Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 5, 1995 TAG: 9506060081
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM LENGTH: Medium
Thirty thousand places had been set aside outside Koelkelberg Basilica for the beatification of Damien De Vuester, a 19th century priest who died caring for Hawaiian lepers.
About two-thirds of that turned out. Ten years ago, when the pope first came to this predominantly Roman Catholic country, Mass outside the same church drew 100,000.
``Dear brothers and sisters of Belgium: It's your turn to take up the flame of Father Damien,'' the pope said.
The missionary contracted leprosy, becoming disfigured like many of the disease's sufferers in an age before it could be cured. He died in 1889 at age 49 on the island of Molokai - then a leper colony and now a pricey Hawaiian retreat.
Newspaper surveys on the eve of the visit found Belgians alienated by Pope John Paul's refusal to lift Vatican bans on premarital sex, contraceptive use and female or married priests.
Sunday Mass attendance in Belgium has been dropping steadily for decades, to 17.9 percent of the country's Roman Catholics in 1990, the last year for which the statistic is available.
With the demise of East Bloc communism, which John Paul set out to battle when he became pope in 1978, he has shifted his attention to another foe - Western moral ``relativism,'' especially in the sexual sphere, where many faithful choose to follow only the tenets of Catholicism that suit them.
The pope said the faithful should work for the glory of God ``despite our sins and our sometimes rebellious temperament.''
VTM private television said police stopped protesters from handing out condoms near the basilica grounds. The protesters were carrying leaflets saying ``AIDS sufferers are the lepers of this age.''
The protesters were far from the raised altar, where downpours later in the day drenched those in attendance. There was no indication the pope was aware of the detentions.
``The enthusiasm [for the pope] has certainly waned,'' said Martine De Pesseneer, who came 35 miles from Ghent for the Mass. ``He has said things that hit us hard, even for the faithful. I'm here for Damien.''
The pope was determined to come for Damien's beatification, a ceremony that marks the last formal degree before possible sainthood. Last year, he had to cancel his trip to Belgium after he broke his leg.
by CNB