The European Parliament has officially launched the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism on the third anniversary of her murder.
Launched in Brussels on Friday, the purpose of the prize is to distinguish outstanding journalism that reflects the European Union’s principles and values, as enshrined in the European Charter of Human Rights.
The European Parliament considers that protecting press freedom around the world, and particularly that of investigative journalists while exercising their duties, is in the vital interest of democratic societies.
Even though the prize is initiated and supported by the EP, it will be managed by an independent EU-based media partner in order to protect the independence of the prize and the work of the media.
The European Parliament will soon begin selecting an independent organisation to establish the detailed criteria to award the prize and decide on who will sit on the jury. A call for tender to select such an organisation will be launched before the end of 2020.
The call for nominees for the prize will be launched around May 3, 2021 – World Press Freedom Day. The annual award ceremony will take each year around the anniversary of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s death.
Independent journalism costs money. Support Times of Malta for the price of a coffee.
China’s ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Wednesday said both countries, involved in a protracted border dispute in Eastern Ladakh, need to enhance mutual trust and strengthen cooperation to “write a new chapter in China-India friendship”.
The envoy was speaking at an event to commemorate the 110th birth anniversary of Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis who served in China during the Chinese revolution led by Mao Zedong.
Delivering the speech titled “A Hero to Remember, A Monument to Eternity”, Sun said that he had the privilege to visit the family of Dr Kotnis in Mumbai during his first posting in India a decade ago. The diplomat further added that the celebrated physician shared joys and sorrows with the soldiers and civilians of the liberated areas and was deeply respected by the people of China. He stated that Dr Kotnis became a symbol of the two great nations joining hands to resist foreign aggression and colonialism, and pursue national independence and freedom.
“Over 70 years ago, China and India helped and supported each other in the struggle for national liberation and independence and forged deep friendship. Today, the two countries are facing the common task of achieving economic and social development and improving people’s livelihood. We need to enhance mutual trust and strengthen cooperation more than ever to write a new chapter in China-India friendship,” said Sun.
Speaking about the difficulties in bilateral ties, Sun said it is normal to have differences. “We need to put differences in an appropriate place in bilateral relations, properly manage and resolve them through dialogue and consultation and not allow differences to become disputes,” he said. “The exchanges and mutual learning between the two civilizations of China and India have a profound accumulation of more than 2,000 years. The common interests of the two countries far outweigh the frictions and differences. I believe that with the joint efforts of both sides, we have the wisdom and ability to overcome difficulties and bring bilateral relations back on track to forge ahead.”
Sun also paid glowing tributes to Dr Kotnis. “It is a spirit of heroism with no fear of sacrifice. Dr Kotnis, along with the medical team from India, went through untold hardships and travelled thousands of miles to Yan’an,” he said. “After he learned of his father passing away in India, Dr Kotnis endured great grief and continued marching to the battlefield without hesitation,” he added.
Referring to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Sun said, “As the only two major developing countries with a population of over 1 billion, China and India need to strengthen cooperation and tide over current difficulties together. It is of great significance in the global fight against the pandemic.”
“In the past few months, we have witnessed the exchanges of diagnosis and treatment experience between Chinese and Indian medical institutions, the donation of medical supplies by companies and friendly organizations, and videos recorded by young people and film stars of the two countries to cheer each other on,” he added.
He gave his precious life for the World Anti-Fascist War and the cause of China-India friendship. We will always remember him,” said the Chinese envoy, calling him a great internationalist warrior.
Welcome to EURACTIV’s AgriFood Brief, your weekly update on all things Agriculture & Food in the EU. You can subscribe here if you haven’t done so yet.
The pitched battle for the fate of the next EU farming subsidies programme is set to play out next week. Here’s your quick survival guide to the final CAPdown.
The post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has reached a turning point, although perhaps this isn’t so obvious at first glance.
Positions among different lawmakers are still far apart, while lobbyists and NGOs are stepping up their efforts in a last-ditch attempt to have their voices heard.
Phones are ringing off the hook and inboxes are full as they are now the only way to get in touch with people involved in the process.
Let’s start with the basics. Why it is said that we are in the middle of the final countdown to CAP – or CAPdown, for the punsters?
In 2018, the European Commission put forward its post-2020 CAP proposal. The European Parliament and the EU Council, both then have to sign off on the same amended text to that proposal.
To do this, they both meet together with the Commission in hush-hush sit-downs known as ‘trilogues’ in EU-speak. There, they start negotiating on a common final text.
But to kick off discussions, the negotiators – Parliament’s rapporteurs on the file plus a minister of the rotating EU presidency – need a mandate from the institution they represent to negotiate on their behalf.
Two key things happen next week: one is a gathering of farming ministers and, the other is a plenary session at the Parliament.
Both occasions are important opportunities to get the required mandates approved and negotiations rolling.
So, here are five things to know in the run-up to what could potentially be a crossroad for the next CAP:
1. Anything could happen in the European Parliament. The role of the Parliament’s committees is to do a sort of ‘screening’ of the different proposals and bring some compromise amendments to the plenary. This time, individual amendments are being presented and will be voted, after a clash between the agriculture (AGRI) and the environment (ENVI) committees.
However, this time an agreement among the three largest parties in the European Parliament, the Christian-democrats (EPP), socialists (S&D) and liberals (Renew Europe), has been struck. Although the parties are fairly confident they will have enough hands to move things along, there might be some tricks on the voting lists, so nothing is set in stone just yet.
2. Ministers don’t seem ready. Parliament’s insiders still believe that after the vote, the trilogue could start immediately in November. However, political discussions on the other side are still ongoing and it remains highly unlikely that a mandate for the German presidency could be agreed next week.
3. Different sticking points. If the outstanding issue at the Council is the green architecture of the CAP and particularly the eco-scheme, the struggle at the Parliament is also on how to enshrine – or not enshrine – the sustainable targets set in the EU’s new food policy, the Farm to Fork strategy, in the CAP.
4. NGOs are quite upset. Well, environmental groups are always kind of upset, but this time they’ve called the agreement between the three largest Parliament’s parties a “stinking deal”.
5. Remote vote. The showdown is not going to be in Strasbourg, where most of the Parliament’s plenaries are set, but not in Brussels either. The entire session will instead be held ‘remotely’ due to the increased risk of coronavirus. This makes it the first huge piece of EU legislation to be voted entirely remotely, which could soon be the new normal for the next few months.
And here’s the last thing you need to know.
Although we might be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, whatever happens, we are not at the end of this process just yet. We’re merely at the halfway point.
Trilogues still need to be done and negotiations could last a long time – last time they took 18 months, with a grand total of 56 meetings.
At the same time, lawmakers need to get cracking and pick up the pace, as time is running out and the risk is increasing that the EU farming subsidies will not continue to flow at the end of the transitional period.
Agrifood news this week
Experts warn of ‘inevitable disruption’ of food supply chains with no-deal Brexit After the United Kingdom voted against including guarantees on food standards in its post-Brexit legislation this week, experts have warned that a no-deal Brexit holds wide-ranging ramifications for food safety and businesses. Natasha Foote has more.
EU chemicals strategy to address pesticide chemical cocktails The EU chemicals strategy adopted on Wednesday (14 October) aims to address the cumulative and combined effects of chemicals, including pesticides, stressing a need to accelerate work on methodologies that ensure existing provisions can be fully implemented. Read more here.
Member states reserve right to ban pesticides authorised in EU, rules EU court Europe’s highest court has concluded that member states have the right to ban pesticides even if they are permitted at the EU level, provided they officially inform the European Commission. Natasha Foote has the story.
“We will offer more organic products to European tables and I think we have a good plan for this – more organic management of land and more organic products for our consumers”
EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski speaking at a conference on the Farm to Fork strategy
News from the bubble
Coronavirus and crop yields: Cleaner air since the start of coronavirus restriction measures could lead to a global increase in wheat yields this year of between 2% and 8%, according to a study led by the Joint Research Centre.
Future of livestock: The EU Commission published a study this week on the future of the European livestock sector, which highlighted areas where the sector can improve its sustainability and contribute to environmental goals.
‘Lobby-alliance’: Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) launched an attack on farmers lobby COPA-COGECA this week, saying that an ‘unholy alliance’ of big farm and agribusiness lobby group Copa-Cogeca, together with pesticides and food industry giants, is waging a battle against the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy and Biodiversity Strategy.
CAP pre-deal: The three largest political groups in the European Parliament, the Christian-democrats (EPP), socialists (S&D) and liberals (Renew Europe), agreed on a common position on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The final vote is expected next week.
Recovery money. Parliament’s Agriculture Committee agreed on Tuesday (13 October) on how to allocate the €7.5 billion top-up coming to the EU’s farming subsidies programme from the EU’s post-COVID stimulus plan. Lawmakers updated the text proposed by the Commission to distribute all the money made available for rural communities from the EU recovery instrument to the years 2021 and 2022, whereas the Commission originally wanted to release the money from 2022 to 2024.
Food security debate: The debate on food security kicked up a notch this week with a new Greenpeace analysis which concluded that the vast majority of European crop production is used to feed animals and create biofuels, rather than feeding people.
Agrifood news from the Capitals
FRANCE While the vote on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is being prepared, fourteen civil society organisations are calling for demonstrations across France “to denounce the current agro-industrial system and defend ecological agriculture”. Entitled “Notre assiete pour demain” (“Our plate for tomorrow”), this call comes as the French government has just voted to temporarily reauthorise the use of neonicotinoid pesticides (EURACTIV.fr)
AUSTRIA Austria is concerned about next week’s negotiations over changes to the CAP, particularly as they relate to environmental standards, Der Standard reported. The country wants to preserve the system of dividing environmental benefits between the programme’s first two pillars. If this moves entirely to the first pillar, as is being discussed, it could put Austrian agriculture at a disadvantage. “Increased, mandatory environmental requirements in the first pillar, without taking into account the environmental performance in the second pillar, would be a no-go,” Agriculture Minister Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP) claimed at the end of September. (Sarah Lawton | EURACTIV.de)
GERMANY The German Agriculture Ministry (BMEL) announced updates to its Federal Programme for Energy Efficiency on Friday (9 October), making €38 million available from 2021 onwards. But the German Farmers Association (DBV) have been critical of certain aspects of the plan, particularly that the use of biofuels, vegetable oils and alcohols is excluded from funding. “The exclusion of subsidies, which was apparently introduced under pressure from the Federal Environment Ministry, is technically incomprehensible, contradicts the goals of the Climate Protection Plan 2030 and ultimately supports fossil fuels,” said Michael Horper, chair of the DBV’s Renewable Energies Committee. (Sarah Lawton | EURACTIV.de)
UK Attempts by farmers and food campaigners to enshrine high food safety and animal welfare practices in British law after Brexit were defeated on Monday (12 October) after amendments included in the bill did not pass through the House of Commons. The bill, with its overturned amendments, will now return to the House of Lords before further debates will take place. (Natasha Foote | EURACTIV.com)
IRELAND On the back of the EU summit in Brussels this week, the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has launched a Brexit Emergency Policy – paper which sets a 3-step plan to mitigate the damage to Irish farming from Brexit. IFA President Tim Cullinan said first and foremost that “we need a deal to try and keep our exports flowing into the UK without tariffs or quotas. However, the EU Commission has to start preparing the EU market for a bad outcome. We need a clear plan from the EU on how they intend to support farmers in a no-deal scenario.” (Natasha Foote | EURACTIV.com)
POLAND Poland’s poultry sector – one of the most important branches of agriculture – may suffer a €330-million loss in 2020 due to the coronavirus epidemic, according to estimates by the National Chamber of Poultry and Feed Producers. During the first seven months of the year, poultry companies lost the equivalent of around €150.6 million due to an export slump. (Mateusz Kucharczyk | EURACTIV.pl)
Upcoming events
Happy world food day! Today is the yearly celebration in honor of the creation of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations back in 1945
19 – 23 October – The plenary vote of the European Parliament, which includes voting on the Common Agricultural Policy reform. See here for the agenda
21 October – EURACTIV debate to hear how the brewing sector is reacting to the European Green Deal and what its impact might be. More information here
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<h2 class="fe_heading2">Baking Ingredients Market Growth Prospects with CAGR of 5.8% – Global Industry Outlook, Present Scenario and Specification Forecasts To 2025 | Million Insights</h2>
</p><div readability="187.74501992032">
Oct 16, 2020 (AB Digital via COMTEX) —
The global baking ingredients market size is expected to value at USD 19.4 billion by 2025. The market is subject to witness a substantial growth due to the varying food preferences and increasing consumption of packaged and processed food. Additionally, factors such as growing need for longer shelf life of food product, and rising need for organic ingredients in the final baked product is anticipated to boost the market growth over the forecast period. Baking ingredients are considered as a vital part of baking industry. Globally, the baking ingredients market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% in forecast period, providing numerous opportunities for market players to invest in research and development in the market.
Baking ingredients like enzymes, additives, softening agents, and baking powders are increasingly utilized for the processing of baked goods similar to bread, patties, muffins, rolls, tartlets, and tarts. Growing demand for superior quality bakery products with the enhanced flavor, texture, taste and odor are estimated to complement the growth of the market in upcoming years. Additionally, increasing contribution from end-user sector involving bread, cookies, biscuits, muffins, rolls, tartlets and tarts are further expanding market reach of the baking ingredients industry.
Get Sample PDF and read more details about the “Baking Ingredients Market” Report 2025.
The rise in end user’s inclination towards bakery products and increasing concern among general population for healthy dietary supplements is anticipated to drive the market demand during the forecast period. Recent developments in baking ingredients industry and introduction of innovative products are spurring the demand for bakery products in both developed and developing economies across the globe in near future.
However, inflation, health consciousness among young population, and stringent laws & regulation regarding excessive use of artificial flavors are negatively affecting market growth, in the recent years. Yet, rapid urbanization and increasing per capita income in developing economies across the globe are leading to the rise in consumption of baked food.
Rise in production and large consumer base in developing countries is expected to propel the overall market growth. On-the-go food lifestyle and need for convenience food in developed economies is boosting the demand over the forecast period. Varying food patterns and rise in personal expenditure majorly in the developing economies are some of the key factors responsible for boosting the growth of the baking ingredients market in coming years.
Bread is considered as one of the fastest growing segment in the market with substantial revenue generation in the last couple of years. Growing consummation of bread is credited to high nutritional content and affordability to the price sensitive customers in the developing economies. Baking ingredients in the cakes & pastries segment has also witnessed significant growth owing to the increased consumption of snack items and availability of freezers in retail stores.
In addition, numerous initiatives and growing advertisement by industry players to include the bakery ingredients in the packaged food products and other applications are substantially contributing to the advancement of baking ingredients industry over the forecast period. Furthermore, major emphasis on the consummation of food products with high nutritional value by consumers in developed economies are propelling the growth of yeast ingredients market during the forecast period.
The market is divided by region as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Africa. European region has shown major growth in recent years owing to the changing food habits, increasing demand for demand for packaged and processed food, and existence of prominent industry players in the region.
Asia-Pacific region is predicted to hold major market share in the baking ingredients market with massive growth in forecast period. Countries such as India, China and Japan are leading the Asia-Pacific market with shifting preference towards western style food, rise in per capita income and significant investment by leading industry players considering potential growth opportunities in the region.
The key players in the baking ingredients industry are Flowers Foods Inc., Hostess Brands LLC, MckeeFoods Co., George Weston Limited, Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B. de C.V., Uniferm Co., Koninklijke DSM N.V, General Mills Inc., Swiss Bake Pvt. Ltd., and Associated British Foods Plc.
Baking Ingredients Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 – 2025) • North America • U.S. • Europe • Germany • UK • France • Asia Pacific • China • India • Japan • Central & South America • Brazil • Middle East & Africa
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As of Monday, 10-12-2020 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend® Alert,
an automated pattern recognition system, indicated an UPTREND on
05-31-2012 for FLO @ $21.97.
Good morning from UN News in New York! World Food Day is celebrated globally, but it is being led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is based in Rome, where events will be kicking off at around 14:00 Central European Time.
Over the next few hours, we’ll be taking you through some of the main themes and issues surrounding food and food systems, and how they’re being tackled throughout the UN system.
And there are some serious problems to discuss: food systems – which encompass everything that goes from transforming raw ingredients on the farm, to food on the plate – are clearly not functioning as they should. They’re exacerbating climate change, thanks to the greenhouse gases they produce, trillions of dollars worth of food goes to waste, and yet millions are still going hungry.
The UN wants to ensure that future food systems provide affordable and healthy diets for all, and decent livelihoods for food system workers, while preserving natural resources and biodiversity and tackling challenges such as climate change.
As is so often the case with global problems, the solutions are out there, but greater political will and awareness is needed to put them into practice.
If you walked into the den called ‘Religion in Nigeria’, you may be surprised to realise that spirituality is more a facade than a reality in that space. And, one thing that was quite obvious at the beginning of the #EndSARS protest was the deafening silence of religious bodies.
It is an amazing development considering that a large percentage of active members of most churches in large cities are youth. And, as expected, many people within the first few days of the protests immediately called out spiritual leaders for keeping quiet knowing that their most active members were largely affected by police brutality.
Many instances were cited for the silence of the religious houses but Twitter user @onesoundabel made a salient point which was quite interesting. In his tweet he wrote;
“I was talking to my mom about the silence of religious leaders and she said, “they cannot speak on this because they are also responsible for the social profiling that is part of the problem”.
“Imagine a church like Depr L*fe where their entire doctrine is centred on appearance (1)”.
I was talking to my mom abt the silence of religious leaders and she said “they cannot speak on this because they are also responsible for the social profiling that is part of the problem” imagine a church like D*ep*r L*fe wher their entire doctrine is centered on appearance (1)
— ????? & ??????. ✞ #SARSMUSTEND (@onesoundabel) October 13, 2020
This tweet definitely rings true to a lot of Nigerians who grew up in the 80s and 90s where tattoos, nose piercings and other forms of unconventional ways of life was considered irresponsible and indicative of hooliganism. Nigerian men and women still get frowned upon by religious bodies for having tinted hair in the year 2020 when we boldly accept foreigners with different hair colour.
With all these been said many of the protesters are still ardent members of one faith or the other. So, it is quite pertinent for religious bodies to come out and speak up on the menace because as said earlier the lifeblood of most religious bodies is its young demography.
Some religious leaders were quick to respond while others have remained silent.
Pastor Sam Adeyemi, a Christian pastor was one of the first religious leaders to come forward to support the protest while the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos released a statement supporting the movement on Saturday, October 11, 2020.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enoch Adeboye, has also come out in support for an end to Police brutality.
But, we still wonder where the other religious bodies and personalities are. Do they care much to join this fight? Or they will only keep praying instead?
ESTER MBATHERA, OKERI NGUTJINAZO and CLEMANS MIYANICWE
WHEN Emma and Moses !Aebeb got married 27 years ago, they vowed that only death would separate them.
Emma contracted Covid-19 and died on 17 September this year in Windhoek.
Due to travel restrictions at the time, !Aebeb and Emma’s family had two choices: to let her be buried by the state in Windhoek in their absence, or to have her cremated and to bury the ashes at a burial site of their choice.
They had 48 hours to decide and finally chose cremation.
“It was a difficult time, but we had to do it. I loved my wife very much and I wanted her to be buried close to me. It was the first time in our family we had someone cremated,” !Aebeb, who is a police inspector, said.
It was not the send-off he had planned for anyone in his family as in the Damara culture, the mourning period is two weeks to allow everyone to come from all over the country.
Emma’s remains were brought to Swakopmund by the undertaker. She was buried at Swakopmund cemetery amongst the people that she loved.
CREMATION AND TRADITION
The novel coronavirus has led to cremation in Namibia gaining momentum in recent months.
This has, however, been met with reservation in many cultures.
Namibia’s only crematorium is situated in the Gammams Cemetery in Pionierspark, Windhoek, which was built in 1975.
Some 17 Covid-19-related cremations have been conducted at Gammams since 14 September.
Alfeus Benjamin, chief executive office of Swakopmund’s muncipality, says there are several reasons why Namibia has only one crematorium.
“There was no demand for such services. Cremation is largely a European concept, which Africans are not amenable to due to their religious and traditional beliefs on how the dead should be sent off to their next life, although burning people dead or alive used to be a practice in many African traditions – even in Namibia,” he says.
Benjamin says town planners may never have regarded crematoriums as a priority.
“Of course, with the development and growth of towns and cities, space for and the cost of burials have become a challenge. The next alternative is cremation. Africans in general regard the use of ‘fire’ as total destruction with no possibility of an afterlife,” he says.
CREMATION PROCESS
Cremation is more affordable than burials and would save burial space.
Wacca Kazombiaze, manager of parks, cemeteries, sports and recreation at the City of Windhoek, says the Gammams crematorium usually runs for three to four days every two weeks.
At present, 20 to 30 cremations take place each month.
He says the code of cremation practice ensures the identity of the cremated person is retained throughout the cremation process.
Kazombiaze says families can pay their respects to their deceased with a grave site or tombstone.
“Ashes can be interred in a niche in the columbarium at the Gardens of Remembrance and sealed with an engraved marble plaque, and can be scattered there as well,” he says.
Ashes may also be collected by the next of kin and kept at home or scattered at a favourite site, he says.
The crematorium uses diesel to cremate bodies with. The proces takes roughly four hours, and the packed ashes are made available on the day after the cremation, accompanied by a cremation certificate.
The deceased is cremated in a coffin, which must be provided by the family and is burnt completely.
Kazombiaze says items like pacemakers and implants are removed from the body before cremation.
Although Namibia is a secular country, 95% of its population are Christian, who mainly bury the remains of their loved ones.
Reverend Lukas Katenda, a religious and moral education lecturer at the Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary (Nets) and International University of Management (IUM), says: “Cremation was adopted by the modern church, yet in the case of infectious diseases, bodies were cremated, but now, cremation is accepted among Christians.”
He believes cremation is not a sin in the Christian faith.
TRADITION
Most tribes in Namibia bury their dead. Burning of people is heard of in Oshikwanyama legend about girls who became pregnant before initiation and were burnt at the stakes.
Although not historically verified, the burning of these girls was believed to be a form of capital punishment.
“Dead people were either hidden or buried [in the Aawambo culture]. Hiding the corpse was a result of superstitious practice in honouring the dead person’s wish that he or she may have given instruction before dying. Another reason was that there were no tools to be used to dig graves, so people carried the corpse to a distant place and hid it there,” Katenda says.
In the Herero culture, the deceased is buried alongside their parents unless they requested otherwise before their death.
A traditional funeral can cost between N$20 000 and N$100 000 or more.
According to the Herero Ombara Otjitambi adviser on traditional affairs, Kavezembi Katjomuise, people of the same family, birth hierarchy and same surname are buried at the same cemetery.
He says this is done so that they do not lose their self-worth, and so that their children will know where their parents are.
Katjomuise says according to Christian beliefs, there is life after death, so when they die, their souls will know where to reunite and stay together.
“For us to cremate is to burn until there is nothing, but we still want the bones to remain. That’s why we bury,” he says.
He says it is important for the deceased’s bones and souls to be together as this gives them the power to watch over their family.
King, Justus of the Damaras, says Damara culture does not allow cremation, but there is no other option during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Even in olden times our elders wrapped a body in a blanket or animal skin and buried it,” //Garoëb says.
Among some Okavango tribes, mourning for days did not exist.
According to Shampapi Siremo, a historian, these tribes wanted to be buried because of the fear of their flesh being devoured by hyenas.
“As for cremation, that has never been considered. Burials for the Okavango people is a sign that you were loved. People are buried at a chosen site, and some in cattle kraals. Traditional leaders are buried in mushy ground so that the floodwaters can wash their graves away to signify their return to the river where they are believed to have come from,” Siremo says.
October 16, 1978, 42 years ago, was a Monday. It was already dark when, at 6.18 p.m., white smoke billowed out from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, after black smoke had risen seven times before.
After a little less than half an hour, at 6:45 p.m., Cardinal proto-deacon Pericles Felici announced the election of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, under the name of John Paul II, as the 264th Pope of the Catholic Church, the Bishop of Rome and successor of Peter.
It seemed at first that the 58th Archbishop of Krakow wanted to call himself Stanislaus I in honor of the patron saint of Poland. When it was pointed out to him that it was a name that did not fit into the Roman tradition, Wojtyła chose John Paul in memory of his predecessor, Albino Luciani, who passed away after only 33 days of his Pontificate.
Many images of that October evening 42 years ago remain in our collective memory, thanks also to the splendid photos taken by the L’Osservatore Romano photo shoot (you can request the photos here).
A few minutes before 7 pm, looking out from the Loggia of the Blessings of St. Peter’s Basilica, the new Pope presented himself to the crowd gathered in the Square. He recalled everyone’s pain “following the death of our beloved Pope John Paul I” and emphasized that the cardinals had elected the new bishop of Rome, after so many Italians in previous centuries, “from a country far… far away, but always so close for communion in faith and the Christian tradition.” He recounted his fear in receiving the nomination, which he accepted out of obedience to Jesus and “in total trust in his Mother, Our Lady Most Holy.”
“I do not know if I can well explain myself in your… Italian language. Correct me if I make mistakes. And so I present myself to all of you, to confess our common faith, our hope, our trust in the Mother of Christ and the Church, and also to begin again on this road of history and the Church, with the help of God and with the help of men.”
Celebrations and initiatives for the centenary of his birth
Even today everyone around 50 years old and over remember the emotion of listening to the first words of a non-Italian Pope following many centuries. This is an emotion that the centenary year of the birth of St. John Paul II further echoes thanks to the many celebrations planned by the ecclesial communities in the world.
Naturally, there was a celebration in Karol Wojtyla’s native land, which on October 11 last year, spent the 20th Papal Day under the motto Totus Tuus.
The memories of 16 October, 42 years ago, are intertwined with the very long trajectory of an historic pontificate and refers to that strong and free personality who was able to establish a direct and engaging relationship with the Christian people, and even beyond, with the whole world.
The Polish Pope would later say that the then-primate of his country, Cardinal Wyszynski, had told him in those days that, as Pontiff, he would be called to introduce the Church into the third millennium. And so it came to pass.
Despite the assasination attempt and illnesses, St. John Paul II led a Church not closed in on itself, but open to face the challenges of the time with courage: from “Do not be afraid” in the first days of his pontificate to “Duc in altum! – Guide the boat offshore!” of later years, Pope Wojtyla gave us the passion of the proclamation of Christ, without fear, for a vast and troubled world, but always loved by God, even in the third millennium.
