Rome remains place of great influence

THE city of Rome is a real kaleidoscope of colour. It really does has everything—food, fashion, art, faith and, of course, history. For those who have visited the Eternal City, there is never enough time, and, inevitably, plans are made for a return visit. To borrow a well-used phrase, Rome is ‘the gift that keeps on giving’ and no number of visits could exhaust its marvels. Somehow, the visitor feels immersed in a wonderful stream of culture and history, and, in a strange way, not simply as a tourist.

However, for all its classical heritage, Rome is a city very much rooted in the present, and still an influential piece in the jigsaw of global politics.

During the 1980s, Italy was emerging from the anni di piombo—the years of lead— almost two decades of political violence rooted in the extreme ideologies of both left-and right- wing politics. The murky history of this period remains unclear, but it is an episode which has left lasting scars.

In the month of May, 1981, Mehmed Ali Ağca, the Turkish hitman associated with the Grey Wolves, opened fire on Pope John Paul II, during the general audience in St Peter’s Square, hitting him in the abdomen and the left hand. Thankfully—due in no small measure to the skill of doctors in the Gemelli Hospital—the Pope survived the assassination attempt and went on to be numbered among the great Popes of the Catholic Church.

His Pontificate covered a range of pivotal world events, some of which directly affected the Catholic population of Scotland. Although the Falklands—or Las Islas Malvinas—War was fought 8000 miles from Glasgow, the Catholic population of Scotland faced the prospect of the cancellation of a Papal visit, due to the hostilities between the UK and the military junta of General Galtieri, begun in the April of 1982.

Archbishop Thomas Winning—as he was at the time—along with Archbishop Derek Worlock of Liverpool, were determined that the conflict would not derail their long-cherished dream of a Papal visit to these shores. In close collaboration with the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, diplomatic approaches were made to the Hierarchy of the Argentinian Catholic Church, culminating in a Mass for peace, celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica. Students from the Scots College attended the moving celebration in St Peter’s along with Argentinian students studying in Rome. The fruits of this coming together were the pastoral visits to the UK in May and to Argentina in June of that same year.

Newry-born Monsignor John Magee—later to become Bishop of the Diocese of Cloyne—was chosen by Pope Paul VI in 1969 to be his personal secretary. He continued in this role under Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II until becoming Papal Master of Ceremonies in 1982, when he was involved in the Papal visit to Scotland.

Some years before leaving Rome to take up his appointment in the Diocese of Cloyne, Mgr Magee made an informal visit to the Scots College where he shared his experience of working for three Popes in the Vatican. During the Q&A session which followed, I asked him about his unofficial visit to the H-Blocks in April 1981 and about his meeting with Bobby Sands. Mgr Magee had visited the hunger strikers to plead with them not to proceed with this course of action. His reply was one which moved me to tears at the time. He said that he was unable to share the details of the visit, for reasons of confidentiality and to protect the dignity and privacy of those involved. However, he recalled his final words to Bobby Sands: “I look forward to meeting you in Heaven.” Just over a week later Bobby Sands passed away.

It was a privilege as a young man to have witnessed and shared in the events of the time and to have experienced the connection between the Church—which I hoped to serve as a priest—and the challenges of humanity.

Rome is still a focal point for people of faith and for world politics. The lessons of history, although not always heeded, demonstrate the human capacity to find solutions to what can appear to be insurmountable challenges. The eternal city bears witness to this.

Of proud Fermanagh stock, Fr Dominic Quinn is parish priest of St Leonard’s in East Kilbride. He spent time on mission in Bolivia and Peru and is Missio Scotland’s Diocesan Director for Motherwell Diocese