Behind-the-scenes look at Pope and Vatican

Press, 23 September 1983, Page 15

Behind-the-scenes look at Pope and Vatican

A rare and intimate profile of Pope John Paul II and those who work for him can be seen in “The Pope and His Vatican,” to be screened on Two on Sunday at 2.30 p.m.

The programme shows scenes in the life of John Paul II that have never been shown on television before, such as dawn Mass in his private chapel, breakfast in his private dining room attended by Cardinal John Krol, of Philadephia, the Pope’s shoulder as he delivers his weekly prayer and speech to the crowds in St Peter’s Square, and the Pope alone walking in his

gardens at Castel Gandolfo. All this is access that has never been given to television cameras before.

There are also behind-the-scenes glimpses of the working of the central power group inside the Vatican, the Curia. The programme shows the Secretary of State, Cardinal Agostino Caseroli, the closest aide to the Pope, meeting Church officials in his private office, the Concistory where bishops and cardinals conferred sainthood on Maximillian Kolbe. An inside look on the making of a saint is described by Cardinal William Baum of

Washington who also tells how bishops are chosen and confirmed.

Around all this is the theme of how the Vatican is trying to use this Pope to solve a major crisis facing the Church — its sudden, and some say terminal, decline in numbers — and conversely how this Pope is trying to use his position as head of the Vatican to try to save what he sees as a dying world.

Pope John Paul’s unique philosphy on man as an actor and how that explains his amazing charisma with the millions of people he touches through both his personal appearances and the news media is examined.