Fear makes us crazy says Pope Francis as he arrives in Panama – He announces visits to Iraq and Japan
5963 Mins Read
There were those who had waited at the airport all day. And it was hot (33°C not counting the horrendous humidity).
There were those who had practiced their dance routines for months. And they added elegance and energy to the event. There were those who had created costumes and national dresses for the occasion. And they brought colour and culture to this historical Panamanian afternoon.
The flying time from Rome to Panama City is just under 13 hours. And there’s a 6-hour time difference. So Pope Francis looked justifiably tired as he walked down the steps of the Alitalia aircraft and greeted Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez and the First Lady. With head bowed he listened attentively to the national anthems of the Holy See and Panama, respectively, and shook hands with the authorities present.
Then, just as the security detail was dutifully ushering him into the waiting car, the Pope turned and waded into the crowd that had been trying frantically to grab his attention in every way possible.
That’s when his demeanour changed dramatically. At the sight of the smiling, flushed and excited faces (not to mention the beautiful babies thrust at him from every direction), Pope Francis became suddenly animated. It was as though he had just woken up. Every sign of fatigue disappeared as he waved, hugged, blessed and beamed with obvious delight.
Pope Francis wasted no time wading in on the standoff over funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall on Wednesday as he started his trip to Panama, saying on the plane from Rome that hostility to immigrants was driven by irrational fear.Francis, who has made defense of migrants a key part of his papacy, responded: “Fear makes us crazy”.
During the personal greetings to journalists, the pope revealed that in November he will travel to Japan, and that he would like to go to Iraq.
Many young people from this WYD are emigrants or children of emigrants. One journalist told Pope Francis that he was just in Tijuana. He explained that’s where they are building the wall that separates Mexico and the U.S., even taking it to the ocean. The pope responded that “fear drives people crazy.”
On his flight, Pope Francis also paid tribute to slain journalist Alexei Bukalov. “Today is the first flight in which we are missing a colleague whom I loved very much, Alexei Bukalov from the TASS news agency. He was a man of great humanity that was not afraid of humankind – down to the most human of aspects and the divine, up to the highest level. He was a man capable of making a synthesis in Dostoyevsky’s style. I’m sure we’ll all miss him.”
Pope Francis also made time to joke with journalists from Panamanian media. Although Jorge Mario Bergoglio knows Latin America very well, he has never visited this country until now.
The papal programme begins in earnest. His first appointment of the day is at the Presidential Palace where he pays a courtesy visit on the President and meets local Authorities and members of the Diplomatic Corps. He will also have an important encounter with the Bishops of Central America before lunch.
But the highlight of the day, at least as far as the young people are concerned, is the opening ceremony for the World Youth Day at the Campo Santa Maria di Antigua on the Coastal Belt.
