Monday, January 03, 2011

Pope John Paul II statue lands in Mumbai

A statue of the late Pope John Paul II will be installed in the compound of Holy Name Cathedral, next to the Catholic archbishop's house, at Colaba in February.

The statue, which has been sent by the Vatican, is part of a larger plan to have similar installations across the world even as the late pope is about to be canonized. 
 
A church source said the 400-kg statue had already arrived in the city but it was awaiting clearance from the Customs authorities. 
 
The statue will be installed next to the bell in the cathedral compound.

Another statue is supposed to be installed in a Catholic institution in Delhi.

Known for his leading role in known to be one of the most influential persons in the world and bringing down the Communist regime in Poland, the late pope was born Karol Jozef Wojtyla on May 18, 1920 in Poland. 
 
He became the pope in October 1978 and his tenure lasted till April, 2005. during which, the world witnessed the roll back of Communism from most of eastern Europe
 
Incidentally, he has been the only Polish and non-Italian pope since 1552. 
 
He passed Karol Jozef Wojtyla who later took on the name John Paul II after he become pope away on April 2, 2005.

Pope John Paul II was pope from October 1978 to April 2005 during which time he saw the roll back of communism from most of Eastern Europe. He was the only Polish Pope and was the only non Italian Pope since 1552. 
 
The much travelled pope visited 129 countries in the world and opened the doors of the catholic church for a dialogue with the protestant churches, judaism, islam and the eastern rite churches.
 
He however generated a controversy when he took orthodox stands on contraception and the ordination of women in the catholic church.

Church sources said that the statue of the pope will be installed next to the bell in the cathedral compound to mark the visit of pope paul vi to the city in the mid 1960's. 
 
John Paul II visited india twice during his tenure as pope, once in 1986 and again in 1992 and came out strongly against the trend among radical priests who were part of the liberation theology movement.
 
This movement advocated the use of marxist methods for protecting the rights of the poor and the downtrodden.

SIC: TOI/INT'L