No one can fully understand the personality and courage of Pope John Paul II without examining the "flying press conferences" he held on airplanes during 104 trips outside of Italy, said retired Cardinal Roberto Tucci, who organized most of those trips. "He was not evasive. He wasn't afraid to answer, even if sometimes he was irritated by the question," Cardinal Tucci said at the presentation of a book containing the transcripts in Italian of most of Pope John Paul's high-altitude encounters with the press. The transcripts were made from recordings in the archives of Vatican Radio and reflect the often-informal and sometimes chaotic atmosphere in the journalists' section of the papal plane, particularly during the early years of Pope John Paul's 1978-2005 pontificate. Cardinal Tucci said the speeches, books and poetry of Pope John Paul give people what he thought when he had time to reflect in a methodical way, but his responses to reporters -- which include some light-hearted joking and some good-natured scolding -- show more of his personality, his ability to think on his feet and his real facility with languages, since he would respond in the language in which the question was posed. The transcripts help people recognize the late pope's "great ability to face the great questions of the day without fear," the cardinal said. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of Vatican Radio and the Vatican press office, said the tapes demonstrate Pope John Paul's "spontaneity and good nature in meeting journalists." He said 70 percent of Vatican Radio's entire sound archive consists of the voice of Pope John Paul, not only because his was the longest reign of any pope in Vatican Radio's 80-year history, but also because "he was the pope who spoke the most." In the introduction to the book, Father Lombardi wrote, "The pontificate of John Paul II probably was the first to be documented in a truly systematic and almost complete way through audio recordings." It was only in his pontificate that the radio started recording and archiving what the pope said off-the-cuff, he said.
Kurt Hilgefort, is a Catholic father of six who publishes his thoughts on his blog Shadows of Augustine . He responded to my seven question survey with the following answers. Kurt is the first layperson to respond to the seven question survey and I think that his experience is extremely relevant to me personally and I hope that you are inspired by his thoughts as well. If you would like to respond, please send an email to fellmananthony@gmail.com with your thoughts and I will be happy to publish them as well. 1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? The biggest challenge for me has been the whole dying to self thing. On an intellectual level, there are no barriers. It comes down to a matter of accepting the authority of the Church that Christ founded upon Peter. My challenge is not in the intellect, but rather in the will. The challenge for me has always been to continually seek conversion. I want to be transformed, but I want it to be over all ...
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