'This event, it's for the young people'
Few of Toronto's prominent Catholics will get a chance to meet the Pope, but they don't mind
By SHAWNA RICHER, The Globe and Mail
Thursday, July 25, 2002
Without a doubt, Joseph Barnicke will be somewhere in the crowd at the papal mass at Downsview Lands on Sunday morning. As many as one million people are expected to attend what will almost certainly be the final visit to Canada for the 82-year-old pontiff.
Even so, Mr. Barnicke, chairman and founder of the Toronto real-estate firm that bears his name (and chief organizer of the 1984 papal visit), will not travel to the site exceptionally early, as many thousands are sure to.
"Where you sit doesn't really matter," he said. He quoted Matthew 20:16: "So the last shall be first, and the first last."
The parable that suggests salvation is free to all, provided God's grace is received with humility and not resentment, is particularly fitting this summer for the most prominent members of Toronto's Roman Catholic community, whose archdiocese has 224 parishes and claims a membership of about 1.4 million.
"We've had many requests for people to meet the Pope," World Youth Day spokeswoman Christina Parsons said. "You know what? It's not happening. Very few people are going to meet him."
It's hardly surprising, considering his faltering health and his hectic World Youth Day schedule. None of the Toronto area's most influential Catholics will receive a coveted, private audience with John Paul. Only the top political leaders -- Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Ontario Premier Ernie Eves and Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman -- are to have a meeting.
But Peter Lauwers, a partner at Miller Thomson and a prominent lawyer for the Roman Catholic Church, said what matters this week is the young pilgrims. "The pilgrims have the best sightlines for the mass, and that's the way it should be," he said "This event, it's for the young people."
Richard Alway, president and vice-chancellor at University of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto and chairman of the St. Michael's College Foundation, met the pontiff during the 1984 papal visit, and again in 1998, when Mr. Alway was decorated with the Order of Saint Gregory, the highest recognition for a layman.
"My faith has always been rooted in helping others, and it's a faith that springs from the Gospel and Christ," Mr. Alway said. "The teachings I received have encouraged an active and participating citizenship in the broad community. Without my faith, my life would be quite different. There's no question faith is an enormous bulwark in times of stress and difficulty and an enormous consolation and encouragement in general. It gives you a concept of what lies beyond, and allows you to fit things into a bigger perspective."
He is still awed each time he sees the Pope in person.
"What I see is a tremendous contrast between frailty of body and his strength of spirit," said Mr. Alway, who is 62. "He continues to be an inspiration to Catholics. One cannot avoid aging. In an interesting sense, it sets an example to the world -- how people with disabilities can still function and be active."
Mr. Barnicke, a moving force behind the Cardinals' Dinner in Toronto, an annual charity fundraiser, has an honorary doctorate in sacred letters from St. Michael's and is chairman of St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation. Mr. Barnicke was at the airport when the Pope landed.
"It was a very exciting moment," the 79-year-old said. "It never becomes less exciting. He's the vicar of Christ, deserving of the very most respect.
"For me he symbolizes moral support and a comfort that the church is strong and on the right track. He brought the Catholic Church back to its true gospel when it was getting off track with some modern views."
Mr. Alway and Mr. Barnicke find the enthusiastic involvement of the pilgrims moving and encouraging.
"That's where you see the true faith," Mr. Barnicke said. "Their minds are clean and clear and unadulterated. They're the future of the Catholic church, and of the world, too."
For these followers, the Holy Father is not simply a man, he is a way of life.
"My faith is a mainstay," said Daniel Iannuzzi, chief executive officer of Multimedia Nova Corp., which publishes the pro-papal daily, Corriere Canadese, and prints The Catholic Register, a national weekly paper owned by the church in Toronto. "I can't see how one could live otherwise. It influences me in the way I carry out my daily life, in the way that's reflected in the ways of my life."
This is, perhaps, exactly why these men, all older and accomplished, are so delighted by the youth in World Youth Day. It is, they say, all about the youngsters -- fresh-faced, keen and devoted.
"The youth are refreshing," said Mr. Iannuzzi, who is 68. "We all tend to put down what the kids are doing in this day and age, and it's easy when you see certain kinds of things happening. Kids can easily go in the wrong direction. But this, this spells hope. It's refreshing to see. If the church wants to survive, it has to depend on its youth."
Mr. Lauwers, whose legal work for the church involves right-to-life issues, constitutional law, bioethics and cloning, has never met the Pope, but plans to attend all his appearances this week.
"What would the church be like if the Pope had never instituted World Youth Day?" the 49-year-old asked. "It has had a revolutionary effect on the church. Previously, young people were a neglected resource, and he tapped into it for the first time. The way he inspires kids is inspiring to me and my life.
"He sets a personal example in the way he lives his life. His humanity shines through in everything he does. His ability to make human contact the way the rest of us can't, through all his impediments, is inspirational to me. His intellectual capacity and the way he expresses the principles of the church is very important to me."
A board member of St. Augustine's Seminary, part of the Catholic Organization Task Group and past president of Thomas More Lawyers' Guild, Mr. Lauwers feels blessed that his faith is at the core of his workaday life.
"It's utterly important. My faith is given full expression at the same time as I am practising my profession," he said, though he added "it can sometimes be a burden."
Such dedication is also the lot of Sister Susan Moran, the founder of Toronto's Out of the Cold program for the homeless. Born in Montreal and raised in Toronto, she has never met the Pope. The tireless 64-year-old, who belongs to a small order of nuns called Our Lady's Missionaries, works to ease the suffering of prostitutes and refugees.
In 1986, Sister Moran was co-chaplain at St. Michael's College high school. "There was a man by the name of George living on the property," she recalled "The students used to bring him sandwiches and blankets."
One day George was beaten and died. His death spurred Sister Moran and a group of like-minded students, teachers and colleagues at other churches to start Out of the Cold, a volunteer seasonal program. Each winter, its programs provide hot food, warm clothing and shelter. It operates at 60 locations in Greater Toronto, supported by more than 7,000 volunteers in 100 communities, including churches, synagogues, Islamic centres and one Zoroastrian group.
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