Posted on 04/08/2005 9:37:43 PM PDT by Red Sea Swimmer
LIKE many funerals, the service for Pope John Paul II brought friends and foes together.
Alphabetical seating forced sworn enemies to sit side by side, with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami placed next to Israeli President Moshe Katsav. "Maybe today will make us hope of a future of peace, not of conflict and hatred," Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said before the funeral.
State leaders and dignitaries from more than half the world's nations attended the funeral.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan chatted with several leaders beforehand. US President George W. Bush was accompanied by his wife Laura.
Former US president Bill Clinton, George Bush senior and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were with them.
Other leaders included ltalian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, French leader Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe used the funeral to evade a European Union travel ban.
On the day they were to have married, Prince Charles was at the funeral in Rome, while his bride-to-be Camilla Parker Bowles was fitted for her wedding dress.
The couple were forced to postpone their civil wedding ceremony in Windsor, west of London, by 24 hours until today because of the papal funeral.
Governor-General Michael Jeffery represented Australia.
Not there was Cuba's Fidel Castro, but he did allow his communist-led island to officially mourn John Paul II.
Dr Castro paid a rare visit to Havana's cathedral this week to attend a mass in honour of the Pope, whom he called an "unforgettable friend" and a "tireless fighter" for the poor in a condolence book for the Vatican.
There is much hope for the world yet...
And as I believe nothing in this funeral mass was left to chance, and symbolisms abounded, I loved the fact that the casket and the body of the Pope was place right in the center of a most beautiful Persian rug. I think that was done with much purpose and symbolism. The Polish Pope and Khomeini were supposed to play parallel roles and missions, not only to stop the spread of Communism in Eastern Europe and Central Asia respectively (under the twisted logic of Carter and his Polish NSA, Brzezinski) but also to bring spirituality, liberty, peace and democracy to their own respective countries. In the case of John Paul II that mission was an utter and perfect success, whereas for Iran and People of Middle East it has been a disastrous, horrible nightmare and failure. -- Why? Because in the case of Iran and Middle East, the true nature of Khomeini and his mission were never fully considered or comprehended, and Carter and his NSA frankly didn't much care, or thought it mattered much.
Such is the price of folly not only Iranians but all of us the world over will have to pay.
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