Word: pontiff
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...political advantage in that from the joyous crowd of more than 1 million people packed along the entire route; their numbers and enthusiasm equaled the welcomes John Paul received in Mexico, Poland and the U.S. Many of the Zaïreans wore T shirts that depicted a brown-skinned Pontiff. On his way, the Pope repeated "Mvidi Mukulu" ("God bless...
...play, about three married couples with differing problems and a goldsmith who represents God, drew a chorus of clerical bravos, which was no surprise. Jawien was the nom de plume under which John Paul, then Polish Bishop Karol Wojtyla, wrote the play 20 years ago. The playwright-turned-Pontiff had never before seen his work done, and he was delighted. "After tonight's performance," he smiled, "there's some hope for my poetry...
...John Paul, a vigorous 59, his first full year in Peter's Chair had been marked by a swirl of activity, a blizzard of words and a sure sense of how to work crowds that numbered in the millions. Even in Italy, the people fondly embraced this "foreign" Pontiff as one of their own. In a supposedly secular age, he became the West's most impressive leader, and already he must be ranked as one of history's most popular Popes...
...anything marks the 264th Pontiff more than his magnetic appeal it is his steely determination to reassert the powers of his office after the experimentation that followed the Second Vatican Council of the early 1960s. Thus, though John Paul is concerned about the growing shortage of priests, he insists that controls on their conduct must be tightened, not eased. In September he called in the superior general of the Jesuit order and demanded that its members correct "regrettable shortcomings" in discipline and faith. With John Paul's approval, the Vatican has also grown more critical of liberal theologians; last...
Whatever the disputes within the church, however, John Paul is a surefire drawing card on the road. In 1980 the Pontiff can look forward to visiting the Philippines, Brazil and some of the other 23 nations that have asked him to drop...