered into makeshift periscopes, his fashioned from a box of crackers and a mirror.
Hundreds of people, wrapped in blankets, braved a chilly night to secure the best spots, singing folk songs and holding pictures of Mexico's patron saint, the Virgin of Guadalupe. Some 400 people were treated for hypothermia during the night, Mexico's Televisa said.
The pope, who had looked tired on his arrival in Mexico on Friday, appeared happy as he blessed the cheering crowd from his trademark popemobile after arriving by helicopter.
Raising his voice, the pope defended the rights of unborn children. "May no Mexican dare to injure the precious and sacred gift of life in the maternal womb!" he said.
Thousands stood and applauded in response, including a number of bishops and archbishops flanking the pope. Abortion is illegal in Mexico, but the government promotes a strong family planning program.
The pope's trip to the Americas, his fourth to Mexico and fifth to the United States, is part of a process linked to a report by American bishops that maps out a vision for the Roman Catholic Church in the Americas for the new millennium.
The pope on Saturday condemned human rights abuses, violence and drug trafficking and insisted the death penalty was no longer needed. He also inveighed against the burden of external debt crippling poor nations and urged rich countries and international financial organizations to use the dawn of the new millennium to find ways to alleviate the burden.
On Saturday, John Paul celebrated Mass at what is considered Mexico's holiest site, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and met with President Ernesto Zedillo. On Monday, he holds a "meeting of the generations" at the Azteca soccer stadium. He meets Tuesday with U.S. President Bill Clinton in St. Louis, Missouri.
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The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.