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POLITICS: EUROPE
Pope hails mentor at Warsaw Mass
The Mass had echoes of John Paul's emotional address in 1979. Pope Benedict XVI has celebrated open Mass in the centre of Warsaw, with more than 200,000 people in attendance. The pontiff arrived in Pilsudski Square in driving rain, to the cheers of sodden but resolute crowds waving the flags of Poland and the Vatican. In his sermon the German-born Pope paid tribute to his Polish mentor, John Paul II and the fruits of his papacy. Next week, he will visit the Auschwitz death camp to pray for reconciliation between nations and faiths. Despite Friday's wet weather, police estimated that 220,000 people were crammed into the square, with tens of thousands more in side streets and parks. Many had slept in the square overnight, to be sure of obtaining a good position. Church bells pealed as the Pope, accompanied by 120 priests and bishops who celebrated the mass with him, ascended a metal, three-tiered platform for the ceremony. In his sermon, the Pope defended the Church's traditional values, warning against those "seeking to falsify the Word of Christ and to remove from the Gospel those truths which in their view are too uncomfortable for modern man." "They try to give the impression that everything is relative: even the truths of faith would depend on the historical situation and human evaluation," he said. "Yet the church cannot silence the spirit of truth." He also paid tribute to his predecessor's words on the same spot during a visit in 1979, which challenged the communist authorities and was seen by many as a rallying call to his countrymen to stand up to communism - which was eventually toppled a decade later. "Before our eyes, changes occurred in entire political, economic and social systems," he said. "People in various countries regained their freedom and their sense of dignity." Pope Benedict has said he has "come to follow in the footsteps" of John Paul II. Poles are unlikely to have the same emotional connection with the new Pope - but as a trusted aide and close friend of John Paul he is the next best thing, the BBC's Adam Easton reports from Warsaw. Since his election a year ago, the Pope has been to southern Italy and to his native Germany - but the Polish visit was the first organized on his own initiative. Blessing: "This is not just a sentimental
journey, but a journey of faith," Pope Benedict said on his arrival in
Poland on Thursday. "I so wanted to visit the country of my beloved
predecessor." On the way from the airport to St John's Cathedral in
Warsaw he made a detour in his Popemobile to pass by the site of the
1943 Warsaw ghetto uprising, honoring the Jews who resisted the Nazi
occupation. At the monument he briefly made a sign of blessing to more
than 40 elderly Poles who risked their lives helping Jews during the
war. On visiting Auschwitz, Pope Benedict, who was once a reluctant
member of the Hitler Youth, will walk, not drive, through the
notorious death camp gates, and will refrain from speaking German
during the visit.
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Gay marchers to defy Moscow ban
Gay pride events have been staged in many cities worldwide. Russian gay rights campaigners say they will hold a gay pride rally on Saturday despite a ban by Moscow's mayor. The organizer of Russia's first gay and lesbian festival, Nikolai Alexeyev, said that the gay activists would find an alternative route. Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov banned the march, calling it an "outrage" and nationalists plan to disrupt the event. But Mr. Alexeyev said campaigners had already achieved their goal of raising awareness of homophobia in Russia. "This event was just the opportunity for us to say no to homophobia and to attract the media attention to this problem and to attract the attention of the authorities," he said."In the last 10 months I would say the Russian media has talked about this problem more than in the whole of Russian history." Mr. Alexeyev said homophobia was a big problem in Russia and there were frequent attacks on gay people. Earlier this month, 39 people were arrested in Moscow after protesting outside a gay nightclub. Riot police were brought in to control a mixture of right-wing and religious activists, who picketed the club and shouted insults at people leaving it. Mayor Luzhkov said he banned the march because he believed homosexuality was not natural and because the event would cause outrage in society - a position supported by many Christian and Muslim groups. Alternative: Mr. Alexeyev said the ban means the march may not go ahead as originally planned, but there would be some form of public action on 27 May. "Of course, we will not proceed on the same route that we applied for in the application, because there will not be enough security and there will be nationalistic groups who will gather in the same place and try to disrupt events," he said. "We will have to find other options to go and realize our constitutional rights, it will be some kind of different gathering somewhere in the city." Mr. Alexeyev said opinion polls in April 2005 and April 2006 showed public attitudes were changing. "If a year ago the majority was asking for the criminal prosecution of gays, this April the majority are against," he said. "There are more people tolerant now than a year ago."
The party was billed as a unique mass gathering of gay Russians. The incident comes weeks before Moscow authorities are due to rule on allowing the city's first Gay Pride parade. Organizers had been hoping to attract about 1,000 people to the "Open Party" at the Renaissance Event Club on Ordzhonikidze Street in the south of the Russian capital.
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Moscow gay party:
Protesters shouting homophobic slogans and
hurling eggs and bottles have forced a Moscow night club to cancel a
mass gay and lesbian party. Police kept back the crowd of at least 100
skinheads, nationalists and elderly religious protesters. No serious
injuries were reported but revelers had to be turned away and police
escorted those inside to safety. 