BRAZIL CROWDS GREET
POPE FRANCIS IN RIO DE JANEIRO
Pope
Francis has been greeted by tens of thousands of Brazilian pilgrims as he began
his first trip abroad since becoming head of the Catholic Church.The first
Latin American Pope was met by President Dilma Rousseff after he touched down
at Rio de Janeiro airport.The Argentina-born pontiff is in Brazil to attend the
Roman Catholic World Youth Day festival.In a speech soon after his arrival, the
Pope urged young Catholics to 'make disciples of all nations'.'I came to meet
young people coming from all over the world, drawn to the open arms of Christ
the Redeemer,' he said at the Rio state governor's palace, referring to Rio's
famous vast statue of Jesus.
'They want to find a refuge in his embrace, right near his heart to hear
his call clearly and powerfully.'About an hour after the welcoming ceremony,
police fired stun grenades and tear gas to disperse protesters outside the
governor's palace.The anger reportedly was directed at Brazilian political
leaders, not the pontiff.In a separate development, the military said a
homemade explosive device had been discovered at a shrine between Rio and Sao
Paulo that the Pope is due to visit on 23rd July,2013,Wednesday.The
device at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Conception of Aparecida was described
as being 'of low power' and was destroyed.As Pope Francis disembarked from the
Alitalia plane earlier on Monday, he was welcomed by President Rousseff to
cheers and applause from the waiting crowd. A choir sang an anthem linked to
Youth Day and he was presented with a bouquet of flowers.The Pope waved before
being taken by motorcade to the centre of Rio, where thousands of pilgrims have
gathered.
Prof. John Kurakar
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