From Catholic News Service

Pope watches TV movie of predecessor

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II was "an untiring prophet of hope and peace," Pope Benedict XVI said after watching a made-for-television movie about his predecessor's pontificate.

Pope Benedict joined an estimated 8,000 people March 30 in the Vatican's audience hall for the premiere of the Italian production, "Karol: A Pope Who Remained a Man."

The movie, produced by Taodue and Mediaset, is the sequel to "Karol: A Man Who Became Pope," which aired in Italy shortly after Pope John Paul's April 2, 2005, death and in August on the Hallmark Channel in the United States.

The first movie portrayed the life of Karol Wojtyla up until his 1978 election as Pope John Paul. The second film covered the years of his papacy, ending with news footage of his funeral.

Both films were based on the Vatican-approved book, "Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of John Paul II," written by Gian Franco Svidercoschi.

Pope Benedict told those watching the film with him, "The sequence of images showed us a Pope immersed in contact with God and, precisely because of that, always sensitive to human hopes."

Recreating scenes from his trips around the world and from audiences at the Vatican, "it gave us a way to relive his meetings with many people, from the great of the earth to simple citizens, from famous personalities to the unknown," the Pope said.

From the attempt to assassinate him in 1981 and his forgiving the would-be assassin to his condemnations of war, violence and exploitation, Pope Benedict said, the movie showed Pope John Paul to be "an untiring prophet of hope and peace who traveled the pathways of the globe to communicate the Gospel to everyone."

His words were "full of consolation and hope, showing his closeness to the families of the victims of conflict and dramatic attacks like that of the twin towers in New York," he said.

Pope John Paul also spoke strongly against "the consumeristic society and hedonistic culture, aimed at promoting a simply material well-being that cannot satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart," he said.

Pope Benedict ended his remarks by praying, "May the beloved pontiff accompany us from on high and obtain for us from the Lord the grace to be ever faithful to our mission like he was."

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