Word: pontiff
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...mixture of modern and medieval. Plainclothes Swiss Guards and men from the papal gendarmes hustle alongside the Pope's car when he appears for audiences, just as the Secret Service does for the President of the U.S. But the agents do not turn completely away from the Pontiff to scan directly for possible assailants: Paul VI ruled that it was disrespectful for the guards to turn their backs on the Pope...
Anger at a would-be assassin, prayers for a much loved Pontiff...
...nonbelievers, pilgrims to Rome and ordinary tourists from every nation. Their common goal is to get a glimpse of the Pope, something that is far easier to do than it used to be. Papal general audiences were formerly held indoors, in St. Peter's Basilica, and the Pontiff was carried into the vast church on a portable throne called the sedia gestatoria, an aloof figure out of reach of the crowds...
...Pontiff's campaign against abortion spills into politics
Ever since the plebiscite was scheduled last November, the Pontiff has repeatedly attacked abortion. On Easter, speaking to 250,000 people in St. Peter's Square, he emphasized his opposition to the practice. He spoke out again a week later during a visit to the Sotto il Monte birthplace of Pope John XXIII. Reaffirming a church statement calling for abortion laws "to be overcome with all legitimate means," he repeated his view that "procured abortion is the killing of an innocent creature. No one can have an attitude of pliant consent or passivity in the face of abortion...