(Vatican Radio) Our correspondent in Rio, Sean Patrick Lovett, takes a look at what
the local media has to say about the ongoing World Youth Day events.
One thing
that really stands out in headlines across the media spectrum, is how the Argentine
Pope is conquering everybody - even the Brazilians (!) - with his warm and simple
attitude and with the direct way he uses words...
Listen to Sean's report
...
Both local
Rio papers, O Globo and O Estado de S.Paulo, publish articles that alternate between
amazement at the number of people that participated in the Via Crucis at Copacabana
(one a half million is the official figure) – and criticism of what they perceive
as continuing WYD organizational glitches.
Let’s begin with the amazement.
Here are some of the titles they use to express it: in them Pope Francis is described
as “friend of faith”…”super star”…”stealer of hearts”… the one who ”saves the day”
and who’s “sympathy and simplicity” and use of “popular language and personal contact”
has won over the people of Brazil.
The criticism is a little less lyrical.
Much of it is aimed at the persistent transportation difficulties. Crowds of young
people trying to return home after the Copacabana event, ended up forming a line nearly
a kilometre long trying to get into one of the main metro stations. And clearly not
all of the residents of Copacabana Beach are delighted at the prospect of having over
a million hyped-up young people dancing and singing on their prestigious doorstep
either.
Restaurant-owners and street vendors aren’t complaining, but local
home-owners are. Under the headline “Residents in revolt”, one interviewee claims
he hasn’t had a full night’s sleep since the Rolling Stones held their famous concert
there in 2006. (I’m not quite sure what the connection is between Mick Jagger and
Pope Francis – but there you have it.)
Reading between the pages of both local
dailies there are more interesting articles that provide reports on the Pope’s meeting
with eight young prisoners at the Archbishop’s house on Friday morning. All of them
comment on his reaction to receiving a giant rosary from them that commemorates the
Candelària massacre of 20 years ago – and his words “Candelària nunca mais” (“never
again”). They also return to the inevitable issue of security – which is… substantial…to
say the least. If you really want to know: in order to get into work here at
the international media centre every day, I have to pass no fewer than seven identification
barriers, two metal detectors and, as of yesterday, a body search. And I’m an accredited
Vatican journalist with special access credentials and a papal mandate.
Just imagine if I wasn’t. SPL