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CITIZEN
Serving the Central Interior since 1916
PARIS (AP-CP) -- From pilgrims burning candles at a grotto in France to a tiny wooden church in the Amazon, the world mourned Pope John Paul on Sunday as a beloved and admired spiritual and moral leader, a champion of peace and builder of bridges between faiths. In John Paul's native Poland, 100,000 people filled a square in Warsaw where the Pope celebrated a landmark 1979 mass credited with contributing to the fall of communism. "I have a sense of great loss and emptiness now," said student Ann Pszczol, 23, after an openair mass attended by thousands in Lagiewniki outside Krakow, where the Pope served when he was Archbishop Karol Wojtyla. Pilgrims burned candles at the grotto at the healing shrine in Lourdes, France, where the pontiff prayed twice during his last foreign trip in August. -- see column, page 4; related stories page 13
AP photo

PRINCE GEORGE

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2005

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World mourns John Paul II

Mexicans pray for Pope John Paul II at the Basilica of Guadalupe on Sunday.

Pope desired to be with Lord: bishop
departing this world. by BERNICE TRICK "He was somewhat like St. Paul, who desired to Citizen staff The Bishop of the Prince George Catholic Dio- be with the Lord, but knew he needed to be cese remembers the late Pope John Paul II as a among people as long as God wanted him to be, and as long as he could make a contribution." man who clearly understood his mission. Parishioners in Prince George, who pray for the "I think the Holy Father realized the role of the church within humankind is to try and bring Pope at all masses, have been saying special about restoration of human kindness, human prayers for him for the past two months since he community, peace and justice -- those values that became ill. Now that he's gone, Wiesner encourages vigils create a society that is fully human and fully alive," Bishop Gerald Wiesner said. "During the and will hold a special mass. The next step is to elect a new Pope, said WiesWorld Youth Conference in Toronto in 2002, the ner, who explained it's a very secreHoly Father said, `When we build a tive event. world without God, we build a world It's the Cardinal Camerlingo who's that is detrimental to humankind', responsible for the governing of the and I found that a very prophetic church in the interim, as well as the statement." funeral arrangements and overseeing Wiesner said the Pope was bright. the election. "Oh my, he was very intelligent. By In this case, it's Cardinal Somalo learning he was a philosopher." who's been appointed to that post. The 84-year old pontiff, who de"What happens is all cardinals 80 fined the church for 26 years, was a years and younger have a vote in the very personable man, according to election. They gather in what's called Wiesner, who dined with Pope John a conclave to vote, where a two-thirds Paul several times. majority is required," Wiesner said. "When he dined with a group of Bishop Gerald "After each vote, they burn the balbishops at his rectangular table, he alWiesner lots. If no one is elected they use ways sat in the centre on the long straw to create black smoke (which side, and during the course of the meal he made a point to talk to everyone at the issues from the conclave). They proceed and, if more than 30 votes are retable. He sat in the centre, rather than at the head quired, they can elect by a simple majority," Wiesof table, for a definite reason," Wiesner said. "He had an extraordinary sense of humour. I re- ner said. "When a Pope is elected, they simply burn the member one time he was meeting with archbishops and bishops, and when it was time for his ballots creating white smoke that tells the world a meeting with just the bishops, he dismissed the new pope has been elected." After the election, the Dean of the College of archbishops by saying, `You guys got to go,'" he Cardinals asks the winning candidate if he will acsaid. Wiesner is certain the Pope had no fear about cept the position, and what name he has chosen.

Citizen photo by Dave Milne

Churchgoers at Sacred Heart cathedral mark the death of Pope John Paul II. The spiritual leader of the Catholic Church passed away Saturday. He was 84-years-old.

Christian remembers papal mass
by FRANK PEEBLES Citizen staff Shaun Horvat remembers Pope John Paul II from a brief encounter she had as a 10-year-old girl in a foreign land. Horvat was a child visiting the sweltering Italian homeland of her mother and grandparents. She wasn't having fun. The last thing she wanted to do, one fateful Sunday, was embark at 6 a.m. for a series of bus rides to line up hours in advance for a possible glimpse of the Pope in a sweaty mosh pit of Christian believers and tourists. Once a month the Pope would personally conduct mass inside the palatial St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican Coty, a service the Horvat family attended "We were all squished together near the back, it was a mob, really. The last place you'd want to be as a kid," said Horvat, who now lives in Prince George and attends Westwood Catholic Church. "My dad lifted me up so I could see, sort of sitting up against a pillar. Then the Pope came in the room and I...I couldn't speak. I was suddenly completely speechless. I just stared, listened to everything he said, no more complaining, and just felt this aura about him. This is someone who didn't want to be there at all, but it was a spiritual experience for me." She says it made her a better Christian, for some inexplicable reason. Nothing he said registered, since he spoke only Latin and high Italian, and she spoke only English and slang Italian, but he resonated with her. "It was an amazing experience. My mom said I had this changed look on my face, and my husband says to me `Every time you talk about him your face changes,'" she said. "It made me have a greater faith, even though I don't support everything promoted by the Pope and the Catholic Church. But it made me definitely understand that there is something to believe in greater than what we can understand or explain, there is a higher power of some kind."

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Cadet boxing championships a big hit
by JASON PETERS Citizen staff Score it as a knockout success. The 2005 cadet national boxing championships, held Friday through Sunday in a big-top tent behind the Treasure Cove Hotel, was judged by Boxing Canada president Hank Summers as one of the best national tournaments on record. "I thought it was a fantastic tournament," said Summers, who resides in St. John's, Nfld. "My hat is off to Bob Pegues (of the host Inner City Boxing Club) and his organizing committee. This is the first time we've ever performed in a big-top. Ten or 15 years down the road, kids who came to their first nationals here, this is the thing they'll remember -- they boxed out in a big tent in Prince George, B.C." Summers, involved in boxing since 1973 and Boxing Canada president for the past six years, said he has attended a national boxing tournament too many times to count. "This is one of the good ones," he said. "We hold so many of these in big arenas and usually it doesn't seem like there's anybody there. This was a fabulous atmosphere. There were times during the weekend, the referees couldn't hear the bell." The tent, which held about 350 spectators, was filled to capacity for the Saturday night show, one of five held during the tournament. Saturday night's crowd created a circus-like atmosphere under the bigtop when Andy Mavros of Inner City scored a unanimous decision over Tim Galeos of the Spruce Capital Boxing Club in a set main event bout between the two senior fighters. The other highlight of the weekend for the host club

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INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . 24 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 City, B.C. . . . . . 3, 5, 6, 15, 18 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . 19-23 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Coming Events . . . . . . . .2, 18 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Entertainment . . . . . . .16, 17 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14, 28

Citizen photo by Dave Milne

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Kenny Lally of Prince George rocks Kevin Lavalee Saturday in the 2005 cadet national boxing championships on his way to defeating the Quebec boxer 12-9 on points in a three-round match. Lally was 2-0 on the weekend and later beat Steve Wilcox of Ontario for the gold medal in the 46kilogram division. was Kenny Lally's gold medal victory on Sunday over taken next year and the Canada Games are the year afOntario's Steve Wilcox. ter. Maybe the year after that (we can host)." Pegues, a coach at Inner City and the tournament's The tournament, for 16-and-under fighters, brought technical advisor, said feedback from national officials together close to 90 boxers from B.C., Alberta, was nothing but positive. "They're already talking to us Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New about doing another one, maybe the juniors," Pegues Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. said. "It won't be for a couple years because they are -- See page 12 for complete coverage

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