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BY FATHER NOEL BURTENSHAW
The pre-conclave days were intense. All kinds of suggestors were available. All kinds
of suggestions were made. A Pope to suit them all was needed. The waiting,
beleaguered Cardinals wondered how. Somehow, they managed.
Out of the many wailings, two distinct cries vied for priority. One pleaded he be an
Italian. Within this delicate decade of renewal, it seemed logical to avoid more change.
For 400 years, Italians have admirably tended the flock, giving honor and world
respect to the Office of the Keys.
But another plea persisted. Let him be a product of the groaning Third World. Let
him come from the palatial squalor of the Church in chains and the far flung jails of
poverty. Let him be a Prince Charming to voice their unheeded frustrations.
Balancing on the thin line of perfect guidence, the Conclave decidedly gave us both.
Albino Luciani is beyond doubt an Italian. The name rolls out, stamped with the
sweet sound of musical Italy. For 15 years he has courted the city of Italian romance -
Venice of canals and gondolas. Raised in northern Italy, moving around with
job-hunting parents, he is truly a man of that earth, renowned for its art, its opera and
its Popes. He is a stay-at-home Italian who is ignorant of diplomatic palaces or
ecclesiastical diplomatic missions.
His roots are deeply tied to the survival classes. He is the product of the trade union
poor and he has not forgotten that struggle. The Luciani’s were migrant hunters of
work, well lessoned in the art of making ends meet and surviving when the ends did
not come together. As Cardinal Prince of Venice the memory of those struggles
returned. To bring solace to the retarded, he sold his bishop’s cross. To open kitchens
of hot soup, he banished the mini collections of gold and silver stocked away in the
medieval churches of the city. And most heartening of all, his appearance is
remembered in the ghetto schools of Venice pronouncing the Gospel message to ragged
urchins, wide-eyed and suspicious of this regally robed priest.
The Conclave choice was perfect. The new Fisherman would indeed be Big -
traditionally Italian, wearing shoes well-soiled by the struggles of the emerging classes
of poor. Both voices were heard in the Sistine voting halls.
His double-barreled choice of names was a unique and pointed surprise. It was
obviously intended to unveil the man. Like John he will dream with startling effective
simplicity. Like Paul he will furiously defend and tirelessly work to implement the
dream. The names give us a head start on expectations usually shrouded in the
uncertain secrecy of future time.
Albino Cardinal Luciani, whose excursion round-trip ticket to Venice remains
unused in the Vatican, has most unexpectedly heard the voice of awesome Destiny.
His Holiness Pope John Paul the very First.
Viva il Papa!
SMILES FOR THE CROWD -- Pope John Paul I smiles broadly as he
greets the 100,000 people who had quickly filled St. Peter’s Square after
hearing the surprising news of his election.
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 16 No. 30
Thursday, August 31,1978
$5 Per Year
Pope John Paul
Third Venetian Pontiff
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope John Paul I, the former Cardinal Albino Luciani, is
the third patriarch of Venice to become pope during the 20th century.
Like the other two, Pope St. Pius X and Pope John XXIII - who had also gone into
conclave as patriarch of Venice and not considered the top candidate - Cardinal
Luciani, too, emerged from the conclave with a new name and gave his first papal
blessing to the crowds below in St. Peter’s Square.
Although he was relatively unknown outside Italy, many who do know him
describe him as witty and intellectual but humble and unassuming. He is considered a
theological moderate, strongly anti-Marxist, who is chiefly pastoral in his orientation.
The son of a northern Italian worker who was forced to migrate to Switzerland in
search of seasonal work, the new pope has never hidden his sympathy for workers. But
he did not follow in his Socialist father’s footsteps. He has been as explicit in his
condemnations of the doctrine of class struggle as he has been in his support for labor
and the underprivileged.
He has also shown absolute loyalty to the popes under whom he has served and to
the Second Vatican Council.
One expert observer of the Italian church scene has said that the new pope
understood the council better than any Italian bishop.
“Vatican I,” he said, when he was made" a cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1973, “has
many followers, and so has (an imaginary) Vatican III, but Vatican II has too few.”
(Vatican I, in the 19th century, was the last ecumenical council before Vatican IT.)
Last year at an Italian eucharistic congress in Pescara he summarized his view of the
papacy when he said in a sermon: “It (the papacy) requires three things especially:
continuous and involved teaching, a dialogue unknown in previous times, and loyalty
to the council.”
He is described as possessing a natural prudence, which, united with his pastoral
experience, has helped him to interpret correctly the mind of the council.
Bom in Canale d’Agordo (then known as Forno di Canale) in the Dolomite Alps of
northern Italy Oct. 17, 1912, Albino Luciani entered the seminary to study for the
priesthood without opposition from his father Giovanni, although Giovanni was a
Socialist organizer.
Giovanni Luciani, after his years as a migrant laborer, found steady work in the
glass industry of Murano, just north of Venice.
The young Albino was ordained at the age of 22 on July 7, 1935, after studies at
the seminary in his native Diocese of Belluno and at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian
University.
He first worked in parishes of his home diocese - the start of a career that has been
mostly in pastoral posts - but in 1937 became vice-rector and professor of dogmatic
theology of the Belluno seminary. He was later named vicar general of Belluno.
He was named bishop of Vittorio Veneto in northern Italy by Pope John XXIII in
1958, where he remained until he was named archbishop and patriarch of Venice by
Pope Paul VI in 1969. In 1973 Pope Paul made him a cardinal.
The new pope therefore does not share the background of most recent popes, since
he has no diplomatic or curial experience.
He has carved his reputation mainly as a pastoral figure, a man profoundly
interested in the well-being of his flock.
(Continued on page 6)
Archbishop Donnellan
The following statement was issued by Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan
of Atlanta upon learning of the election of Pope John Paul I :
“I join with the priests, religious and people of the Archdiocese of Atlanta
in rejoicing that the new Pope has been elected.
“We give thanks to the Holy Spirit for the solidarity of the Cardinals in
conclave which resulted in a speedy election.
“In choosing the names of both of his predecessors, John and Paul, the
new Pope gives valuable insight into his own aspirations for the Church. Both
John and Paul were courageous men of peace who preached renewal to the
Universal Church and world.
“Obviously, Pope John Paul I intends to continue in this role as he accepts
the leadership of the Universal Church in the modem world.”
Brother Says Pope Humble
CANALE D’AGORDO, Italy (NC) - Edoardo Luciani, 61-year-old retired teacher
and brother of Pope John Paul I, said his brother has had “perfect self-control” since
his youth and has “never sought promotion.”
Luciani, in a telephone interview with NC News two hours after his brother’s
election was announced, said that the new pope has always been very close to his
family.
In an emotion-filled voice, Luciani said that he learned the news of the election
from the television. “Our 12-year-old son - he’s our youngest - cried as he watched
the Benediction. Albino always said that he and my son are ‘special friends,’ ” said the
pope’s brother.
Pope John Paul I, 65, formerly Cardinal Albino Luciani, patriarch of Venice, and
his younger brother grew up in northern Italy.
Luciani remembered his brother as “very vivacious” in elementary school where he
was always first in his class.
“From age 12 he was always master of himself. I never remember seeing him lose
control of himself.
“As I grew up I came to understand that I should never be surprised by anything he
did - whether it would be to remain as assistant pastor in a country parish or rise to
posts of highest responsibility,” said the retired elementary school teacher.
“I am certain that my brother has never sought promotion and I know in fact that
since he became bishop he has tried to resign several times,” said Luciani.
He did not give details of why his brother wanted to resign.
“I remember that when he was proposed as bishop he tried to say that his health
was too frail for the job,” said the pope’s brother.
Edoardo Luciani and his wife, also a school teacher, have 10 children, five girls and
five boys.
Cardinal Luciani Chosen
VATICAN CITY (NC) - “Habemus papam,” intoned the church’s senior
cardinal-deacon, Cardinal Pericle Felici. And he announced to the world the new Pope
John Paul I, Cardinal Albino Luciani, patriarch of Venice.
The news was greeted with surprise and joy by the 100,000 people who had quickly
flocked to St. Peter’s Square by 7:30 p.m. Aug. 26 to receive Pope John Paul’s first
apostolic blessing.
One of the first acts of the 65-year-old pope, choosing the double name John Paul,
was immediately understood by all as a sign that he intends to continue the policies
and style of his predecessors.
Thundering applause greeted Cardinal Felici’s announcement of the cardinal’s
election.
The crowd cheered “Bravi! Bravi!” (plural of “Bravo!”) at the 110 cardinal-electors
gathered on the balconies of the world’s largest church.
As they waited several minutes for the new pope to put on his white cassock, red
mantle and stole, many passed around the day’s newspapers to show one another what
the new pope looked like.
At 7:32 he appeared on the central balcony, flanked by the papal masters of
ceremonies, Monsignors Virgilio Noe and Orazio Cocchetti.
Pope John Paul waved and opened his arms to the crowd with quick, determined
movements. In his high-pitched, sensitive voice, he sang the introduction to the
apostolic blessing.
His voice wavered slightly as he traced the Sign of the Cross over the crowd, bathed
in the sunset’s rose-colored light.
The choice of Cardinal Luciani, the third pope this century to come from Venice,
was immediately interpreted by observers as showing a clear desire by the cardinals to
have a pastoral pope.
The new pope had given strong leadership in the conservative Venice region but was
not very well known outside that area.
Except for a three-year term as vice president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference,
Pope John Paul has been engaged almost exclusively in pastoral activity - first as a
priest in several parishes, then as bishop of Vittorio Veneto in the Venice region, and
finally as patriarch of Venice.
An intellectual and frequent contributor to newspapers in the Venice area, as a
Cardinal he was quick to come out with early statements on a variety of issues, ranging
from the kidnapping of Aldo Moro to criticism of the Italian communists.
He is regarded as a staunch anti-communist.
Several years ago he wrote a book entitled “Illustrissimi” about the lives and
thought of modern philosophers.
His election shocked Rome for several reasons.
The fact that he was chosen was a surprise because he was not anywhere near the
top of the list of most people’s predictions on who would be pope.
The quick election perplexed the city and the world, especially since the
smokestack of the Sistine Chapel where the voting took place kept belching forth a
series of unclear signals. At one moment the smoke seemed clearly black, indicating no
pope. The next moment it was grey, but never really white. Radio and television
(Continued on page 6)
President Jimmy Carter
WASHINGTON (NC) - The following statement was issued by President
Jimmy Carter upon learning of the election of Pope John Paul I:
“On behalf of the American people, I join people the world over in
welcoming your election as pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. We rejoice
in the renewal of leadership for your church.
“In a world of rapid change, the basic needs of humanity remain the same:
peace, justice, equity and the opportunity for life with dignity. These are still
the supreme challenges which face us. Your voice and your efforts, in the
tradition of your predecessors, can be an inspiration and a hope for all those
who struggle to meet those challenges. I pray it will be heard and echoed by
people of good will throughout the world.
“On this happy occasion, I extend to your holiness my deep respect and
sincere good wishes for your papacy.”