TORONTO -- Pope John Paul II bid farewell to well-wishers Monday,
climbing up a stairway to the papal plane after a Canadian visit in which the
reenergized pontiff defied the declining health that stoops and slows him.
The 82-year-old pope's plane then took off for Guatemala, where he will
canonize a 17th-century missionary, the second stop on an 11-day trip that also
will take him to Mexico, before he returns to the Vatican on Thursday.
A few hundred people waved and shouted goodbye as the pope approached the
airplane, riding a cart due to declining health that includes symptoms of
Parkinson's disease and hip and knee problems. He blessed some but made no
remarks.
When he reached the plane, John Paul slowly ascended the steps, an aide
clasping his left arm as onlookers applauded. Since May, the pope has regularly
used a lift to board or deplane. With a final wave and blessing, he disappeared
inside.
John Paul came depicted as a frail old man perhaps unable to withstand the
rigors of providing spiritual guidance to Catholic pilgrims joining him for
World Youth Day.
Instead, the pope showed he remained the theological and moral compass of
Catholicism, speaking publicly for the first time Sunday on the sex scandals
rocking the church and urging the young to make Jesus Christ and his teachings
their model in life.
Before the trip, the 97th of his papacy, aides had questioned whether he was up
to it. With a strong voice and renewed vigor, John Paul showed he was.
While condemning the sexual abuse of children by priests, he told people at a
soggy, muddy outdoor Mass concluding World Youth Day that young believers
should not let the actions of a few sway their faith.
"If you love Jesus, love the church. Do not be discouraged by the sins and
failings of some of her members," John Paul said.
"The harm done by some priests and religious to the young and vulnerable
fills us all with a deep sense of sadness and shame," he continued.
"But," he said, emphasizing that word, "think of the vast
majority of dedicated priests and religious whose only wish is to serve and do
good."
"Be close to them and support them," the pontiff said to cheers from
the vast crowd, which was basking in sunshine after spending all night outside
and getting drenched by morning rainstorms.
His comments satisfied many in the crowd, answering their questions about how
to deal with the sexual abuse accusations that have engulfed the Catholic
Church in the United States. About 300 of the 46,000 priests in the United
States have been taken off duty this year because of sex abuse allegations.
"I think it was a good thing he mentioned it," Janelle Morin, 16,
said during communion. "The pope has really done all he could on the
issue. Catholicism is founded on principles of honesty and truth. I have faith
in the church. I know the bishops are protective and wouldn't do anything to
intentionally harm us."
Advocates of victims of the abuse complained the pope missed a chance to
deliver a stronger message.
"A few words of apology from someone of his stature could help perhaps
hundreds of people to feel some sense of healing," said David Clohessy,
U.S. national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
With his condemnation of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in his earlier speeches
and his mention of the sex abuse scandal, the pope addressed two of the major
concerns of American Catholics.
Prior to Sunday, his only statements since the sex abuse scandals erupted in
the Boston archdiocese in January had been a pre-Easter letter to priests and a
speech to cardinals summoned to the Vatican in April.
John Paul spoke clearly and at times forcefully during the three-hour Mass,
faltering only at the end when he grew visibly tired, slurred some words and
lost his place in his text.
From his first appearance in Canada, stubbornly walking down the steps from his
plane Tuesday instead of using a lift as in recent trips, the pontiff showed he
was coming to lead the 200,000 young Catholics from 170 countries registered
for World Youth Day.
Urging the young to be "apostles of the third millennium," the pope
said Sunday they should use their youthful spirit to follow and spread the
teachings of Christ and the church.
A huge congregation, including Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, sprawled
over a former airfield in north Toronto that had been converted into an outdoor
church with a 160-foot cross towering above. Vatican officials said Toronto
police estimated the crowd at 800,000, which the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
said was the largest gathering in the nation's history.
Waving flags from every corner of the world, people cheered wildly for the pope
and chanted his name with open affection. They ran to be near his
"popemobile" when it carried him slowly through the crowd, jumping up
and down and hoping for him to return a wave and maybe smile.
Most of the congregation had slept outdoors at the site in an all-night vigil
the pope visited Saturday.
A dawn storm drenched everyone, and a steady rain that began later delayed the
pope's arrival aboard a military helicopter by 20 minutes. The skies cleared as
the pope began the Mass.
Despite his resolve, the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and hip and knee
ailments forced John Paul to use a cart pushed by aides on the stage. He veered
from his prepared text at one point to refer to his age, dropping a reference
to being "a bit tired" when he said, "You are young and the pope
is old, 82. It's not the same thing as 22 or 23."
In announcing the next World Youth Day would be in Cologne, Germany, in 2005,
the pope neglected to add, as he has in the past, that he hoped to attend the
event.